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Smoking 06Plate Ghia X


ghiaxkev
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Hi all. My first post here.

Ive just bought an 06 plate ghia x tdci 2.0 130bhp euro 4 with 65k miles.

The garage i bought it from is roughly 130 miles away. Anyway on the way home i noticed that when i floor it in any gear smoke comes out the exhaust. It looks a fair bit from the rear view mirror. Cant tell if black or white really

When i got home i parked up and got the missus to rev it while stationary and black smoke really puffed out everytime but if she held the high revs, apart from the initial puff, no more smoke came out. So guessing its black smoke when i was driving it home.

It does it whether the engine is cold or hot.

So i rang the garage and he told me that it has been sitting for about 2 weeks so should just need a blow out with carbon build up in the exhaust and will clear in a few days.

Well ive taken it out many times and given it the beans and no change. Even driving at 50-55 in 3rd gear for a few miles. It still smokes the same and its been 4days. Ive put 290 miles on it since i bought it.

Bit more info. I have no warning lights come on the dash at all and it pulls well in all gears so dont seem to have any loss in power. Feels smooth with no juddering or knocks and i cant hear any whooshing noises for air leaks. Its got a full service history and had one the day before i bought it and passed its mot with no advisory 3weeks ago.

he gave me 30days warrenty for major mechanical work so got 3 and half weeks left just wondered if i should continue trying to blow it out or if their is something else wrong with it in which case ill probably need to call him again. If so would this be covered by garages warrenty as only had car 4 days.

This is my first ford and diesel car so any help would be very much apprecited

thanks

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Prime suspect is the EGR valve. It gets proper clogged up with carbon and it'll smoke like hell.

The only way to deal with it is to take the EGR valve off and give it a clean - it's a pretty easy job that you can do by yourself. I'm assuming the EGR is at the front of the engine on your car. Just undo the hose clip on the lower pipe, undo a couple of bolts, take the electrical connector off to remove it.

Carefully scrape off as much of the carbon as you can with a flat screwdriver. When you've done that you'll need to clean it up proper with a can of carb cleaner. Have LOADS of newspaper and a box of nitrile gloves on standby because it's a very messy job.

You should also take the inlet manifold off (easy to do while you have the EGR off - it's only held on with about ten bolts). Scrape the carbon out of the eight ports on the front of the engine carefully with a screwdriver too, but put the hoover nozzle near it to suck up the debris, as you don't want chunks of carbon going down into the engine. Then clean the manifold itself (the bit you removed), as you did with the EGR valve.

The car will still smoke - it's a diesel and that's what they do. But it'll almost certainly be to a much lesser extent.

You can add a blanking plate to the EGR valve but there are pros and cons in doing this. Pros, the EGR won't get full of filth again. Cons, the engine warning light will almost certainly come on (with no ill effect- just depends whether you can live with the warning light on all the time). Don't get a cheapy thin blanking plate because it'll just burn through. Also don't be tempted to get one of the blanking plates with a hole in (which supposedly prevent the EML coming on) - they are completely pointless.

[edit] Oh, just to add - I don't think the garage warranty will cover it (it might, you can ask). It's not a "fault" per se, just an adverse side-effect of the design of the engine. I've been told by a mechanic [and people here] that because of the engine being prone to carbon build up in the EGR and the turbo, it's beneficial to drive it like you stole it every once in a while to blow the proverbial cobwebs out.

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Thanks for the reply.

Ill try him in the morning but by what you say i wont hold my breath that he'll get it sorted under warrenty. Unless i start going down the 'unfit for purpose' ball ache route lol. Ifs it simple to do myself i.might have to give it a go. Is there any step by steps with pictures or video guides for it on here anywhere??

And if after cleaning it still the same what else could it be?

Im hoping a clean will sorr it out, or at least reduce it, and ill check some hoses while i got the kit off for splits but what would be next to look for??

Oh and ciuldnt i get the eml turned off ir something after blanking it? And would.it have any adverse effects like if im stopping the sooty carbon getting to the inlet etc surely its gotta go somewhere....

Sorry but im not a mechanic so dont laugh too hard lol

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Oh and yes the egr is at the front left of the engine

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Sounds like not just an EGR but perhaps a cracked or split intercooler pipe or hose.

