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White smoke from exhaust, smells of oil. Oil level low light on but oil level ok?!

13K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  petapassat 
#1 ·
I bought a 1.9 tdi 130 with 160000 on the clock. Noticed a bit of smoke when I bought it, usually when cold or when warm applying hard throttle, nothing unusual for a diesel. The smoke has become worse and the oil level warning light has come on even though the oil level is between the two marks on the dipstick. It also smokes now a bit when the engine is warm - though not as much and seems to smoke most when pulling off at junctions/lights etc.. I did an oil and filter change, the oil level light didn't come on at first, but 50 miles later it has started coming on again (oil level still ok). The oil that came out at the oil change looked ok, but there was sludge on the filler cap. I've seen a few mentions of sludge issues and would like to hear more of the symptoms of that.
I'm relatively good mechanically wise and am aware it could be a number of things, but first time with a vw tdi so looking for some informed answers here.
 
#2 · (Edited)
I've been waiting for someone to comment as my experience is only with ALH and BRM TDI's. My first question is whether your oil warning is for oil level or possibly pressure? Possibly both? I'd be very suspicious of a loss of oil pressure in any case.

Smoke? White smoke is a sign of no combustion. Blue smoke would indicate oil use. Does your crank case oil have any hint of a raw diesel fuel odor? If the engine is running and belching white smoke, then I'd ask if it seems to be running rough? If rough, then probably a dead cylinder. You should be able to smell raw diesel in the exhaust should this be the case.

If smooth, then either fuel or oil is being injected into the exhaust stream. Since fuel really has no access to the exhaust except via a dead cylinder, this leaves oil which would tend to indicate a bad turbo seal. Obviously this doesn't make sense if your oil level is staying up unless your oil is being contaminated and diluted by raw diesel fuel.

I might begin by removing the valve cover to visually inspect the top end. Sludge could possibly indicate the use of improper oil. Your top end should be black but clean overall. My feeling is a probable plugged oil screen caused by a problem on the top end. This would explain the loss of oil pressure especially as the engine began to rev. While you have the valve cover off it might be logical to inspect the cam and lifters as improper lubrication will cause damage.

Somewhere there is a connection here. Diesels are really pretty simple beasts. Your nose and eyes will be your friends here. Let us know what you find. One further suggestion... Fred's TDI Club. Lots of good folks there willing to assist.
 
#3 ·
Many thanks for your reply Nord. It's been a bit of a headache since this original post and other things have cropped up so it went into a garage.


The smoke problem is still there, but in the garage it was discovered the car was overboosting. The car had been re-mapped badly, and a professional re-map sorted this out. They said it is smoking but this can be due to the build up of carbon from the previous bad re-map and it should go away.

The smoke hasn't gone away and it smells a lot like burning oil so I'm thinking it is the turbo seal gone. To me it make sense, if the previous re-map was producing too much boost then this would put a lot of strain on the turbo. The car itself runs great but as the smoke hasn't gone away and there is still a LOT of smoke I'm taking the car off the road until this is sorted!I'm looking to buy a cartridge replacement for the turbo (£180 as opposed to £650 for a new turbo unit!). My only concern is whether it could be something else, don't want to throw more money at it and still have it smoking!

I've had the pipe off the inlet end of the turbo and there is play in both directions which could suggest too much play, but as pointed out on another thread - my fingers aren't a calibrated tool, AND there will be some play in both directions even on a turbo that is in good shape (the bearings float in the oil which is under pressure when the engine runs).

The engine is clearly burning oil as you can smell it, I'm going to re-check the oil level this afternoon to see if/how much has dropped (couldn't smell diesel in the oil after your suggestion so it should have gone down with the amount of smoke that is bellowing out!)

I shall check the oil and re-post the result!
 
#4 ·
Problem solved, I'll give a brief so anyone with similar problems might get some pointers.
First off, the original smoking would have been blue - not white as I originally posted. Be careful assesing your type of smoke, a friend pointed out the smell of burning oil, and when looking at the smoke again I concluded there was a hint of blue in it.
So initial issue's were - engine burning oil, badly smoking (blue in colour) from exhaust. Milky substance around oil filler cap and a little on dipstick, water coolant going down a cup full every couple of days.
First thoughts were had gasket. This was not the case.
Pressure tested oil cooler and that was faulty. New one put on and oil changed - milky remnants stopped. Plan to flush engine oil out to get rid of any contamination left in oilways etc.
Billowing smoke was cured by new turbo cartridge, much cheaper than a whole turbocharger, and easy enough to replace. After taking off the inlet hose, intercooler hose, starter motor earth cable and turbo arm bracket (underneath car), the cartridge can be removed from the rest of the turbo. No need to remove front of car, exhaust, or inlet manifold.
The turbo failure was either a result of water sludging up the oil feed, or from the daft re-map the previous owner had done, which could easily have killed it with the amount of boost it was producing.
 
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