04 Tdci 1.4 Fiesta Smokes Badly Till Warm

[fixorrepairdaily]

Can you HELP me!

I brought a fiesta van 1.4 tdci and its a lovely car to drive but its some what embarrassing on start up due to the clouds of smoke coming from the exhaust.

The smoke is a blue ish colour and goes after a couple of mins

While cold it runs lumpy and there is also a slight vibration around 1200 rpm

The last thing is that when I slow down and then want to speed up again there is a knocking noise but I'm really not sure if its normal for a diesel.

Many Many Thanks for having the time to help. K

[johnH]

Blue smoke is caused by engine oil entering the cylinder area and being burned along with the fuel air mixture. As with the white smoke, just a small drop of oil leaking into the cylinder can produce blue smoke out the tailpipe. Blue smoke is more likely in older or higher mileage vehicles than newer cars with fewer miles.

How did the engine oil get inside the cylinder in the first place? The car has many seals, gaskets, and O-rings that are designed to keep the engine oil from entering the cylinder, and one of them has failed. If too much oil leaks into the cylinder and fouls the spark plug, it will cause a misfire (engine miss) in that cylinder, and the spark plug will have to be replaced or cleaned of the oil. Using thicker weight engine oil or an oil additive designed to reduce oil leaks might help reduce the amount of oil leaking into the cylinder.

http://www.trustmymechanic.com/troubleshoot_smoke.htm

[fixorrepairdaily]

Blue smoke is caused by engine oil entering the cylinder area and being burned along with the fuel air mixture. As with the white smoke, just a small drop of oil leaking into the cylinder can produce blue smoke out the tailpipe. Blue smoke is more likely in older or higher mileage vehicles than newer cars with fewer miles.

How did the engine oil get inside the cylinder in the first place? The car has many seals, gaskets, and O-rings that are designed to keep the engine oil from entering the cylinder, and one of them has failed. If too much oil leaks into the cylinder and fouls the spark plug, it will cause a misfire (engine miss) in that cylinder, and the spark plug will have to be replaced or cleaned of the oil. Using thicker weight engine oil or an oil additive designed to reduce oil leaks might help reduce the amount of oil leaking into the cylinder.

http://www.trustmymechanic.com/troubleshoot_smoke.htm

OK so i understand that its blue smoke and that it entering where it shouldn't but how could i go about finding where its happening and is there any advice people

[FordFan]

Hi, This could also be down to a fuel system fault. I have an 03 Fusion with the same engine & the same symptoms. It was fine untill the injector seals failed, a common problem apparently. These were replaced by a local garage & since then the car has been throwing out blueish whiteish smoke when cold & seems to have a missfire, it all settles down once warmed up. (Also can be a bugger to start sometimes when cold.) It has now been to two other garages & a diesel expert to try to sort. First I was told the injectors needed recoding but this now seems unnecessary on this engine? All other causes have been investigated & ruled out & the diesel man is now saying they could have damaged an injector when removing them to replace the seals resulting in unburned fuel entering the exhaust & causing the smoke, or it could be down to air entering the fuel system which would also cause smoke of this colour & account for the missfire/bad starting. It now looks like I'm going to have to get it all stripped down again so the injectors can be tested & the fuel lines checked. Any further experiances of this or possible causes/cures would be gratefully received. Thanks all

[fixorrepairdaily]

Hi, This could also be down to a fuel system fault. I have an 03 Fusion with the same engine & the same symptoms. It was fine untill the injector seals failed, a common problem apparently. These were replaced by a local garage & since then the car has been throwing out blueish whiteish smoke when cold & seems to have a missfire, it all settles down once warmed up. (Also can be a bugger to start sometimes when cold.) It has now been to two other garages & a diesel expert to try to sort. First I was told the injectors needed recoding but this now seems unnecessary on this engine? All other causes have been investigated & ruled out & the diesel man is now saying they could have damaged an injector when removing them to replace the seals resulting in unburned fuel entering the exhaust & causing the smoke, or it could be down to air entering the fuel system which would also cause smoke of this colour & account for the missfire/bad starting. It now looks like I'm going to have to get it all stripped down again so the injectors can be tested & the fuel lines checked. Any further experiances of this or possible causes/cures would be gratefully received. Thanks all

Seems un-cannie how everyone seems to have this problem with this engine. I'm really hoping to get it sorted because its pretty damn embarrassing to start from cold.

Keep me updated on the latest and lets see if we can fix another fault of fords,

Ps I'm taking it in to my local garage for a full diagnostic test on Wednesday as my hand held didn't bring any codes up

I now have to try to start it a couple of times when really cold but also it seems to work if i turn the key on then wait for a second or two before starting - almost like old coil packs for diesel

[fixorrepairdaily]

Seems un-cannie how everyone seems to have this problem with this engine. I'm really hoping to get it sorted because its pretty damn embarrassing to start from cold.

Keep me updated on the latest and lets see if we can fix another fault of fords,

Ps I'm taking it in to my local garage for a full diagnostic test on Wednesday as my hand held didn't bring any codes up

I now have to try to start it a couple of times when really cold but also it seems to work if i turn the key on then wait for a second or two before starting - almost like old coil packs for diesel

Right. I took it into the college today and the teacher and 4 other mechanics came around the car to have a look.

Talking about what it does they came up with the conclusion that it was one of the following

1: possible glow plug fault: One of them not warming

2: injector seals allowing gasses in on start up and until warm

3: faulty injector.

They did say that if the problem is left and its the seals it could be a costly job and i might struggle to remove the injectors if its let go on.

All in all could be good news or could mean a couple of hours extra work and some expensive labor. I will keep you all updated