Running Rich & blue smoke

[Tomcat]

Despite having Major problems with the new car(sump,wheels etc) I've mangaged to do a minor service on her, oil, oil filter, air filter, plugs, fuel filter. Despite all this its still smoking quite badly on tickover, if you rev it loads of blue smoke comes out. There are not warning lights on ( bar the Abs) and the car has been stood for quite some time, also there seems to be an MBC fitted. Could this be down to an airleak?, or perhaps cos its been stood for a good while, due to it not being legal yet it'll be a few weeks before its on the road. Also the plugs when removed where black.

[Mrsmopp]

Hate to say it but..... Turbo! We had the same symptoms with Billie Whizz and had to change the turbo and clear the breathers

x

[racer]

Whilst we're in "Prophet of Doom" mode Moppy.....

Er, this is what caused me to buy another T5. I had the smoke issue, did the hoses, got a new turbo from VT, but it just got steadily worse. I had done a rebuild on the engine, but I didn't do the re-bore and new pistons thing, just went with new rings. It may well have been sucking oil past the rings. I won't know for sure till it gets stripped again, but that's not happening in the near future.

[Tomcat]

Aw come on....... its just one bleedin' thing after another!!, I think I'll wait til its had a good run before I go slash my wrists and hang myself!. I may have to tax the bloody thing first though and I dont want to do that if I'm going to have to shell out yet more money for another engine/turbo!! :cry:

just out of interest how much is a new turbo?? :bricks:

[BlackBeast]

just out of interest how much is a new turbo?? :bricks:

Send yours away to get serviced, turbo dynamics is the only one that comes to mind but there are a few others that do it.

[Tomcat]

How much we talkin' though??

[racer]

PM'ed

[siamblue]

How much we talkin' though??

Will have my 16T up for grabs in the next month ;)

Gary

[Tomcat]

How much are you after for it?, can you PM me please

[Tomcat]

Well I plucked up the courage to replace the turbo today, its not as bad a job as I thought it was going to be but its not solved the smoking problem. The car is fine when its first fired up, but after warming up it smokes its head off!, getting quite a bit of water out the exhaust too. I'm now pretty sure its going to be either the head gaskette or the rings, and being as both of these are going to cost me a fair bit I think its going to be cheaper to just replace the whole engine. Anbody done this?, how hard is it going to be?, and how much can I expect to pay for a lowish mileage engine?.

Pretty damn fed up now.....I've spent a small fortune getting this car sorted out and I need it on the road before the end of April, and now it looks like the engine is knackered....... :sick: :sick: :sick:

[siamblue]

Hi TC it's real bummer when this happens, i have the same scenario, I know what i am doing now, so will let you all know later in a post,
there is a place in Preston selling 2 T5 lumps, 64k and 88k they want £600 each inc of vat and delivery ;) go get it mate, i nearly bought it, but have other plans now,

Gary.


Preston Volvo Centre on 01772 709221 or 07720 006653.



Well I plucked up the courage to replace the turbo today, its not as bad a job as I thought it was going to be but its not solved the smoking problem. The car is fine when its first fired up, but after warming up it smokes its head off!, getting quite a bit of water out the exhaust too. I'm now pretty sure its going to be either the head gaskette or the rings, and being as both of these are going to cost me a fair bit I think its going to be cheaper to just replace the whole engine. Anbody done this?, how hard is it going to be?, and how much can I expect to pay for a lowish mileage engine?.

Pretty damn fed up now.....I've spent a small fortune getting this car sorted out and I need it on the road before the end of April, and now it looks like the engine is knackered....... :sick: :sick: :sick:

[nobananas]

My motor also smokes if you leave it running for a long time. However it is fine first start and on boost and on overrun. I am lucky enough to work at a testing station and have even checked emmissions whilst it is smoking to find no elivation in HC's or C0/CO2 It smells very odd and the smoke is white rather then blue. I have stopped worrying about it now and have put it down to a build up of condensation in the intercooler whilst idling for long periods...probably totally wrong put at least I can sleep at night !

[Tomcat]

Hmm, I'm going to take it round to the local Ovlov garage as soon as its back together again(front bumpers off at the mo) , and have them check the emissions and the cylinder compressions before I fully commit myself. Trouble is the car isnt road legal at the moment and I dont really want to tax and insure it before I know its worth bothering.

