Excess diesel smoke

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mat_fenwick
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Excess diesel smoke

Post by mat_fenwick »

I am getting LOTS of grey smoke from my recently fitted 1.9TD engine - which was running perfectly when removed (seen with my own eyes, not just a dodgy ebayer's claim!) It does not improve when the engine warms up, and there is lots of soot deposited on the ground under the tailpipe.
To me this suggests incomplete combustion - also, the engine is running roughly, as if only running on 3 cylinders.
Tomorrow (or possibly Sunday!) I will check the cam/pump timing and maybe pop a bit of injector cleaner in the fuel filter, but can anyone think of anything else to check. It's a bit disheartening really, but at least I have moved the car!
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Post by CaM »

timing and/or fuel gear condition. injectors and pump may need overhauling.
also, your muffler isn't partially blocked?
is the engine getting full boost?
does the engine reach proper operating temperature?
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

CaM wrote:timing and/or fuel gear condition. injectors and pump may need overhauling.
Thanks for the response. Do you mean the condition of the fuel? It was last filled up a year ago. Does diseel deteriorate in the same way as petrol?
CaM wrote:also, your muffler isn't partially blocked?
Not that I can tell, still plenty of flow.
CaM wrote:is the engine getting full boost?
No way of telling unfotunately, as I haven't got a boost gauge. I haven't run the engine under load yet, just moved it a short distance and haven't taken it above about 2000 rpm.
CaM wrote:does the engine reach proper operating temperature?
Yes, no problem. The smoke is equally bad hot or cold.
I should add that the new engine has been laid up and not started for about 18 months, but I did spray WD40 into the inlet manifold when it was taken off the road, to prevent it seizing.
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DavidRutherford
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Post by DavidRutherford »

Hmm... Year old fuel and engine laid up for 18 months... I doubt there's anything more than this wrong. There's probably water in the fuel (condensation, if not your ample supply of rain!) and possibly a light dusting of dampness-induced corrosion in the engine.

I'd be inclined to run it from some fresh fuel from a Jerry can, get it to temperature and give it some boot. With a bit of luck the smoke will clear.

It took a fairly extended period of running and some serious hoofing to get my van engine to run clean again after I rebuilt the head a while back. Initially it smoked the village out.
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Post by CitroXim »

Hi Mat,

White/grey smoke is atomised diesel that has hardly been burned at all.

If the engine starts easily enough, the timing is the most likely cause. It is very critical. Carefully recheck and make sure you pin the cam and pump sprockets as well as the flywheel via the hard-to-get-at hole behind the starter. Check initially and then with all timing pins removed, recheck after at least two full rotations of the engine by hand. I'm paranoid and check it at least three times before I'll allow myself to believe it is OK...

As the donor engine came out of a 1996 Xantia, is the pump of the semi-electronic variety that needs an ECU to control it? If the ECU is not connected, the engine will run but the pump will fail-safe to a fully retarded timing position and this will cause lots of grey smoke and the engine will sound quieter than it should. These semi-electronic pumps can be recognised by having a round black sensor on top of them with three wires coming out of it as shown Here ( Picture at bottom of page)

Don't worry Mat, it's nothing serious. It'll be running like a clock tomorrow...
Jim

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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

Thanks David and Jim for the optimism! I do tend to be a woorier when it comes to matters like these. Yes, I did check the timing pins several times, especially after this episode with another XUD. (Although on that engine the timing pins were closer to the edges of the holes than I have seen before when I finally got the timing sorted. That may have been due to the head being previously skimmed at least twice; would that change in distance affect the timing significantly?)
But (back to the BX) it's worth another check. The Xantia is actually a '95, sorry if I've written elsewhere that it's '96. Hence the pump is nice 'n simple! Hopefully it will just be old fuel and a laid up engine, although I feel nervous about hoofing it with the worry that something's wrong.
Will report back with hopefully better news! [-o<
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Post by jeremy »

I'd look very carefully at any fuel supply component or connection that could let air in. Air in the fuel can cause misfiring - and any half-charge which didn't burn will be largely ejected into the exhaust. The rest will dampen the combustion chamber wall and may burn next time - and can cause further smoke!
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kermit the frog
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Post by kermit the frog »

Hi Matt
Having just spent a few weeks trying to get a two cylinder diesel boat engine to run.
I have drained out the old diesel and water from the tank.
Cleaned out the water trap.
Fitted a new filter and heater plugs changed the engine oil.
This is after the owner told me it was running ok last time he used it.
What he forgot to say was that was in 2005. :evil:
Yes diesel does go stale.
The diesel i drained out smelled like white spirit all its get up and go had got up and gone.
Try some new diesel what is probably comming out of the exhaust is the stale stuff that will not burn.

Good luck 8)

Regards Kermit
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

Cheers guys, you have all given me plenty of things to check. Haven't been able to even look at the car today - I have been literally knee deep in mud the consistancy of soup trying to sort out drainage ditches. Oh what fun.
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