I have a 2006 fusion 1.4 tdci with 38000 on the clock.

The injectors were done at 20000mls but there is some white smoke from the exhaust.

There is no emulsion in the engine/cap/dipstick or in the header tank.

The vehicle was left standing for over 4 months before I bought it.

I've had the vehicle for 6 weeks but have only driven it around our property as the next job is belts & pump before going on the road.

As this is a project car I'm rectifying all the problems from the neglectful previous owner.

My fitter who knows these engines reckons the fuel which was low, may have been contaminated with water, which would coencide with the poor fuel which was coming into the UK.

He recommended adding a purge & premium diesel to the tank, & take it for a good run.

It doubtful it's the head gasket, just an injector as the fuel is not combusting properly.

The engine starts & runs like a swiss watch, sometimes with very little if any white smoke.

Your thoughts are welcome 😁

24 minutes ago, Fred fusion said:

He recommended adding a purge & premium diesel to the tank, & take it for a good run.

Seems like good advice. Have you tried doing what he suggested ?

Purge is in & mixed with 5lts of fresh premium fuel, I'll wait till the belts & pump are done, before a good run.

My son had the same problem on his focus ST, the garage was selling fuel very cheap, I think he got there when the tanks were almost empty, hence water in the fuel.

Lucky it was under warranty, the ford garage indicated his wasn't the only car suffering.

We imported diesel from the states, it was mixed with an unknown to give it the proper grade, it didn't work😞

Thanks for your reply.

4 minutes ago, Fred fusion said:

We imported diesel from the states, it was mixed with an unknown to give it the proper grade, it didn't work

Are you not in the UK ? 🤔

Uk certainly, but being a chemical technician I keep an eye on the fuels, that rubbish we imported from the states is very poor quality, their octane level is well below European standards.

The problem with putting fuel tanks in the ground is the water table plus pressure.

drain the tank if you think it may be contaminated, refill to 50% and carry out a longer distance italian tune up.

Maybe i have been lucky, but in my 34 years of owning and running diesels i have never had any contaminated fuel, tried all different brands / grades - supermarkets, shell, bp, esso etc... never noticed any difference in running, performance or economy.

I’m just curious, how are you able to state definitively that the specific fuel in your tank originated in the US?

We imported vast quantities of diesel from the states at the time of the conflict in Ukraine.

Although we imported oil from the middle east, we still had to frac the oil to obtain the fuel we needed.

This takes time, & the last fuel to frac is diesel, which is known as a "heavy bottom".

Diesel in the USA is not the preferred fuel of choice, it's mainly used for HGV's & train's, petrol or gas is never going away anytime soon.

 

Ty. But while very informative and insightful none of that addressed the question about the actual fuel in the actual tank. Cheers