Hey folks.

 

1.9 BXE PD105 DSG.

Did a load of searching but couldn't find anything that matched my problem exactly.

I was stuck in crawling traffic on the M62 and while crawling with the gearbox in 2nd gear with a light throttle there were plumes of smoke coming out the back!

I think it looks grey/white but was hard to tell.

If I put my foot down it kicks loads more smoke out then stops for a while.

I don't get any smoke under normal driving (a little when putting my foot down as to be expected from a PD diesel with no dpf).

Anyone have ideas?

Phil

 

Edit: Edited the title and added my car info to make future searches etc more useful.

Edited 17 December, 201510 yr by Phil-E

With it being you, I presume that the engine temperature is remaining normal.

 

My best guesses therefore involve lubricating oil getting drawn past seals or rings on high vacuum and burnt out the exhaust when you accelerate again.

Yes. Coolant was 88c and oil was 90c.

AH I see. Where would it be getting drawn through?

I didn't ask about temperatures because I thought you'd have said if they were high. So I'm fairly sure it's not the head gasket.

 

Most likely places are the usual set of valve stem oil seals, piston rings (can be eliminated with a leak-down test) or turbo oil seals.

I've had the same, lots of white/gray ish/blue smoke under light throttle, a bit less when driven harder. In my case it was the seal in turbo. This you can easily check yourself. Get under the car and remove downpipe. If there is oil, it's the turbo.

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Thanks for the help guys.

 

It sounds expensive!

 

It's obviously not a huge problem as I drove all the way back home cruising at 70mph and absolutely no smoke was visible.

 

It also uses hardly any oil between 10k changes. The only time it ever uses any oil is under high loads such as sustained top speed (on the Autobahn), driving in mountainous regions while loaded up etc which are all situations where it will use more oil anyway (according to the handbook).

 

If it was the turbo would it leak all the time? Which would suggest piston rings or valve stem seals?

 

It's only got just shy of 54,000 miles on the clock and serviced on the dot every time with the correct oil.

 

Phil

Sounds like valve stem seals.

Assuming the heavy smoking has only just started then I'd imagine the failure is still in it's infancy.

 

Rings and seals tend to wear over time, the wear increasing as they go from worn to failed.

 

I think I'd be wanting it at least correctly diagnosed to be sure I wan't doing further damage and turning an expensive bill into an unaffordable / uneconomical one.

 

Having an idea of what work will be needed might give you the time to source the parts or save the money that will eventually be required.

Edited 17 December, 201510 yr by silver1011

The turbo seals will just suddenly start playing up, so they'd certainly be the ones I'd check first.

Is it white or blue/white smoke?

If just white it might be worth checking all the pipes for the inlet but also if you're losing coolant.

If you're losing any coolant, check the EGR cooler too.

Is the car affected by the emissions cheat thing?

If so, I'd be putting to the dealer that it's got less than 60k miles on it and just not good enough and see if VAG are doing any "customer relations".

Turbo oil seals.

 

Just had my turbo rebuilt as was getting exactly the same

 

Rebuilt turbo sorted it

The smoke looked white more than anything else.

 

Coolant level has been rock solid since owning the car (nearly three years).

 

I'm leaning towards to the turbo then I think. How is this best checked? Would it be a turbo off job?

 

And no it's not affected by the emissions scandal as it's the older PD engine.

 

Like I say it never burns a drop of oil and the only other time I've ever noticed white smoke was under similar circumstances. Was stuck in some traffic on the M1 and was crawling for a while. It was daylight and when I floored it after the traffic cleared a little cloud of white smoke came out.

 

This time though I was crawling with my foot just tickling the throttle at about 1400-1500 rpm for a good 30-40 mins. A quick rev of the engine or flooring it in 2nd cleared it for a while then it started coming back so it wasn't constant from the word go just like it built up.

 

As Roy says best to get it looked at sooner rather than later... I assume a leaking turbo seal is what can lead to a runaway engine?!

If it is the turbo... how hard are they to replace?

 

I assume the engine doesn't need to come out or anything?

 

I'm just pleasantly surprised by the prices for a new turbo on ebay and if it's not a massive I may tackle it myself.

 

Phil

How to check the seal in turbo is in my previous post. Get under the car and disconect downpipe from turbo flange. If oil is presented, you know it's the seal.

Edit: if it is the seal, it is leaking on hot side of the turbo and burns in exhaust. Runaway happens if seal on the cold side fails (or shaft snap etc) and engine burns oil which leaks through.

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Edited 17 December, 201510 yr by dara85

How to check the seal in turbo is in my previous post. Get under the car and disconect downpipe from turbo flange. If oil is presented, you know it's the seal.

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Ah yes sorry. I missed that. Would there be some oil in there anyway? Or is it the difference between some light splashes of oil and loads of it?

 

Thanks. Will get under the car at the weekend and have a look.

No oil should be presented on the hot side, just some soot deposits.

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Oh I see... disconnect the exhaust side of the turbo?

 

So in fact the oil leaking out is leaking into the exhaust then being burnt off?

Oh I see... disconnect the exhaust side of the turbo?

So in fact the oil leaking out is leaking into the exhaust then being burnt off?

Yes and yes

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I think you've nailed it Phil.

 

Good luck mate, let us know how your inspection goes.

How have the oil levels been, as mine was consuming oil at a fair rate up to the point the turbo was pulled and verified the seals had shot it.

I serviced it approx 6000 miles ago and it's not used a drop!

 

Between the previous service and the last one I topped up with approx 250ml of oil in 10k miles.

 

Will keep an eye on the levels now though.

If its just started it might not have used much,  As mine was an ongoing "WTF?" over several weeks, I was able to see it was drinking a lot of oil :(

Oh I see... disconnect the exhaust side of the turbo?

So in fact the oil leaking out is leaking into the exhaust then being burnt off?

I have found a picture of the leak on mine. You can see the oil is dripping straight after the c-clamp has been removed.

Also it doesn't necessarily mean that the turbo is faulty. It could be blocked oil drain pipe or blocked pcv valve increasing oil pressure and forcing the oil leaking through the turbo seal.

(In my case it was the turbo leaking though).

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Cool. Thanks for that.

 

I don't think mine is going to be so obvious though.

 

Was out in the car last night and the only time I see smoke out the back is with full throttle (but then it's not white smoke just the usual diesel smoke and not thick clouds either). If I'm just applying light pressure accelerating or cruising along I can see no smoke. So I haven't seen it since the other night. Must be something about that style of driving that is forcing more oil through and causing the smoke.

 

Will update once I've had a look.

Maybe you just had some crap in the fuel?

I've just jacked the car up and been under it.

 

There are the usual traces of oil round the outlet of the turbo (I guess where the seals aren't brilliant and letting some oil out).

 

 

I removed the clamp from the exhaust side but couldn't get the pipe to budge at all (goes directly to the CAT). But I left it off for a bit but no traces of oil coming out that side.

 

 

I looked at the tailpipes as there was some black/greasy/oily stuff on there as well as the usually sooty stuff.

 

So at the moment it's inconclusive! If it only happens under certain driving conditions then any oil that was in the exhaust will have long since been burnt off!

 

I guess my only options are now to get the turbo off and inspect it fully but it looks like a hell of a job. I think I would need to remove the driveshaft as that's in the way. Anything else that would need to come off?