[Niles]

Matbe im wrong but blue smoke = to much fuel. grey/black smoke = oil (turbo seals or gaskets or valve oils seals etc.......). Maybe your fuel pressure regulator is clogged or your MAF is squiffy. Could be your Lamda sensor sending spurious signals to the ECU saying it needs more fuel. What duz is smell of? Fuel or oil?

[LeeT5]

Matbe im wrong but blue smoke = to much fuel. grey/black smoke = oil (turbo seals or gaskets or valve oils seals etc.......). Maybe your fuel pressure regulator is clogged or your MAF is squiffy. Could be your Lamda sensor sending spurious signals to the ECU saying it needs more fuel. What duz is smell of? Fuel or oil?

You said it m8, :slap: YES you are wrong - to clarify:

Blue smoke = burning oil
black smoke = excess fuel.

If your car is running rich the plugs maybe black and there will be black ££££ at the end of your exhaust. If you have an MBC fitted then this will naturally occur i garantee it will.

Although most ppl offer good advice in this forum i would definately not have replaced a turbo based on somebody guessing it was at fault so hate to say it Tomcat, but you only got yourself to blame m8, shoulda got it checked properly at a garage with the coorect equipment!!!! (lesson learnt i guess :frown: ).

.....i mean, come on, when you get comments like Niles (no offense but your diagnosis sucks) saying 'fuel pressure regulator blocked' :bog: and 'MAF is squiffy'??? :wtf: is that all about?

Tomcat take my advise m8, go take your car to a decent garage and get them to properly diagnose and rectify your problem - save yourself a load of money and wasted time. Ive been in the trade for 16 years now and i grips my ££££ when ppl with no qualifications in motor mechanics whatsoever think they can help ppl out with ridiculous comments like the above....
If you dont know then please do not comment!!!
I think ppl will agree with me on that, after all howmuch money have you just spent and you are none the wiser....... i rest my case. :B_rant:
Enough said.

Hope you get it sorted soon.
BTW ref your post - Yes it does sound turbo related but valve stem oil seals can produce the same symptoms....if the car has been layed up a while then chances are the seals have gone bone dry and cracked!!!! you cant rule it out m8. For the record, if you want to rule out headgasket then get your coolant system pressure tested and sniffer tested. Only a garage can do this unless you want to buy the equipment (it can be expensive). Good luck.

[Tomcat]

Thanks Lee, this is what I was after, someone to give me an idea of what else it could be. I was really starting to panic, and being as I dont have any diagnostic gear here you tend to start clutching at straws and second guessing yourself all the time. I will wait until I've put the front end back on(bumpers off being sprayed) then I'll whip it round to my local independent and ask them to give it the once over before I start looking for a new engine.

[Niles]

consider myself well & truly told off!!! wont bother again.

[Tomcat]

I've spoken to two independents today, one quoted me £500+vat to do the valve stem seals, the other after me telling him the symptoms said that he'd never had to do the stem seals on an 850 and it was more likely to be the head gaskette. They quoted me £250 -£350 to fix it.

I'm in the process of getting it road leagal then I'm going to take it over to them and let them have a look at it.

[stuAWD]

FAO LeeT5
Top rant mate, Me thinks that post should be the Home page.

[BlackBeast]

I've spoken to two independents today, one quoted me £500+vat to do the valve stem seals, the other after me telling him the symptoms said that he'd never had to do the stem seals on an 850 and it was more likely to be the head gaskette. They quoted me £250 -£350 to fix it.

I'm in the process of getting it road leagal then I'm going to take it over to them and let them have a look at it.

Either way, if its the head gasket or stem seals its a head off job so you might as well get them both done at the same time.

[GuyD5]

consider myself well & truly told off!!! wont bother again.

Hey Niles, don't take it to heart mate ... if everyone who'd tried to help and been shot down in flames by 'more knowledgable folk' took that route there'd only be about three people offering advice here .... it's all a learning curve and I ain't confident enough in 35 years of playing with/building cars to offer my pearls of wisdom in case they go wrong, so you're ahead of me ;) Keep trying to help and sod the rest of 'em ;)

Maybe see you at one of the meets mate, where you based?

[Mrsmopp]

You said it m8, :slap: YES you are wrong - to clarify:

Blue smoke = burning oil
black smoke = excess fuel.

If your car is running rich the plugs maybe black and there will be black ££££ at the end of your exhaust. If you have an MBC fitted then this will naturally occur i garantee it will.

