Our Syncro was unused for three weeks whilst we were on holiday. When when we got back we took the van for a spin. On starting up the engine there was a strange cough, then all seemed well. A few minutes later whilst accelerating up hill I noticed that the van was producing large clouds of blue smoke. I pulled over to find oil dripping from the exhaust. I drove the van back home and noticed that the blue smoke only appeared when flooring the throttle uphill. The AAZ engine has never produced large clouds of smoke in normal use. The engine has done around 240 000km and gets 4.5l of semi-synthetic 15-40w and a new oil filter every 4-5000km.
My suspicion is that the turbo oil seals are on the way out. I've read a few forum threads here and in other places which seem to confirm my suspicions. Are there any other things I can check to confirm that the oil seals have gone? Is there anything else that could produce the same symptoms?
A couple of pictures:
There is oil on the outside of the turbo
and on the outside of the inlet manifold. That could be a problem with the rocker cover gasket.
There are four bolts holding the turbo to the exhaust manifold. Does this mean it is a JX manifold and turbo?
Thanks in advance.
Stan
PS the Syncro makes a habit of breaking something during the summer. The last two summers have been water pump dying in Holland (fixed myself) and diesel pump dying in Sweden (cost a small fortune at a main dealer). It had the courtesy to break a couple of kilometres from home this time. Which is something we are rather glad about.
