Ford Focus Knocking And Smoking Bad

[EllisROB]

Hello,

I have a Ford Focus 1.8 tdci on a 02 plate and I've had nothing but trouble. The owner before me is a good friend of mine so I know all the work that has been carried out on it. About a year ago the turbo blew and a reconditioned unit was fitted. It was okay until the intercooler pipe then blew so then that was replaced but ever since I have had the car on hard acceleration the car would cut out and the glow plug light would appear although there would be no fault stored, then it would just start back up and you could carry on until you did it again, I had this diagnosed and it was a fuel injector. The car smoked badly anyway especially when kept at certain revs for long periods of time white smoke would pour out. The mechanic said that is was oil in the exhaust from when the turbo went, I then cut the exhaust off and replaced the fuel injector and had it programmed, this hasn't affected the smoke issue at all. If anything it is now worse with the reconditioned injector. I am pretty sure there is an air lock in the fuel system because of the pipes being cracked off to change the injector air must have gotten in. It now takes a long time to start and as I bring the revs up there is a loud knock that comes from the engine but as you increase it higher it fades out. The revs also drop and rise when holding at certain revs, I am sure this is down to the airlock though. But now it just pools out with white smoke constantly whatever revs, hot or cold, help please, it would be very much apprecieated, thank you, Ellis. 

[STEADS]

Had similar prob with a 2.0 ltr one ended up I'm told off the lad who took it off my hands was the Ecu had naffed up you could end up throwing good money after bad trying to cure it I drew the line and got shot as spares or repair he owned a garage so just got one of his mechs to spend time on it and. It took them a while and with the age of yours is it worth it you have to ask believe me could end up being a bottomless pit .

[EllisROB]

Thanks for your reply, I don't really mind too much how much it will cost as I just want it running. I have put time, money and effort into the project to make it my own and I've grown rather attached to it; hence why I won't put a for sale sign on it. I think that my best bet is to get a diesel specialist to take a look at it and hopefully leave me with an explanation of the problem

[STEADS]

Know what your saying but there does come a time I even had mine into my mates garage and he had a diesel specialist look at it and he was baffled that baffled in fact he didn't come back .i exhausted every avenue .the lad who bought it off me (cheap) did get it running correctly but it didn't really cost him as his mech spent time on it and it did take a while to pin the problem down .

[TomsFocus]

I have read several posts on here with similar problems being resolved by changing just the crank sensor...might be worth a try!

[EllisROB]

I get what your saying, I know there will come a time where I will have to sell but I'll hold onto it for as long as I can lol, it will take a lot for me to get rid of it though, thank you I shall give that a go and change the crankshaft sensor and let you know how I get off, do you recommend changing the camshaft sensor while I'm at it?

[TomsFocus]

Sorry, good job you asked, I've just double checked and it is the camshaft sensor that has been causing other people problems with this engine. (I'm surprised mjt hasn't commented here yet!). I would personally only change one at a time due to the cost of them.

[EllisROB]

Okay I will try that out, this is my problem, I have taken a video and uploaded it, Baring in mind it had been started within the last 20 mins so that's how it turned over easier.

[STEADS]

That sounds to me if its not firing on all four and the smoke I would possibly be looking at a head gasket problem worth a check and easily enough to get a sniff test done at a garage have a look for tell tale signs yourself water in oil emulsion on the oil filler cap coolant dropped .

[TomsFocus]

I'd say the smoke is from the 'misfire', unburnt diesel, rather than steam from HGF personally. Sniff test is easy enough though, to rule that out.

I had a similar issue with a HDi that would lose cam/crank sync at higher rpm but did idle ok...would cut out under load but this is stationary on the drive with foot to the floor, plumes of white smoke when revs were bouncing and cam and crank were out of sync. That was a faulty crank sensor after the temp sensor popped out and covered it in coolant.

Really could do with some better diagnostics on yours really!

[EllisROB]

I had a mechanic out and he has dealer standard equipment such as autel maxidas ect.... And he could not find any stored codes or faults. I will try and replace the camshaft sensor soon, also the smoke does smell like diesel. I will try and remove the air locked in the fuel lines tomorrow by cranking it while cracking the injectors off and see how that goes. I will keep you guys updated :)