overly concerned

[NISSAND40]

My D40 is blowing an alarming amount of white smoke after driving for 6-7 kilometers(I think it's white, can't tell because it's so dark when it happens early in the morning. It does it only on cold mornings just on idle every couple weeks (it doesn't smoke while driving) I checked all the fluid levels, no problem found. No loss of power. Fuel consumption is a little higher, not overly high but a bit higher than usual. My dpf and egr are deleted, I also have a straight through turbo back.

I figured it might be the injectors but if it were, then the smoke would be constant in drive and mass power loss.
I also thought it might be a broken head gasket, but after checking the engine oil and seeing no traces of milky white colour, I also checked the coolant to see if any oil had found it's way in there, that was found to be normal too.

So yeah I'm all out of possibilities.. anyone experience a similar issue? if so what was it and what did you do about it?

 

[Old.Tony]

It might be a leaking injector, perhaps a small particle causing a little bit of grief in it? Run some Liqui-Moly Injector Cleaner through it. I've used it (twice), just add the full can to a tank of fuel and off you go.

It's unlikely to be a DPF regen if it's happening at idle, because the ECU won't trigger a regen until the engine is warm and the RPM are at 1500 or more (about 80km/h in top gear). I'd discount this completely, but consider getting in touch with Auggie (a user here) who can get you replacement sensors for your DPF to ensure that it never does give you any grief.

I suppose checking the MAFS is also worth doing. Don't poke anything inside the tiny hole - what's in there is a delicate wire filament and it's very easy to damage and lose $400 to Nissan. This sensor is vital, and sits just outside the air filter box on the back of the tube heading to the turbo. Remove it, spray electrical contact cleaner (or MAFS cleaner) into the hole, allow it to drain & dry (15-20 seconds would probably do) then reinstall.

 

[NISSAND40]

It might be a leaking injector, perhaps a small particle causing a little bit of grief in it? Run some Liqui-Moly Injector Cleaner through it. I've used it (twice), just add the full can to a tank of fuel and off you go.

It's unlikely to be a DPF regen if it's happening at idle, because the ECU won't trigger a regen until the engine is warm and the RPM are at 1500 or more (about 80km/h in top gear). I'd discount this completely, but consider getting in touch with Auggie (a user here) who can get you replacement sensors for your DPF to ensure that it never does give you any grief.

I suppose checking the MAFS is also worth doing. Don't poke anything inside the tiny hole - what's in there is a delicate wire filament and it's very easy to damage and lose $400 to Nissan. This sensor is vital, and sits just outside the air filter box on the back of the tube heading to the turbo. Remove it, spray electrical contact cleaner (or MAFS cleaner) into the hole, allow it to drain & dry (15-20 seconds would probably do) then reinstall.

Thanks Tony.
It's funny that you mention the diesel purge because earlier today I was shown how to do it. But then I got shown something completely different to what I was originally told, by that I mean, which is the inlet and outlet? do you have any pics you can post of inlet and outlet that needs to be used. Cheers in advance mate

 

[Old.Tony]

I didn't do a purge, just used the normal injector cleaner that you throw in the tank. It was quite effective!

 

[NISSAND40]

I didn't do a purge, just used the normal injector cleaner that you throw in the tank. It was quite effective!

yeah I decided to go with some diesel injector cleaner. I filmed the exhaust before and after, the results were pretty good. How regular do you normally clean your injectors?

 

[Old.Tony]

I haven't been doing it regularly and may not do so, because of what I've been learning about fuels here in Australia.

Diesel fuel uses a cetane rating instead of an octane rating. The higher the cetane number (CN), sooner the fuel starts to burn when being compressed and the more complete its combustion during a combustion downstroke.

Knowing this, I looked at the various fuels available in Australia.

Mobil - is sold indirectly now, and may or may not have additives or modifiers in the fuel (such as biodiesel of unknown quantities). Mobil seem to be reluctant to release the CN for their diesel. With this said, I've never had a problem with Mobil fuels and in particular have had quite good results from what may have been a 20% bio mix.

Shell - runs straight diesel (no detergents) with a typical CN of 49.

Caltex diesel has a detergent added and typically has a CN of 51-52 but that's not guaranteed - they only say that it will "never fall below 46".

BP - runs two variants of diesel on the east coast. Both have detergents added, one claims a CN of 51-52 (normal diesel) and BP Ultimate Diesel claims a CN of 55-60. BP Ultimate seems to only be available inside the Sydney Metro area (use this page to locate a station in Australia).

So there's not much difference between Caltex and BP, both have detergents added and both have similar CN. With the higher CN, your diesel should rattle less and smoke less, but you won't see a massive boost in power.

I've changed my buying habits - I was leaning towards Shell, but am now mostly Caltex/BP.

 

[JPMC]

Another option to look at if it's only happening on cold mornings after start up is is one of your glow plugs might be playing up.
White smoke is a sign of unburnt diesel and if the glow plug doesn't heat up correctly then the diesel in that cylinder wont burn properly until you get it little heat into the engine.

 

[NISSAND40]

Another option to look at if it's only happening on cold mornings after start up is is one of your glow plugs might be playing up.
White smoke is a sign of unburnt diesel and if the glow plug doesn't heat up correctly then the diesel in that cylinder wont burn properly until you get it little heat into the engine.

excuse my ignorance but what and where is a glow plug? I want to check that out asap

 

[NISSAND40]

I haven't been doing it regularly and may not do so, because of what I've been learning about fuels here in Australia.

Diesel fuel uses a cetane rating instead of an octane rating. The higher the cetane number (CN), sooner the fuel starts to burn when being compressed and the more complete its combustion during a combustion downstroke.

Knowing this, I looked at the various fuels available in Australia.

Mobil - is sold indirectly now, and may or may not have additives or modifiers in the fuel (such as biodiesel of unknown quantities). Mobil seem to be reluctant to release the CN for their diesel. With this said, I've never had a problem with Mobil fuels and in particular have had quite good results from what may have been a 20% bio mix.

Shell - runs straight diesel (no detergents) with a typical CN of 49.

Caltex diesel has a detergent added and typically has a CN of 51-52 but that's not guaranteed - they only say that it will "never fall below 46".

BP - runs two variants of diesel on the east coast. Both have detergents added, one claims a CN of 51-52 (normal diesel) and BP Ultimate Diesel claims a CN of 55-60. BP Ultimate seems to only be available inside the Sydney Metro area (use this page to locate a station in Australia).

So there's not much difference between Caltex and BP, both have detergents added and both have similar CN. With the higher CN, your diesel should rattle less and smoke less, but you won't see a massive boost in power.

I've changed my buying habits - I was leaning towards Shell, but am now mostly Caltex/BP.

Thanks Tony. Spot on info

 

[JPMC]

I'm guessing seen you had a DPF that your ute is a preface lift one so the by memory the glow plugs are situated on the right hand side of the engine (when your standing in front of it) just above the exhaust manifold. there is one plug for each cylinder joined together by a metal bracket that kind of zig-zags back and forth between the plugs.

On the 450 it's on the left side just below the injector tubes and joined by wires only no metal bracket.

On cold start up the glow plugs heat up and stay warm until the engine reaches 80°C then it switches off.

 

[NISSAND40]

so it's a easy DIY to replace.. awesome. Cheers mate

 

[JPMC]

Remove glow plug only if necessary.
If carbon adheres, it may be stuck and broken or may break off in the head.
When removing or installing, do not use such tools as an air impact wrench.
Handle it carefully without giving any impact, even after removal. [As a guide, if it drops from
height of 10 cm or higher, always replace it.]