Loads and Loads of white smoke ?

[90&110]

Hi all,

110 HT 300TDI with 135,000 miles on the clock (would'nt take this as correct)

Heres what happened about a 20 mile drive on country roads so on and off the loud pedal and i drive "like i stole it" after the 20 miles i had to stop for some bussiness, i always let it tick over for 2-3 minutes before i shut it down. Returned to it between 5-10 minutes no longer than 10 minutes started it up and as normal smooth tick over....................but holy f**k in my left hand mirror white smoke (yes WHITE) was pouring out of the exhaust, sat there for about 2 minutes (keeping an eye on warning lights and temp gauge but all normal) till it filled the carpark like a smoke screen and then with embarrassment i moved off with the smoke getting lighter untill the exhaust was clear and only black smoke coming out on full power. I still had another 25 miles to go, do i carrie on or turn around and go home and get something else. I carried on keeping an eye on the oil light and temp gauge and exhaust the whole time, the only time i would see anything out of the exhaust is when pulling away after sitting at tick over at traffic lights i would get a blue haze (burned oil smoke) just when pulling away from a stop.

I stopped in a layby for a quick check over oil level ok, water level ok i was stopped for 5-10 minutes and the same again after start up loads of white smoke the full of the exhaust pipe and fading away to nothing as i drive off, still takes about 1/4-1/2 mile to clear. Got to where i was going and it was let sit for about 6 hours, i checked it for oil and water before setting of for home 45 miles keeping an eye on everything made it home ok. The blue haze is there when pulling away after its been ticking over.

It only produces the smoke screen after a long sweet drive 10 + miles.

The only way to describe the smoke is on one episode of Top Gear Clarkson was trying to out run a tank in a Range Rover and he nipped into the trees with the RR and the army put up a smoke screen with the tank, yes that bad.

Timing belt done about 7,500 miles ago using a timing kit, oil and filter only about 3000 miles done, no water in the fuel filter and the air filter is clean.

Water level never changed and the oil level droped a little.

What is it ? is it the TURBO ? do turbo seals weep a little first before they let go altogether ?

If its not the turbo is it the HEAD GASKET ? would it cause these symptoms ?

I don't want to pull of the head if its the turbo and vice versa..................i don't need more problems.

Thanks.

Sorry for the long winded version but i feel the more you know the better.

[fatforbes]

I used to get a problem similar to this and it turned out to be my diesel pump timing. but it could be water burning due to the head gone or the valve stem seals letting oil through or faulty injector/s. my local diesel place tests injectors for free so that could be a wise place to start. process of elimination really, sorry I couldn't be more specific

[Mr Bean]

I had it similar once on a 2.5 N/A diesel it was head gasket failure. But there could other problems that cause this.

i would get the engine pressure tested first.

IIRC

Blue smoke = Oil

Black smoke = Excess fuel

White = Water

But wait for confirmation from someone else.

[Les Henson]

I would go for head/gasket. When the engine is hot, there's a bit of pressure in the system. With the engine switched off, that pressure may well push water through the gasket and into one of the cylinders.

Alternatively, cracked head to the exhaust side, but same scenario - coolant pressure leaks water into the exhaust manifold. Both of these would produce white smoke, and even though your coolant level seems ok, it expands when hot anyway, so an accurate measurement of the level is not possible really. 300TDi heads do have a habit of cracking, so if you take it off, get it crack tested/skimmed. If the head is cracked in the way I have descibed, then a compression test won't necessarily show it up.

Smell the smoke - if it's not diesel, then I would say head or gasket.

Les.

[Phil]

My '02 110 lays down smoke as you describe, but only when I set off after it's been standing idling for a long period. It runs very well otherwise and I simply cannot find the cause. Just had the head off and all's well there, checked timing and looked for coolant leaks......you name it!

If you find what causes it, do let me know!!

Cheers,

Phil.

[Yohann]

Hi - newbie here with a tale of woe.

I dropped an International HS 2.8L engine (upgraded 300tdi lump) into my 200tdi SW - ran like a dream until the first emission test last week during which the engine was revved up to 3500 rpm - after a minute or two the thing literally went up in smoke. The following resulted:

1. Plumes of white smoke at idle and when running - smoke smells of diesel, not steam

2. engine runs rough - clearly one or more cylinder(s) are misfiring

3. oil trickles through turbo into exhaust.

Interestingly, when the turbo is disconnected, the smoking stops, at least at idle

On the input side, the Bosch service centre confirmed that the injectors are b*ggered - looking further up the line at the fuel filter and the fuel tank, looks like contaminated diesel - cloudy with tiny particles. My hypothesis is that the hard revving sucked in debris ina few minutes which may other wise have taken a leisurely few months to build up.

On the output side, I have been advised by the Intl agents that likely cause is restricted air filter or too much engine oil - pretty sure neither was the case. I am also advised that this could have affected one or more of the pistons / piston rings.

I am not sure whether I am dealing here with more than one issue. Any views and advice would be much appreciated!!

Thanks.....