Intermittent White Smoke S60 D5 185 Engine

[v_matt_v]

Bill,

Would it be possible if you posted this short movie clip? It could be very useful to all of us.

[definethelight]

Hi, I'll try my best - even if I upload it to my own website and post you guys a link. I'm into graphics - not video, so I'll get one of the motion guys to have a look at compressing it for the web for me. It's not that spectacular - as the smoke was tad bit depleted by that point but you can hear the rattling sound over the wind noise - Watch this space.

[v_matt_v]

Originally Posted by v_matt_v

Bill,

Sorry mate about the wrong name

You can compress the file in a zip file or post it on youtube. I think youtube is the bast way.

[Bill_56]

Originally Posted by v_matt_v

Sorry mate about the wrong name

Wow thanks for clarifying, I nearly submitted a video of myself on holiday with elderly parents last year. Hey, it could've lightened things up?

Seriously, the video clip's a good idea - I'd also be interested in viewing if it's not toooo much effort. But I know these things are never as easy as I'd like them to be.

[Bernard333]

Originally Posted by definethelight

me. It's not that spectacular - - Watch this space.

Dont be too concerned about that , the alternative for me is having to watch CSI /SVU etc on the telly so a video of white smoke coming out the back of a Volvo is far more interesting .

[definethelight]

Hi chaps, Sorry - I will crack on with the video upload as soon as I get a chance. The car is still at the main dealer. I called in yesterday to see how they were progressing. The service manager showed me through to their nice 'clinical' workshop where the tech was working on my engine. He was painstakingly replacing all the wiring to the injectors. He seemed to think that because the second leak-off test was ok, there may be a dodgy connection somewhere and that was causing the injector to 'over-fuel' the car - thus causing the burst of white smoke. He dismissed the DPF as being an issue as there was little build up of soot in the filter and that my driving style (50 mile motorway journeys pretty much every day) would be ideal conditions for regular regeneration's. He also said, that they have had a few customers coming in asking about the regeneration, and has requested (on their behalf) some technical info from Volvo HQ. He said, as we suspected all along, that Volvo simply supply new software to the dealers without telling them the full story! He also suggested that Volvo should issue a revised dip-stick to customers that have had this upgrade to ensure that they, or any other person working on/maintaining their car doesn't over fill the engine with oil. Sound like a bl**dy good idea. They will be road testing the car today - so fingers crossed. I'll keep you up to date. Cheers Scott.

[Bill_56]

Hi Scott,

Thanks for the update.

I'm way out of my depth in suggesting this, but I wonder if there might actually be a connection between the software update and any injector woes. The think is, when the DPF regenerates, fuel is injected using the existing injectors.

It is fair to assume (since Volvo won't tell us) that the software may have altered the amount, or the timing, of that extra injection. I wonder whether it's conceivable that the modified DPF regeneration scheme somehow puts more strain on the injectors?

As I say, I'm way out of my depth. I just can't help looking for a connection between the smoke and the software upgrade, I don't like putting things down to co-incidence.

[definethelight]

An update: If per chance you guys have Chopin's Funeral march loaded on your itunes - set it playing now!

I called in at Volvo today - to check progress, They had replaced all the wiring to the injectors and this made no difference to the smoking problem. In fact the frequency at which the car puffed out a cloud of fumes increased!

They suggested that the next stage would be to replace Injector no.4 as the glow plug in this cylinder was very oily and tarnished. They swapped the glow plug for a new one, and the same thing happened. During the final test drive of the day, the 'Soot filter full' message came up on the dash, and the car limped back to the garage in some kind of 'Safety - get me home' mode. The car was subjected to a forced regeneration at that point to clear it all out.

I authorised the replacement of the injector in order to progress the repairs. After all, this is the next cheapest option in a potentially long (and costly) list of components. (£300). With that, Volvo were able to remove the injector and inspect the inside of the chamber with an endoscope. Immediately a problem was apparent... The injector had been badly damaged buy something that had quite literally 'scuffed it' and worn a recess in it (See attached photo's taken on my mobile - sorry for the poor quality). On inspecting the hole that the injector came from, we noticed that something had quite literally punched a hole in the cylindrical wall! It's about 10mm in diameter. The top of the Valve and associated spring were then clearly visible through the ragged aperture.

As you can imagine - this is going to be costly. The cheapest option is to simply replace the head, (around £3500) but that would leave a bottom end that had done 150,000 miles - and who knows what could go wrong with that? The sensible thing would be to change the D5 engine in its entirety, that is going to cost £6235.21 - based on Volvo's costings. that includes their 4+ discount and labour capped off at a generous (for a main dealer) £60/hr. Talk about a nightmare! I'm totally torn now. I could scrap the car, but what can I buy for 6k? Overall the car is in fab condition, and has a new clutch, all new disks and pads, and new tyres. Not to mention a recent steering rack and front suss struts. I think I'm better off, biting the bullet and getting this one sorted out, that way it might go on for another 150,000 without any major problems. To top all this, we still don't know what caused the problem in the 1st place!

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Edit:
Attachment can be found Here.

[Bill_56]

Crikey Scott, what can I say? You must be devastated. I wonder if you'd have any claim under the Sale of Goods act, which covers you for up to six years in some circumstances?

Sorry, i can't seem to view your attachments. I'm really having trouble getting my head around it all. I can't see the photos, but if there's a hole in a cylinder wall I'd have expected the symptoms to be a lot more catastrophic that just some intermittent white smoke from the exhaust. This all sounds very odd to me.

I'd have thought Volvo HQ would have been equally curious to know exactly what happened, are they showing no interest?

[v_matt_v]

I can't see pictures either. You have to attach them using "Insert image" button.

That's really bad news. I would recommend buying a used engine from breakers. It'll be much cheaper. And keep some of the parts as spares, eg. injectors, vacuum pump, injection pump, etc. Or just keep the whole engine if you've got some space available.
I think the damage to the injector and the chamber wall might have been casued by a piece of metal or plastic which was in the intake system. Maybe during the software update they cleaned EGR valve or checked hoses. When the mechanic screwed everything back together something got in to one of the hoses. Or maybe it's just a piece rubber or plastic hose or intercooler which peeled off which then travelled through the intake system into the chamber and during explosion in the cylinder it hit the injector and punched the hole in the cylinder head and then exploded.
It would be good to see some pictures.
You could always try to put some blame on them to get for example a discount on replacing the engine which you supply yourself.
Of course that's just a suggestion what might have happened. You can ask them to check if the intake valves from that cylinder have some signs of something scuffing them.
It might have also been a piece of the injector which came off in the chamber and hit the injector itself and then punched the cylinder wall.