Blueish smoke and general loss of power (kinda)

[mr strong]

HI,
Can you help please,
My 1.6 Non-turbo Diesel has a nasty moking habit, Once she has warmed up and the general start up fumes have cleared, she puffs out blueish smoke, constantly, not horrendous but constant and more under power. Add to this a loss of power - not that shes a rocket ship anyway- but only 50 mph flat out rather than 60 ish prior to this smoking habit.

I am hoping for some advice on a fairly cost effective ( cheap) fix before I go out and buy new injectors etc and spend serious funds .


no starting issues and no lights remain on on the dash when running.
I tried some injector cleaner in a tank of diesel but hasnt really had any affect.
I believe its a CS engine but dont hold me to it. ( 83 A reg)

Any kind words?

[mr strong]

HI, Theres more , when idling she is running a bit lumpy, could this be an injector problem as firth thought. - IF ig give it a blip it settles down again.
????

[ewenmaclean]

Hello,

this should probably be posted in the mechanical section as it's not an alternative engine, and you may get more people's opinions. Blue smoke normally indicates oil burning - I'd check your oil level first and do a compression test if possible. If you were overfuelling due to bad injectors I'd expect black smoke rather than blue. Trouble is the colour of smoke is often a matter of perception.

Checking the easy things like timing and filters is a good idea in any case, but if it is burning oil then there's no cheap fix I'm afraid. Would be good to know your oil level and what type of oil you're using.

Ewen

[mr strong]

Thanks , will do,
First time in the forum so forgive the bad placement of the post.

Cheers.

[mr strong]

HI Ewen,
Its currently using 15/40 mineral oil for Diesel engines ( some tesco budget stuff) so probably not helping the issue,

Hasnt lost a drop all summer, which is what made me think of injectors.

Is there a special oil that would do abetter job?

[ewenmaclean]

Hello,

I think the kind moderators have put this in the right place now! I'm not an expert on oil for the 1.6 - other people are, but what you're using is what's mentioned in the wiki and I'm sure is fine. If it hasn't lost a drop then I was wrong about the oil consumption. I would check your filter - drain off the water at the bottom, and verify that the air filter is ok - those are easy things to do. You can get your injectors balanced by a diesel specialist which may be a sensible thing to do, but it could be so many things including timing for example - do you ever use the cold start advance?

If I ignore the colour of the smoke, then it may also be air ingress from the pump - worth checking the lines from the tank to the pump, and the lines from the pump to the injectors. Also sometimes as the main pump shaft wears they start to suck in air which causes bad performance and associated smoke. Out of interest how does your coolant look, and what's its level?

Hope you find the problem

Ewen

[croc]

Hi there
Not an expert on diesels but have had some time with them.
1. It takes very little oil to make blue smoke, how many miles have you done??
2. As Ewen says, injectors and injector nozzles can lead to bad combustion - generally blue smoke for oil, black smoke for fuel issue, white for water (steam), also all other fuel supply items
3. Air filter suspect - soaked with oil??
4. injector input drive shaft seal can allow oil to enter some injector pumps if mounted direct on timing gear case (dont know if this applies to this VW engine)
5. Does your engine oil smell, fairly strongly, of diesel? Blue smoke from engine oil being injected but oil use made up by (some) diesel fuel getting into sump? Just a thought, may be fantasy!
5. Opinion from a diesel injection expert (not me!) told me mechanical injection engines can nearly always be made to run even if sick - not so the newer computer controlled inject systems!!
Good luck with this.
Perhaps you could report back here when problem solved??
Added - whitish smoke can also be bad injection timing, ie late, this is unburnt diesel fuel and really pungent, eye-watering smell. Not your problem though.
Best
jon

[kit]

Blue smoke oil I am afraid, loss of power could be fuel filter and as that is the cheapest thing to replace start there.

[mr strong]

HI Guys,
So far , changed the air filter , just general dirt in it, no oil or other moisture,

Never needed to use the cold start advance, could this be jammed open or something?

Fortunately , the engine oil only smells of oil .

Mileage is a tough one as it reads 107k but its so old Im guesssing its only 100+k ,as there arent enough digits on the mile-ometer, so could be 200K .

Ive heard tales about changing the gear box oil can increase performace. I havent done this so lord only knows when it was last done.
Any truth in this??

Isnt it meant to have one or two small in line fuel filters in the fuel line between tank and engine?, ( judging by pics Ive seen) these are absent on mine.
Dont have a manual and getting confused between filters, one looks like a glass bowl affair , and the other looks like an oil filter, both have drain plugs . checked both nothing of any significance came out of either.

By now you can guess the level of my mechanical knowledge ........

[kit]

The glass bowl is non standard, look in and see if you can see any air bubbles.

[mr strong]

HI Kit,
No bubbles, no gunge , not even sure what this item is but fuel runs through it about the size of a tea mug, rounded bottom on it, looks like it belongs. ????
Al.

[croc]

Point about miles done was to clarify your comment about -

Hasnt lost a drop all summer,

.
Over how many miles, approx, have been done when you say this??

[kit]

HI Kit,
No bubbles, no gunge , not even sure what this item is but fuel runs through it about the size of a tea mug, rounded bottom on it, looks like it belongs. ????
Al.

I am not sure either as I have never seen one, but it does sound like rings try pulling out the cold start when ticking over and look to see if that affects the smoke situation?

[croc]

Your glass bowl thingy is probably a water separator and large dirt particle remover.
Whether original or not it is probably worth having, water will collect in the bottom and can be seen as different colour which is quite distinct.
They generally dont cause any significant restriction unless they also incorporate a paper filter element.

[mr strong]

Ive covered about 500 miles this summer,plus trundling around the houses.