Hi All,

I don't pretend to be a motor engineer, but my nephew runs a small garage and our recent experience may be of use to Ford Focus TDci owners. My estate had reached 75k mls and I was getting the message that the DPF needed changing. I have been doing long motorway runs lately and during those runs I was actively trying to force a regeneration, to no avail.

On the last run (to date) when I had nearly reached my destination, I slowed for a roundabout and as I accelerated in 2nd gear the car filled the whole road with a white diesel smelling fog. This is no exaggeration, the cars behind me were invisible. Once I came off the throttle the white smoke disappeared and the engine run as normal. This happened three times in all until on the third time I decided to save the car and was recovered from Leicestershire to Chelmsford (Big thanks to RAC for great service at 5am)

Examining the engine, the turbo was still intact but two injectors were blowing with major carbon deposits. The DPF and two injectors were replaced to no avail. The first trip up the road filled it with the same white fog. The engine oil was examined and found that the level had risen since the last service.

This part is only conjecture but here is what i think is happening on these engines. The DPF regeneration process injects fuel into the exhaust, if the process does not work the fuel finds its way into the sump. The sump oil level rises diluted by diesel, to a level where on deceleration the extra oil in the sump blocks the breather. The engine then two strokes, forcing a mixture of diesel and sump oil past the bores into ithe combustion chamber and maybe into the inlet pipe via the breather. All this extra oil is not ignited and arrives at the turbo which vapourises it. Hence the white fog.

I was fortunate, because I think the next step would be turbo runaway, where the engine runs on its own diluted sump oil.

Moral of the story is don't let your sump oil rise. I have made this post because I spent two weeks trawling the internet forums for an answer to my problem. This may not be your problem, but it is worth keeping an eye on it. Hope it helps somebody.

White smoke emitting from a diesel engine is indeed vaporised, raw, unburnt, diesel

My images are down at present but should return to normal on Sunday 1st November

Oil breather catch Tank 1.6TDCi engine

link:

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/74245-guide-fitting-oil-catch-tank-16tdci-ford-focus-mk2-mk25/

Performance induction filter 1.6TDCi engine

Link:

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/36783-green-cotton-performance-induction-filter-fitting-guide/

Also help prolong the life of the turbo aswell as keeping the DPF clear.

I'm approaching 200,000km in my 1.6TDCi focus and to date never had any problems due to above preventative maintenance within first year of ownership in 2010

Diesel Engines with an active or once active EGR Valve suffer heavily from carbon deposits contaminating the engine oil,

These carbon deposits operate much like cholesterol in the human body gathering in the arteries of the heart;

These carbon deposits mix with the oil and turn to sludge which slowly gathers in the turbo oil feed pipe,

Eventually leading to oil starvation in the turbo causing instant turbo failure.

I've used Wynn's engine flush before and once recommended it, however wynn's formula is a bit too abrasive which strips everything from the engine internals leading to risk of scribing and minute cavitations the product leaves nothing behind only your next fill of oil to protect internals.

The best product on the market to flush out the carbon and other harmful deposits from your engine is from a company called Xado,

They manufacture an organic based engine flush product which also has some revitalizant:

Forms an anti-wear coating on friction parts immediately during oil system flushing

Creates reserve of anti-wear protection properties, prevents possible defects on friction surfaces during further engine operation.

Link: http://www.xadoireland.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=10

This bottle gets poured in to the existing engine oil when the engine has been brought up to operating temperature.

You can then drive for a distance up to 20km/15miles prior to draining the oil.

This makes Total Flush from Xado an ideal product for those of us whom don't carry out oil changes ourselves,

Simply pour the bottle in to the engine prior to leaving your car in to the garage for a service gives great peace of mind and protection.

I've used this product a few times now myself on my 1.6TDCi engine,

I've noticed the engine idles quieter and drives smoother its definitely worth purchasing as part of the routine service on your vehicle.