The continuing white smoke saga - help please

[mikeLmedic]

As some of my have notice on previous threads I have a little problem in my Vito with poor performance, occasional limp mode, big puff of white smoke on startup from cold, small amount of white smoke when warm.

When I bought the van the waste gate on the turbo had been cable tied open but the waste gate seems to move freely.

Mechanic 1 said the turbo seemed to be leaking, had oil in it causing the smoking and performance lose.

Mechanic 2 said white smoke is probably nothing to do with the turbo (which may have other faults) and probably an injector issue.

Any suggestions??

Would an immersions test help in working out if is diesel or oil smoke?

Dont want to replace the turbo without good reason ;-(

 

[pawnie]

I took mine for a service and the mechanic put my bluey white smoke (not a lot) down to the turbo.

 

[mikeLmedic]

This is defiantly very white smoke - can afford to replace the turbo with a deco unit or fix the injectors but not both at the same time.

Anyone recommend a garage near me? - im in Wellington nr Taunton so anywhere in the Southwest would be ok

 

[RBYCC]

Mechanic 1 said the turbo seemed to be leaking, had oil in it causing the smoking and performance lose.

Mechanic 2 said white smoke is probably nothing to do with the turbo (which may have other faults) and probably an injector issue.

Any suggestions??

;-(

Suggest that you lose Mechanic 2's telephone number and go back to Mechanic 1.

Oil leaking past the seal in a turbo will cause white smoke.

 

[BruLan]

Yep
Suggest that you lose Mechanic 2's telephone number and go back to Mechanic 1.

 

[mikeLmedic]

ok - could an injector problem also cause white smoke

i.e. could there be a problem with both the turbo and the injectors?

Someone mentioned a compression test - is it right this could be done through a glow plug hole and would rule out an injector leak?

 

[grumpyoldgit]

Diesel Engine Smoke Explained - United Diesel, Shropshire

 

[BruLan]

Engine Oil Burns white

 

[mikeLmedic]

ok cheers guys

 

[flango]

Most likely the turbo seen this a few times before

 

[Dieselman]

Injectors can't cause white smoke, only black.

 

[Starky]

I don't mean to high jack the thread, but what would white smoke suggest?

 

[Dieselman]

I don't mean to high jack the thread, but what would white smoke suggest?

If it's steam it's the head gasket, pure white indicates an air leak into the diesel on a traditional distributor pump system, but on a common rail that can't happen so it is almost certainly oil being burnt, but could be quenched combustion.

 

[mikeLmedic]

Ok - back to the original garage then to get the turbo checked out

 

[RBYCC]

Some, even mechanics, only consider that blue smoke is a sign of oil and white is always water/steam.
True, oil when it is combusted will give a blue smoke out the tailpipe but when it's burned by high heat such as the turbo assembly the smoke will be white.

 

[Starky]

If it's steam it's the head gasket, pure white indicates an air leak into the diesel on a traditional distributor pump system, but on a common rail that can't happen so it is almost certainly oil being burnt, but could be quenched combustion.

I get what i think is white smoke on my car, from start up and when driving. Would this indicate a fault? My car is a petrol one.

 

[Dieselman]

If it's only for a while, when cold, then it is steam. If it continues then the head gasket is duff.

 

[Starky]

Thanks DM, would there be any noticeable signs such as power loss?

 

[Dieselman]

Not until it's blown fully.

 

[mikeLmedic]

Right guys thanks for the help so far - I spent a day fiddling with the van and found a few things out.

1 - turbo - no movement of actuator rod when starting engine or revving.

Turbo wastegate arm can move freely, rod coming from actuator moves about 1.5cm freely

Took off vacuum tube which was intact with no blockages but no vacuum when engine running and feeling end of pipe.

What angle should the wastegate arm be at when open and when shut - how many deg.. does it move in-between?

Why no vacuum?

Could solenoid be faulty - other causes?


2 - smoke - had a good look and defiantly white smoke, put a white cloth at end of exhaust and defiantly spots of black fluid coming through as well. Oil leak in turbo?


3 – Engine got to the injectors - if looking at engine from the from front of van from the left side injectors 1,2 & 3 seem fine. No black crap at all. Injector 4 and surrounding area was covered in what seemed to be oil. I could wipe it with a rag from the engine back to the metal. I did find a hard black carbon buildup and this was around an electronic plug on the engine behind injector 4.

Took a photo of area

photo 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

What is this plug for and is the hard black build up is defiantly an injector leak?

As the injectors are not cemented by carbon could I replace these myself?