tdci white smoke

[Colin K]

Hello chaps,
Wonder if anyone could help. Just before Christmas my 1.8 Connect started to lose power and then monster rattles. Initially found the EGR cooler pipe sheared so thought woo hoo. Did a quick fix whilst i get a new one and the smoking is worse. Rattle now stopped. I am thinking its the turbo I wonder if I can check it (my boat one you can take off the inlet and put your fingers into the blades) without taking it off ? And secondly can I remove it without taking the manifolds off? I had a wet belt break a year ago and hated the van after that job due to it being so blooming tight at the rear. The white smoke is not steamy it more smells of fuel.

Any advise appreciated and HNY

Col.

[Colin K]

Hello,
Golly struggling with this one.... New twist. Just moved the van onto the drive to start playing with her and oil is pouring out of the exhaust. Coolant water bottle oily too. So I am thinking head gasket or is there an oil cooler that can break?

Any ideas be appreciated Col.

[Colin K]

Hello, Golly this is a quiet forum these days

Blimey it was so easy getting to the turbo intake I feel a dope asking. And Its totally buggered the whole thing is rattling around inside the casing. I am hoping its a complete failure and so the oil is passing the shaft and straight into the exhaust system ??? I guess a plus is that the oil feed to the turbo is good??

Col.

[Kenton]

Yes, the turbo 'cartridge' is a fairly easy removal from the manifold, once the exhaust is dropped at the front, and the down pipe (cat can) is removed, provided the bolts come undone easily. It does indeed sound like its buggered The only oil cooling on mine is a zig zag of pipe running in front of the radiator just behindthe bumper, you can see it from the front of the van through the lower bumper grille. It could have a break in it, but my initial thought is the head gasket is there any mayonnaise under the oil filler cap?
All the best, K

[Kenton]

Yes, the turbo 'cartridge' is a fairly easy removal from the manifold, once the exhaust is dropped at the front, and the down pipe (cat can) is removed, provided the bolts come undone easily. It does indeed sound like its buggered The only oil cooling on mine is a zig zag of pipe running in front of the radiator just behindthe bumper, you can see it from the front of the van through the lower bumper grille. It could have a break in it, but my initial thought is the head gasket is there any mayonnaise under the oil filler cap?
All the best, K

What meant by the 'cartridge' was the turbo itself. Not using the right terminology

[metalworker0]

surely, you have to take the whole unit off to ensure proper clean-up and cleanliness.

all the best.mark

[Kenton]

If the turbo has failed, like mine did (big time) First of all remove air box and intake pipe. Then disconnect the exhaust from the downpipe (which on mine) was made up of the catalytic converter (before we put a straight de-cat pipe on) then unbolt the cat from the exhaust manifold. You can then reach fingers into the chamber and feel the end of the turbine. After disconnecting the actuator, release the large clamp between the turbo and manifold, then remove. Not exactly a workshop manual guide, as I'm doing this from memory, but it all makes sense when you look at it properly. My van was up on ramps when we did this, so may sound easier than it would be flat on your back on the driveway... Still possible though, if you got someone else with you...
But to answer metalworker0, you could remove the whole manifold itself including the turbo from the engine, but it was a loads more work at the time, and to be honest, we just didn't bother as when I inspectedthe turbo previously, it seemed very clean!. We simply replaced the turbo itself back onto the manifold (and oil line to turbo) replaced the oil, and reconnected the downpipe and exhaust.
Ignore what I said about the turbo cartridge, I was tired, and didn't use the right terminology, and also didn't make myself clear

[metalworker0]

Yes i see now, i thought you were replacing the cartridge with the turbo in place.

This catalyst device, not had a chance to study it in depth, I've learned a bit about the dpfs and not about this device ..as no one ever talks about it ..i have tried to look into it ..but practically; no mention of it, does it have a fuel supply or does it regen like a dpf, does it have sensors that tell you its blocked , if not, how would I know its running state ...i suppose with the new mot rules they would notice it missing strait away and fail the mot on it .


all the best..mark

[Kenton]

Yes i see now, i thought you were replacing the cartridge with the turbo in place.

