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s320cdi 2007 excessive white smoke

stan1060

New Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2012
Messages
5
Car
S320cdi
Hi guys i have just purchased a s320cdi lwb with 125k on the clock, the car drives very good with no knocks or noises but on stationary puffs out a lot of white smoke, now i have driven this back from a 250 mile journey with no problems apart from when coming to a stand still i noticed the excessive white smoke, once the car is in motion it is not as bad. I have taken the car to my local MB specialist but the car does not bring up any faults on the computer, now prior to me purchasing this vehicle it has had a lot of work done such as a recon turbo, new dpf filter, glow plugs, injectors and a gearbox. Could any of you guys please help point me in the right direction in what step to take next or what the problem could be?
 
stan1060 said:
Hi guys i have just purchased a s320cdi lwb with 125k on the clock, the car drives very good with no knocks or noises but on stationary puffs out a lot of white smoke, now i have driven this back from a 250 mile journey with no problems apart from when coming to a stand still i noticed the excessive white smoke, once the car is in motion it is not as bad. I have taken the car to my local MB specialist but the car does not bring up any faults on the computer, now prior to me purchasing this vehicle it has had a lot of work done such as a recon turbo, new dpf filter, glow plugs, injectors and a gearbox. Could any of you guys please help point me in the right direction in what step to take next or what the problem could be?

White smoke indicates seething burning that ought not to be. Monitor your coolant and oil levels. Consistent drops indicate a leak. Start with the simplest first. When cold remove the coolant filler cap and then start the engine. If there is agitation and bubbles seen down the coolant filler this would indicate a leaking head gasket. The white smoke would be as a result of coolant (water and glycol) being included in the combustion. Next check for mayonnaise on the underside of the oil filler cap. If a head gasket is leaking it often allows coolant and oil passages to mix. With the glow plugs removed do a cylinder pressure check when cranking the engine over. If the engine is fine take a hard look at the rebuilt turbo, an oil leak here due to excessive play in the spindle or poorly fitted oil seal would be a likely source of white smoke.
 
Following not my words but may be of interest.


SMOKE COLOUR ..

Basically there are 3 types of smoke emitted from a diesel engine .. black, blue and white.

Basically, smoke from a diesel engine indicates that something is not right. Smoke should be taken as an indication that there is a problem existing (or developing) that will potentially shorten the engine life, or result in unnecessary costs.


Smoke should be regarded as an opportunity to take measures that will save you money in both the long term and also the short term. At the least, smoke may be due to a simple problem, that is causing poor combustion efficiency and costing you in excessive fuel bills (eg carboned up engine from excessive idling, stop start operation or short run times). At the other end of the scale, smoke may be your last chance to act before a catastrophic engine failure occurs (eg piston seizure, valve or turbocharger failure).

A diesel engine in good condition should produce no visible smoke from the exhaust, under most operating conditions. A short puff of smoke when an engine is accelerated under load may be acceptable, due to the lag before the turbocharger speed and air flow is able to match the volume of diesel injected into the cylinders, but that would only apply to older technology diesel engines. Modern type diesels .. no smoke at all should be evident.




BLACK smoke ..

To go directly to products that reduce engine BLACK smoke click here

Black smoke is the most common emitted from diesel engines and indicates incomplete combustion of the fuel. Black smoke causes can vary widely and include ..
■ Incorrect fuel injection timing .. commonly too retarded.
■ Fuel injection pump wear, or incorrect settings .. commonly retarded.
■ Faulty cold start, or faulty advance/retard mechanisms .. commonly retarded.
■ Incorrect air/fuel ratio setting .. excessive fuel to air ratio.
■ Under-performing turbocharger .. pressure low.
■ Dirty or worn fuel injectors .. commonly carbon deposits affecting spray pattern.
■ Carbon deposits in combustion chambers .. common in lightly loaded engines.
■ Excessive carbon build-up around exhaust valves and exhaust spaces.
■ Sticking piston rings .. often due to carbon deposits.
■ Glazed cylinder cross-hatch .. due to carbon deposits.
■ Incorrect valve clearances .. often timing error when replacing cam-belts.
■ Faulty valve stem seals .. rarely.
■ Engine wear in general .. often misdiagnosed when carbon deposits are the real problem.
■ Engine oil viscosity too low .. check oil grade against operating conditions.
■ Cool operating temperatures .. coolant should reach 85C, or higher. Check thermostats.
■ Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system faulty, or blocked with carbon.
■ Engine overloaded .. reduce load, use lower gear, clean anti-foul, change propellor pitch.
■ High altitude operation .. lack of oxygen to complete fuel burn.
■ Dirty or restricted air cleaner systems .. air intake filter partially blocked.
■ Poor quality fuel.