Although most ppl offer good advice in this forum i would definately not have replaced a turbo based on somebody guessing it was at fault so hate to say it Tomcat, but you only got yourself to blame m8, shoulda got it checked properly at a garage with the coorect equipment!!!! (lesson learnt i guess :frown: ).

.....i mean, come on, when you get comments like Niles (no offense but your diagnosis sucks) saying 'fuel pressure regulator blocked' :bog: and 'MAF is squiffy'??? :wtf: is that all about?

Tomcat take my advise m8, go take your car to a decent garage and get them to properly diagnose and rectify your problem - save yourself a load of money and wasted time. Ive been in the trade for 16 years now and i grips my ££££ when ppl with no qualifications in motor mechanics whatsoever think they can help ppl out with ridiculous comments like the above....
If you dont know then please do not comment!!!
I think ppl will agree with me on that, after all howmuch money have you just spent and you are none the wiser....... i rest my case. :B_rant:
Enough said.

Hope you get it sorted soon.
BTW ref your post - Yes it does sound turbo related but valve stem oil seals can produce the same symptoms....if the car has been layed up a while then chances are the seals have gone bone dry and cracked!!!! you cant rule it out m8. For the record, if you want to rule out headgasket then get your coolant system pressure tested and sniffer tested. Only a garage can do this unless you want to buy the equipment (it can be expensive). Good luck.

Lee may I remind you that the forum has rules about shooting people down in flames - or more to the point DONT DO IT!! Your attitude at times is very aggressive and it has been noted, please choose your words carefully in future and have a little respect for others on the forum. If you disagree with something someone says there are ways in which you can say that you disagree without offending people in the process

x

[Babybadger]

You said it m8, :slap: YES you are wrong - to clarify:

Blue smoke = burning oil
black smoke = excess fuel.

If your car is running rich the plugs maybe black and there will be black ££££ at the end of your exhaust. If you have an MBC fitted then this will naturally occur i garantee it will.

Although most ppl offer good advice in this forum i would definately not have replaced a turbo based on somebody guessing it was at fault so hate to say it Tomcat, but you only got yourself to blame m8, shoulda got it checked properly at a garage with the coorect equipment!!!! (lesson learnt i guess :frown: ).

.....i mean, come on, when you get comments like Niles (no offense but your diagnosis sucks) saying 'fuel pressure regulator blocked' :bog: and 'MAF is squiffy'??? :wtf: is that all about?

Tomcat take my advise m8, go take your car to a decent garage and get them to properly diagnose and rectify your problem - save yourself a load of money and wasted time. Ive been in the trade for 16 years now and i grips my ££££ when ppl with no qualifications in motor mechanics whatsoever think they can help ppl out with ridiculous comments like the above....
If you dont know then please do not comment!!!
I think ppl will agree with me on that, after all howmuch money have you just spent and you are none the wiser....... i rest my case. :B_rant:
Enough said.

Hope you get it sorted soon.
BTW ref your post - Yes it does sound turbo related but valve stem oil seals can produce the same symptoms....if the car has been layed up a while then chances are the seals have gone bone dry and cracked!!!! you cant rule it out m8. For the record, if you want to rule out headgasket then get your coolant system pressure tested and sniffer tested. Only a garage can do this unless you want to buy the equipment (it can be expensive). Good luck.

When you say black smoke is too much fuel , is that the same as a browny tinge to it?

[pyrotechnictigger]

You can transport a car legally on the road without tax mot insurance etc:

Insurance: Get somebody to drive it who can drive other cars on their insurance.

MOT: Book the car in for an MOT, its legal to drive to and from a pre booked MOT inspection.

Tax: You cannot tax without the above 2. As long as you are in the process of getting the car road worthy, your AOK.... BUT this is from a friend who is a policeman, NOT CAST IN STONE!!!!!!!

Good luck with the repairs:)

[LeeT5]

Lee may I remind you that the forum has rules about shooting people down in flames - or more to the point DONT DO IT!! Your attitude at times is very aggressive and it has been noted, please choose your words carefully in future and have a little respect for others on the forum. If you disagree with something someone says there are ways in which you can say that you disagree without offending people in the process

x

:sorry:

Look, I'm sorry if you think i was being 'aggressive' ( :whatever: ) but i think my rant was justified. Tomcat spent all that money because of someones third hand guess. OK maybe tomcat could of thought before sticking head in oven (so to speak) but if your gonna give advise than surely it's best if you have some clue about what it is your talking about!!? I know some ppl here agree with me and some dont, but at least i can back up what i say with hard facts and not complete guesses and so rest assured anyone taking my advise will be assured its come from experience or learnt knowledge.