This catalyst device, not had a chance to study it in depth, I've learned a bit about the dpfs and not about this device ..as no one ever talks about it ..i have tried to look into it ..but practically; no mention of it, does it have a fuel supply or does it regen like a dpf, does it have sensors that tell you its blocked , if not, how would I know its running state ...i suppose with the new mot rules they would notice it missing strait away and fail the mot on it .


all the best..mark

Yeah, I wasn't very clear in the first reply
The catalytic converter is a very basic one's made up of ceramic plates with thousands of fine holes in. (Not sure of the exact make up) The one on the early Connects like mine don't have any electronic sensors, nor does it even have a lambda sensor!
When I replaced mine with a de-cat pipe (stainless Steel pipe with no restrictions) the cat was almost completely blocked up. Glad I did away with it. Passes MOT fine each time. Some people just knock the innards out of the cat, then put it back on, but I went with a purpose made pipe.
I'll attach a picture of my old catalytic converter for fun.
K

[metalworker0]

Ok thanks ..
Will not worry about it yet ..as van seemed to have plenty of power last time i drove it ..in fact i was quite impressed with how much grunt it had and i questioned myself was it really 75ps
Perhaps someones done the deed already!

all the best.mark

[Boghopper]

The catalytic converter is a very basic one's made up of ceramic plates with thousands of fine holes in. (Not sure of the exact make up) The one on the early Connects like mine don't have any electronic sensors, nor does it even have a lambda sensor!
When I replaced mine with a de-cat pipe (stainless Steel pipe with no restrictions) the cat was almost completely blocked up. Glad I did away with it. Passes MOT fine each time. Some people just knock the innards out of the cat, then put it back on, but I went with a purpose made pipe.
I'll attach a picture of my old catalytic converter for fun.

Kenton, how do you get away at the M.O.T. without a catalytic converter? I was under the impression that if a diesel had one fitted from new then it was not allowed to be removed. Mine has just failed the smoke test and I reckon mine might be clogged up a bit. I only poodle around so it is probably choked up as I drive so slowly. Doesn't seem much choice in replacements to choose from. I wonder whether to bash the inside out.

[metalworker0]

"only poodle around" - that's the clue---most of the so called smoke in the smoke test will be carbon coming out of the exhaust system when they revved it quite high for a min or so during the test, the carbon coats the whole of the inside of the exhaust . well carbon and there will be rust dust inside it ...would not surprise me if that exhaust smoke machine looks at rust dust and classes it as carbon ./smoke
Really you should go for a high speed run to blow it all out, before the MOT
You can also help it by tapping the whole exhaust system with a wooden mallet ..then revving it for a couple of mins.

During MOT - the engine emissions test is carried out at either 2500 engine rpm OR half of maximum engine speed.

They do other checks which involve raising the revs slowly to max rpm to check the governor ..

all this sends vibrations and extra volume through the exhaust ..it will loosen that carbon and rust ..that you hadn't when poodling....leading to a fail, if there is quite an accumulation in it
.They cannot be aloud to get rid of this build up, 'cause of time restraints ..some nice mot examiners do though.

all the best.mark

[Kenton]

The catalytic converter is a very basic one's made up of ceramic plates with thousands of fine holes in. (Not sure of the exact make up) The one on the early Connects like mine don't have any electronic sensors, nor does it even have a lambda sensor!
When I replaced mine with a de-cat pipe (stainless Steel pipe with no restrictions) the cat was almost completely blocked up. Glad I did away with it. Passes MOT fine each time. Some people just knock the innards out of the cat, then put it back on, but I went with a purpose made pipe.
I'll attach a picture of my old catalytic converter for fun.

Kenton, how do you get away at the M.O.T. without a catalytic converter? I was under the impression that if a diesel had one fitted from new then it was not allowed to be removed. Mine has just failed the smoke test and I reckon mine might be clogged up a bit. I only poodle around so it is probably choked up as I drive so slowly. Doesn't seem much choice in replacements to choose from. I wonder whether to bash the inside out.

To be honest, I drive my van "thoroughly" - what I mean is, it gets driven up to high speeds, and opened up fully without trying to blow it up. It really does make such a difference after years of driving it like that. Regular fuel treatment alongside using the super expensive premium Diesel. Couple that with regular oil and fuel filter changes. It runs very well these days, and come MOT time - yes the reading is always slightly high - as you would expect - but is well passable. Not 100% sure on the actual law regarding the removal of the early CATs but I have been reliably informed that it is something of a grey area! I'm sure Paul2012 or someone else on here did a thread that laid it out better than I ever could.
One of the best mods I've done to be fair