Emergency/make do repair help please......

[boathead]

Hi, I have an S60 D5 with 225,000 miles on the clock. It is smoking really very badly under and kind of acceleration or loading, it is gently surging the power in and out too, and has shut down, restarts but then power in, then no power, power in then........... Prior to this I have had for many monthsbeen ignoring the squeel/howl which came in under heavy acceleration. I suspected it was an intercooler problem, holed pipe or such like. This howl has gone at the same thime that it began pumping black smoke. Now I still suspect the intercooler because if I do ignore the smoke and accelerate I can feel the power is ok so the turbo seems fine, but still there is a surge then smoke and power loss, then surge again. I have to keep the old girl running for a week as I am in a seriously remote area of Scotland and can only really deal with this in a week or so.

Is it possible in a simple make do fashion (It is dire weather here just now) to bypass the intercooler to see if it helps, I can live with smoke but worry it will die again as it did yesterday. After repeated attempts to start she did and holding her at 3500rpm got her back, today she ran for 25 mile round trip smoking and gently surging but at least going, on Tuesday she has to get South to Aberdeen and back, then I can change the intercooler.

I have taken off the electrical plug from the top of what I assume is the intercooler boost pipe where it goes into the turbo in the hope it will stop 'limp mode' cutting in..... help and advise appreciated, and again, can I be given an easy means of cutting out the intercooler/blanking it?

Cheers.

[Tomcat]

If it is the intercooler then it will be sucking in unmetered air, this will cause the car to run too rich (I know this from experience because mine did it..although mines a petrol). If it is then see if you can cobble the intercooler pipes so they bypass the intercooler alltogether, this would eliminate the unmetered air from the system.

Just out of interest, what makes you think it's the intercooler?

[mike 850]

from my experience with a d5 holes in the intercoolers are very common, to test mine i blanked one end of the intercooler off and pressurised the other side with a foot pump, it wouldn't hold any pressure, when i got it of it had a proper buldge and 4 holes! maybe try and bodge something to test it

[boathead]

I think it is the intercooler because for some months it has, under heavy acceleration or pulling a livestock trailer uphill, made a howling noise which would go off if I took pressure off the accelerator, I took this to mean there was air escaping under pressure from the intercooler, checked the pipes and no obvious holes or splits. Basically a calculated guess and as the car starts and runs and has power if pushed beyond the 'surge' or 'hesitant' zone I thought the turbo was probably ok, ..... hmmm, unless there is a solenoid for the turbo????? that could be playing up and maybe cause the power surge and smoke,...... but not the noise, which has now gone since the problem became so much worse........ All guesswork though.

[mike 850]

have a look under the car at the intercooler, see if it looks like its warped it may have a black patch if its leaking, if your not sure what your looking for google d5 intercooler bulge and you'll see what i mean, I can imagine the noise has gone if the holes got big enough!

[graemewelch]

with put doubt its some kind of boost like. either intercooler or boost pipe. split pipes are hard to find and often need to removed to be inspected

[boathead]

have a look under the car at the intercooler, see if it looks like its warped it may have a black patch if its leaking, if your not sure what your looking for google d5 intercooler bulge and you'll see what i mean, I can imagine the noise has gone if the holes got big enough!

Will google it, but weather really bad, howling wind, i'll begin again tomorrow morning, meantime any other thoughts from anyone, please keep them coming.

[boathead]

with put doubt its some kind of boost like. either intercooler or boost pipe. split pipes are hard to find and often need to removed to be inspected

Removed boost pipe, assuming it is the one from air filter housing to turbo, and all seemed ok, but as you say, difficult to spot damage and there are other pipes so gonna check intercooler as best I can in morning if this wind and rain will ease.

Can anyone advise if by removing the electical plug from the top of the boost pipe at turbo end, as I have done, this will stop the limp mode cutting in as I'm guessing this is what was stopping me yesterday, it's running today though obviously she aint happy, but only done maybe 30 miles, yesterday she completely cut, without warning, after maybe 80 miles.

Cheers folks.

[LiamT4]

Do you know if its still on the original turbo? if it is, then i'd imagine its seen better days as well.

[boathead]

Original turbo yes, never made and noises or given any indication of it's age, really don't think the problem is there, again though it could be solenoid for turbo, had one go on the truck we have up here and it shut the turbo down, this is more on off than that so again dont think it's the problem but does feel like is't a pressurising then depressurising intercooler, ......... can I just disconnect the boost pipe from the air cleaner and turbo, blanking it off temporarily?