Engine smoke

[hammerman]

Hi there.1st real engine issue for 9 years.Car is a 2003/53 Hdi 110.Remapped at 57k miles,serviced every 12k or when the indicator tells me.Now on 213k miles.Sat in traffic tonight,pulled away and thought i saw blue smoke from the exhaust.Engine is definatly smoking now,although it cleared a bit once out of the traffic.It now looks like a fair bit of black smoke,mixed with grey smoke when booting it on my drive.Lots of soot on the drive under the tail pipe.Smells like its burning a bit of oil or something.It sounds like its running smooth on tick over,but over 3000 rpm,it sounds a bit chuffing,for want of a better word.Although it feels like its pulling ok on the road.I stopped at the shop on my way home,and it felt quicker on acceleration than before i stopped,as i was giving it some to see if it was smoking.
The only time it really smokes is black smoke when pulling our caravan up hills etc.So something is amiss.Its due a service,but i dont think its any service related parts.It runs on fully syn 5/40 oil.Original turbo,fuel pumps,injectors,and glow plugs.
Any help or advice would be welcomed.Thanks.

[fattail95]

First, I would do a visual inspection looking for any potential inlet restrictions/leaks – common issues include boost leaks (be it a broken bottom intercooler hose or a loose hope clamp), dirty air filters, clogged inlet manifold (particularly on high mileage engines due to the EGR) so check all these before you replace anything.

Once you’ve established the intake system is performing properly, I would do another visual inspection on the fuel system – look for any potential fuel leaks (my low pressure line once got sliced by the engine cover) change the fuel filter if it hasn’t been changed recently and use injector cleaner.

If symptoms persist, it would be a good idea to hook up PP2000, first look at the injector correction values both at idle and at higher revs, these should all be ideally below 1, however 2 and below is acceptable, any more points to dirty/failing injectors. Watch out for the MAF and MAP sensor as these can degrade and give poor readings yet still not flag a code/MIL, but make enough difference to cause smoke/loss of power. If the any sensor is at fault, always replace with OEM grade quality items (Siemens etc) as the cheaper imitation ones just don’t perform well. Take the car out for a drive on a quiet road and look at turbo pressure measured vs turbo pressure expected and ensure they follow closely, if not that again points to either a boost leak, failed turbocharger electrovalve, vacuum leak or a worn turbo – also watch the fuel pressure delivered and how far it deviates from ideal (should be read in bar). You don’t want to see a significant difference or it will produce a lot of smoke (I believe this is causing the smoke on mine). If there is a noticeable gap between ideal fuel pressure and achieved fuel pressure, I first would remove the fuel pressure regulator from the HP pump and clean with brake cleaner/lots of compressed air.

Hope that helps
Ben

[Doggy]

Agree with all of the above, a boost leak or similar being the most likely culprit.

Did you get an EML / any fault messages?

[hammerman]

I think its dead .I checked last night the air pipes,turbo/i/cooler pipes.All seemed good.If i squeezed the top i/cooler hose and reved the engine,it built up pressure.Slight fuel leak on top of filter housing.
Anyways,drove it to work this morning(35 miles,motorway,A roads and B roads)and it seemed ok.Still a bit smokey and smelly.But pulled good through gears etc.Anyway,on way home from work tonight,things took a turn for the worst.It started running on 3,maybe 2 cylinders,no power unless i was very gentle on the throtall,loads of white/grey smoke.But once over 3000 rpm,loads of black,white and grey smoke,and the car took off like a rocket.But then a rattle/knock,sounding like the top end,over 3000 rpm.Nursed it home,but ticking over like a bag of nails in traffic,unless you reved it,say 1300 rpm,then smoothed out,untill i pulled away.Then the last part of the journey,i noticed the oil temp gauge was very close to the red/140.Got home,smoking bad.Will not start now,just spins over quite fast,like theres a lack of compression.Also,i took the oil filler cap off,loads of smoke/vapor coming out of the filler cap.
I think after 12 years and 213000 miles,it aint worth fixing it.It still has its original DMF and clutch,so its really only 1 big exspense away from being uneconomical to repair.
This may be THAT repair.
I await any input or thoughts.

[PeterN]

Oh dear. Spinning fast like there is no compression is most likely caused by the cam belt breaking, I wonder if it had slipped prior to this. Mind you on an 8 valve engine it should be the rockers that break not the valves, that can be fixed without removing the head. How long ago was the cam belt changed?

Peter

[hammerman]

Well,i just checked the engine oil,and there is no oil on the dip stick after being sat for an hour.It was between the min and max when i left work.I put the key in and it started!!!!!I only went out to do a video of it to post on here and it started like normal.Although rough untill i reved it.I dont do much about how it all works engine wise .But my thoughts are maybe an injector or 2.But does not explain the lack of oil and smoke from the filler cap/head.Will post the video`s so you can see.

[PeterN]

Yes, no oil will give low compression Sounds as though you possibly have a broken piston ring or two to use all that oil, that would account for the smoke of course. A common occurrence in my early driving days but doesn't happen much now. Unfortunate.

Peter

[hammerman]

Dont know if this is going to work,nut just cop and paste.
https://video-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvide ... e=559DA3B3

[hammerman]

https://video-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvide ... e=559DA0EB

[hammerman]

Well,i topped up the engine oil tonight,it took 3 liters,so in 35 miles home last week it burnt 3 liters of oil.Plenty of smoke out the back,so only ran it for a few seconds.Looking like a piston ring or 2.Getting a compression tester to test it to see which 1 or 2 are the problem.Coolant level fine and no oil in it,so looks like rings.