Definately get it back to the garage as they should rectify it as part of the mandatory warranty they must offer. (see my signature)

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Thanks for the reply.

Ill try him in the morning but by what you say i wont hold my breath that he'll get it sorted under warrenty. Unless i start going down the 'unfit for purpose' ball ache route lol. Ifs it simple to do myself i.might have to give it a go. Is there any step by steps with pictures or video guides for it on here anywhere??

I found this video guide for the EGR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn21Svlw2LU

The inlet manifold is the bit directly behind and to the right of the EGR (as you look at the front of the car) - it's only held on with a bunch of bolts and is dead easy to remove - they are captive bolts so no chance of them getting lost inside the engine. There are eight ports each with a rubber gasket - remove the gaskets (they just pull off) and keep them safe, so they don't fall somewhere they shouldn't. Some people say to renew them when you clean the inlet manifold but unless they're damaged/perished I personally wouldn't bother.

And if after cleaning it still the same what else could it be?

I'll have to let somebody else answer that one. But in my experience it will still smoke to an extent no matter how well you clean the EGR. I've also noted that after recently having the turbo cleaned on mine (the vanes were stuck due to carbon build-up inside the turbo), it's a lot less smoky, but that's a whole discussion in itself!

Oh and ciuldnt i get the eml turned off ir something after blanking it? And would.it have any adverse effects like if im stopping the sooty carbon getting to the inlet etc surely its gotta go somewhere....

You should be able to clear the DTC code with a simple OBD-II code reader from eBay - that'll turn the EML off. Although it will only come on again after a period of time. How long? Some people never get the EML on, while others (i.e. me) get it lighting up within five minutes of clearing the code, which annoyed me to the extent of just removing the blanking plate again.

Sorry but im not a mechanic so dont laugh too hard lol

Me either. I've learned through long and bitter experience.

Sounds like not just an EGR but perhaps a cracked or split intercooler pipe or hose.

Why do you say that? (I'm not saying you're wrong, just wondering why you said it!)

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thanks for the replies and the video link. i will try it wednesday as have a half day at work so will give it a proper clean. have got some carb cleaner and plenty of gloves and news paper. this should be interesting :D

the bloke at the garage that sold me the car is back in on wednesday as well as on holiday mon and tues so will give him a bell before starting anything just in case he decides to be nice and get it done properly for me.

is there no way to get rid of the eml light, because of the egr being blanked, permanently or is it a case of ecu remapping kind of thing??

and your signature link jeebowwhite makes for interesting reading. if he says he wont cover anything and i do the egr myself and it doesnt solve anything would that then put me at risk of not getting him to cough up for any work as i have then 'fiddled with it'???

many thanks

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I don't think there's any way you can permanently get rid of the EML. A few people have claimed that after a couple of weeks it goes off by itself, while other people will tell you it stays on forever.

From my perspective it all looks a bit random. Some people get EML on straight away, some never get it (I'm talking EuroIV here). For some it goes off by itself, for others it doesn't. I guess all you can do is try it and see what happens. You won't get any performance problems either way.

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Hi BigD,

The black plume of smoke coming out the exhaust is often not just the carbon, but the unburnt diesel. I had a crack in my intercooler pipe, and I wanted to blank the EGR off. Thinking that it was just carbon, I blanked the EGR off, and after driving it, I was still smoking like a factory. Eventually I got round to replacing the intercooler pipe and that fully resolved all smoking.

The issue is that the intercooler pipe and hoses, if you get a small (or large in my case) split or crack in the system, mass amounts of air leak out, the fuel doesnt burn properly, you lose power and poof smoke like there is no tomorrow.

I could be entirely wrong, but its always worth looking for!

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Cant do egr tomorrow now as gotta take my boy to a class so the weekend it is.

Just thought i would mention though that on my way home from work i thought id give it some work to do so really booted it. Like doing 55 in 3rd for a few miles then up to 4th and floored it and it was a constant cloud behind me. I even started smelling something in the car. Pretty sure it was diesel.

Got home and parked up and gave it some revs while stationary and its still the same so any blockage still hasnt been cleared.

Rang the garage and they said that it wasnt covered on their warrenty so told him that a car i just bought shouldnt start billowing with black smoke. After a while of this he told me he would get his manager to call me in the morning.

