Smoking D40

[ozzkev]

hi people just been into Brisbane city ute has been going great once we got off the highway .. noticed alot of blue smoke thought it was the old ute behind me ...but no it was the my D40 ... was a very blue smoke ... everytime took off from the lights big puff of blue smoke ....straight away thought bloody turbo seals gone n letting oil through.... The ute was left standing for just over an hour ..all the way home nothing back to normal any ideas what would have done this ...
Cheers Kev

 

[Old.Tony]

I'd guess an overactive PCV. Were you driving it hard on the highway? How's the engine oil level now?

 

[ozzkev]

hi Old Tony yeah wondered it might have been that as well... dumb qusetion mate wheres the PCV ? replace it ? ill chk oil this morning ,,no was driving normal lot of traffic so nah wasnt hard driving at all

Cheers Kev

 

[ozzkev]

I checked a few things this morning oil level is ok full, turbo spinning freely, took the air flow restrictor off, there was oil in it ..let drain prob be 10-20ml come out is this normal ? where is the PCV valve situated ... want to mmake sure is going to be ok got a 1100klm trip with the van soon
Cheers Kev

 

[Old.Tony]

The PCV is necessary but you can circumvent its effect (I'll explain).

Blow-by - combustion gases that slip past the piston rings - pressurise the crankcase area and the PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) takes the overpressure and because it has oil vapour in it, it feeds this into the air intake so that it can be combusted and expelled as ash, which is far less environmentally damaging than oil.

The PCV exits the engine at the top of the camshaft housing at the rear of the engine and the hose connects to the air tube right before it joins to the turbocharger (at which point it should be covered in a metallic ribbed insulating jacket).

You can't legally disconnect this hose, but you CAN extend the line and fit a catch can inbetween to catch MOST of the oil. There are threads on this site with pics on installation and lots of discussion about which ones are good and which aren't.

 

[ozzkev]

g'day tony yeah the ute has done it two more occasions, weird thou i can leave it turned off for 10-20 mins and start the ute again and no more (blue smoke) i have been and bought a catch can ...i also spoke with a Paul at YD25 and he tells me they dont have a PCV valve so is that just a vent at the rear of the engine? he seems to think it might be an injector issue didnt think that would be blue smoke thou ...blue smoke ive always accoicated with oil being burnt...now im confused ! but i think ill still fit this catch can

Cheers Kev

 

[Old.Tony]

Paul is right, it's not a valve, the 'V' stands for 'ventilation'. The gas (with oil vapour) passes out through a hose that connects to the top of the camshaft cover at the rear of the motor and out into the air intake just forward of the turbocharger inlet. Nothing impedes it - which is where the catch can comes in. That shouldn't impede the flow, but should allow the gas to cool which causes the oil to condense in the can before it can be returned to the motor.

Don't dismiss the idea of injector issues, but let's focus on the easier (and decidedly cheaper) stuff first.

How's your EGR? Blocked?

 

[ozzkev]

I didnt wonder about the EGR Tony how would i know that ? i have put a catch can on and i had been a trip into the city today and where it would normally smoke after a run and idling at the lights nothing at all ... iam taking the ute into Paul in the morning he is going to check the injectors for me, dont wether sounds right or please correct me of iam wrong Tony since putting the Catch Can on it seems to be running smoother ?

 

[Old.Tony]

If the catch can has changed the operation of the engine noticeably then there's definitely something causing an excess of oil. How much oil is in the catch can now? Is it filling up fast? It shouldn't be.

If you haven't blocked the EGR then it's likely to be original (unblocked and functional). EGR has caused engines to smoke badly and even fail to start, when the EGR valve sticks open. Blocking it - by putting a 1mm+ stainless steel plate in the intake manifold side where the gold EGR tube bolts to the EGR valve - removes it completely.

Good luck, I hope Paul finds the problem. It could be the injectors, it could be piston rings, cylinder wall scarring, spill line seal ... did you check for diesel fuel in the sump oil? Is your engine oil level rising?

 

[180degrees]

should take it to a injector specialist, no offense to YD25.com

 

[ozzkev]

nah hardly anything in the catch can, nah just done oil n filter change all ok there its slightly overfill surely that wouldnt do it would it Tony ? Ill let you know the outcome tomorrow
Ive had a EGR blank plate in for sometime now
Cheers Kev

 

[Old.Tony]

That's actually good news, if the catch can had filled quickly it could mean there is a problem with the cylinder bores/piston rings, either of which means the motor has to come out and be disassembled.

 

[ozzkev]

Went to YD25 first up not bloody impressed expecting a workshop "forget it" there isnt one! ... Inspected the timing chains 2-21/2 hrs wasnt asked to ! Then he put on the nissan tool to diagnose the problem "didnt have a clue how to use it" not what i was told via the phone ! then had the bloody check to charge bloody $200 ! NEVER AGAIN -- gotta say thou in all fairness "PRETTY WEB SITE" ....pissed off ! Didnt go to get the chains checked already done that in Adelaide and he knew it !

 

[ozzkev]

The ute goes in Tomorrow for a new set of injectors diesel specialist has run the diagnostic on it it showed a variance but idling quite smooth, he described the symtoms down to a tee when the engine was started and driven form cold in his words" sounds likes a ball bearing racing around in there" once the enigine warms up the injectors arnt as loud but still there in normal driving condtions ... idling theres no noise at all, but soon as its driven injector rattle at times quite loud even when hot.. still no oil in catch can, clear reinforced hose's still clean and clear very little blowby !
Turbo checked no play in shaft to speak of, so hopfully injectors will fix the problem.

 

[Old.Tony]

Mine sounded louder from the air box coming apart - check that the side of your air box isn't loose. Cheap fix = 1 tube of black sikaflex = quiet motor again (in my case).