Black smoke can occur across the entire operating range, but is usually worst under full power, or during the lag before the turbocharger boosts air supply to match the fuel usage such as in the early stages of acceleration and during gear changes. Moderate turbo lag smoke may be acceptable, otherwise black smoke should be hardly visible in a correctly running engine.

Obviously, worn or damaged components must be replaced .. the earlier you identify and fix the problem, the less damage will be done. Keep on top of engine tune issues, including valve adjustments, regular servicing of air, fuel and oil filters. Do not buy fuel from suspect outlets. Dirty engine components, such as fuel injectors can be easily restored to full cleanliness by using an effective and reliable fuel system cleaner. If you choose from our range of products, FTC is what you need.

Cleaning the internals of engines is usually considered only possible at physical overhaul, however, we provide two products to enable vehicle and equipment owners to quickly, safely and cheaply restore full cleanliness to combustion and exhaust spaces (FTC Decarbonizer) as well as piston rings, oil pumps, oil galleries, oil coolers, piston skirts, valve gear, etc (DeSLUDGE Flushing Oil Concentrate).

Black smoke is high in carbon or soot, which is an undesirable product of diesel combustion. The combustion of diesel is a complicated process of breaking down the various hydrocarbon fuel molecules into progressively smaller and smaller molecules, by extremely rapid burning (explosion) in the presence of oxygen. The main and ideal end products of combustion are CO2 (carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas) and water. It is believed that the last step in the process is carbon monoxide (a poisonous gas) to carbon dioxide. This is also the slowest step by far and when combustion conditions deteriorate some upstream bottle necking occurs in the chain of combustion reactions. This results (according to some authorities) in polymerization of smaller partly burnt molecules into much larger ones, which become visible as soot, or black smoke.





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BLUE smoke ..

To go directly to products that reduce engine BLUE smoke click here

Blue smoke is caused by engine lubricating oil burning. The oil can enter the combustion chamber from several sources including ..
■ Worn valve guides, or seals
■ Cylinder &/or piston ring wear
■ Cylinder glaze
■ Piston ring sticking
■ Incorrect grade of oil .. too thin and getting past rings, or valves guides
■ Fuel dilution of the oil, making it too thin.

Blue smoke is often evident at cold start, which can reflect reduced oil control due to carbon fouling deposits around the piston rings and/or cylinder glaze (which is actually carbon deposited in the machined cylinder crosshatching. These tiny grooves actually hold a film of oil, which in turn completes the seal between the combustion chamber and the oil wetted crankcase).

Blue smoke should not be evident at any stage.

An engine may burn oil without the evidence of blue smoke, because good compression burns oil quite cleanly, however, it is not acceptable for any new engine, or engine in good internal condition to burn large amounts of lubricating oil.

Once again, restore physical cleanliness to all components. Replace worn parts where necessary. In some situations, where the engines are pretty worn, but you just need to keep them in service, cleaning with the previously mentioned products, followed by effective additional anti-wear protection, will reduce internal stresses on all those tired components, providing extended service life. Our SupaSLIP achieves this for many of our customers



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WHITE smoke ..

To go directly to products that reduce engine WHITE smoke click here

White smoke is caused by raw, unburnt fuel passing into the exhaust stream. Common causes include ..
■ Incorrect fuel injection timing
■ Defective fuel injectors
■ Low cylinder compression

Low cylinder compression may be caused by leaking valves, sticking piston rings, ring wear, cylinder wear, or cylinder glaze.

When white smoke occurs at cold start and then disappears as the engine warms up, the most common causes are fouling deposits around piston rings and/or cylinder glazing.

Continuous evidence of white smoke indicates a mechanical defect, or incorrect fuel timing.

Water entering combustion spaces will also create white smoke. Faulty head gaskets and cracked cylinder heads or blocks are a common cause of water entry .. unfortunately, expensive mechanical repair is the only proper solution here
 
i had the same problem with an old toyota, in the end it was the head gasket, i also had the head scimmed before i refitted it. now it runs perfect
 
Last edited:
Hi guys just an update i have had the breather changed but the car is still smoking and now seems to be bluey smoke. I am vey confused to what it could be because the car drives really well and is not losing oil
 
Hi stan1060,

Have you resolve your problem white smoke ?
 

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