Thinking this could take a while to sort out unfortunatly

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Call them back again and advise them that they either sort the car under warranty, or you are returning the vehicle as not fit for purpose, and failure to honour the sale of goods act (EC Directive 1999/44/EC) advise them that if you do need to return the vehicle under this, you will be reporting them to trading standards.

If that doesnt get your car looked at, then you phone trading standards, report the breach and they will fire a rocket up their jacksey.

If all else fails, take the car back, get every penny back and take your custom elsewhere.

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Do the repairs have to be done at their garage or can i get another closer to home to do.it under their warrenty? Only ask as its a bit worrying smelling fuel when driving and qould rather not drive.it about 130 to their place. Suppose i should have thought more about that before i bought it really. Not sure how that kind if thing works

still waiting for manager to call. If i aint heard by 4pm today ill give him a call before they close

thanks again for the help. Ill keep you updated

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To be honest, you could call them up and query that. They may pay for a local diagnostics, and if a local garage can do the job cheaper, they are often willing to rent the labour out else where, if you address your concerns to them!

Also, if you have breakdown cover, you could always exagerate the problem and see if you can get a tow up there? :p

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Finally got hold of the manager and he has told me to take it to a local grage and get them to look at it and get a quote. If its reasonable he said i can get it done to save me bringing the car back. But if it too much ill have to bring it back to him for his own mechanics to work on.

So got it booked in this saturday. Really hope it just needs a clean and/or just a split hose and not something stupid like piston rings or injectors etc

least he sounds willing to get it fixed for me.

Thanks for all the help and advice. Very much appreciated. Ill let you know what the garage find on saturday

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Good Luck!

Hopefully all goes well!

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I had a similar problem with my 2.0 TDCi Mondeo.

Yesterday i cleaned the EGR valve out, and air intake manifold, and must have removed around a kilo of carbon deposits that was strangling the air flow to the engine. I also cleaned the Mass Air Flow Sensor too (very easy task).

The car smoked for a while afterwards (black soot was being blown out of the exhaust), after a good blast and some high RPM driving, there is basically no smoke coming from the car...except for the usual diesel smoke under heavy acceleration.

Give the EGR valve a good clean, also do the same for the engine intake manifold and MAF. This will help your car in so many ways.

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Hi all

just an update. Locak garage has looked at the car and done a diagnostics for me. Showed no error codes whatsoever so thats good news.

It needs a new fuel filter and air filter and they are doing the egr and inlet manifold clean for me as well.

Total cost inc labour, both filters and vat comes to £120. Spoke to the garage i got it from and they said for me to get it done and they will pay for it.

So happy days. Saves me, by the sounds of it, a bit of a messy job. Hopefully it will solve the black smoke. If not i guess ill have to take it back to the garage i got it from as from what ive read it'll prob be the injectors gone/on the way out or something ekse quite serious.

Pretty sure an error code would have been found if that was the case though??!!

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Sooty about that knock wrong button has anyone managed to remove the egr on a mk4 as I could only find six bolts for it but wouldn't budge and I didn't want to force it incase I brake something

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Glad to see its all done Kev :) as long as the garage upholds there word... :D

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hi guys

thought id let you know how things have been going on.

dealer paid for the work done so all good on that front lol

the garage did another diagnostic on it and still found no fault codes at all. they did the egr and inlet manifold clean and checked my intercooler pipe (they took it off to check it) and gave me a new fuel and air filter

they found the intercooler pipe fine with no splits or tears in it.

well i have driven the car around for a week giving it some good revs and the problem is still there. i really wouldnt say its even any better to be honest which is worrying. although i dont smell diesel anymore which is a tiny bit reassuring.

so i think im going to have to take it back to the dealer and get them to look at it. just wondered what you guys thought it could be from here???? if it is something like the injectors i would have thought a fault code would have been logged???

if it is them (or something else expensive like £1000+ kind of thing) will the garage have to fix it as i only paid £2800 for the car in the first place or can they deem it uneconomical and just give me my money back etc

many thanks :)

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To be honest, it could be something simple, or it could be the injector coding is lost and they need recoding.

I think that you have the right idea taking the car back to the garage, however, I know you have a long drive ahead of you!

I would suggest contacting them and seeing if they will give you a car to use whilst they fix yours. If the answer is no, then perhaps look to get your car "recovered" by your recovery agent to their garage if they confirm they will deliver the car back to you.

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