Therefore i would just like to opologise to Niles and sincerely hope he didnt take it personally. :remybussi

If i dont know the answer to a question then i wont respond, never have done.

Anyway nuff said i think.......

[LeeT5]

When you say black smoke is too much fuel , is that the same as a browny tinge to it?

What do you mean, are you talking about what comes out exhaust when you boot it??

You must have seen some old banger mark1 fiesta spewing loads of blue smoke out the exhaust b4....if so, well thats burning oil. IE valve stem oil seals, cos the oil leaks past and gets burnt in the cylinders. If its black smoke then the plugs will probably be sooted up cos the car is running rich. There are other factors of course...

[LeeT5]

consider myself well & truly told off!!! wont bother again.

Oh come on Niles (picked up dummy), i did say, and i quote "no offense, but your diagnosis......"
See...it wasn't personal! :troutslap Was just some constructive critisism that held a valid point. Dont take it to heart. I wasnt trying to shoot you down in flames.

[Jedi]

i had a very similar/the same thing- something told me not to replace the turbo until i could get the engine looked at and bits and bobs replaced first.... i didnt manage to get that far before i lost a cylinder. Apparently it was sucking oil past the rings or something....
I looked into replacing the engine but at the cheapest was going to cost me £700+, that's with my brother doing all that labour just for a crate of Stella.!!! I hadnt got to making any mods on the car so decided to buy a new T5 instead. It's got half the mileage of my old one and i'm now busy scratting for mod-cash for this more worthy brick.

Hope all goes well but sounds like you need to splash some cash to me...
: - (

[Tomcat]

I plucked up the courage today and sneeked out in it, I only went around the block but it was enough to realise that its still smoking its ar*e off!!. To add insult to injury just as I pulled up next to my garage I saw steam come up the side of the bonnet, upon looking I found one of the heater pipes had blown off!, this was probably down to me forgetting that it hadn't clicked back into its fitting properly last time I re fitted it.

I'm now fresh out of ideas, so now its in a driveable state(all bar without tax), I'm gonna run it up to my local independent tomorrow and see if they can tell me whats wrong with the damn thing. I can'r afford to keep throwing money at it and I need to re tax one of my cars at the end of the month.

[nobananas]

Good luck mate ! Incidently, used to have a Cavalier, ran perfectly, used no oil, took it off road for 8 months to do bodywork, put it back on road, smoked like a chimney ! Stripped the engine but could find nothing wrong. Changed piston rings to be on safe side and afterwards it was perfect ! My only explaination could be that the rings had stuck in the grooves after being laid up for so long. Sound familiar ?...anyway hope you get it sorted and it's not too painfull on the wallet !

[Tomcat]

Rang them up this morning to book it in and although they're open, none of the mechanics are in now until tuesday, so yet again I'm just going to have to wait it out.

Ever get the feeling that something just wasn't meant to be?, this thing has fought me all the way. If it's not sorted in the next week or two then it'll have to stay garaged and I'll have to re tax and insure my white one..

[Adge]

Careful with the driving with no insurance! A disqulification could mean you'll have time to save up for the repairs!

[Tomcat]

I have insurance, just no tax. I agree with what your saying but I need to get it sorted asap so I know which car I'm taxing at the end of the month.

[Tomcat]

The car has been into the local independants today, after checking the codes they've diagnosed a knackered engine temp sensor. I'm hoping this was in some way contributing to the smoke problem, I'm gonna pick it up in the morning and see what its like.......

Fingers crossed...

[GuyD5]

hope she's sorted soon Craig ... you've done a lovely job on her with the colour coordination ... she looks a treat :)

[nobananas]

Heres hoping mate. Could be temp sensor reading low telling the ecu that the engines permanently cold and chucking in too much fuel. Trouble is you can always make A=B if you hope hard enough !

[Tomcat]

As long as it was contributing something to the smoking I'll be happy, suppose I'll find out tomorrow when I pick it up.

Oh do you think that £89 for an engine temp sensor and a litre of anti freeze is a good price?