V50 Engine 2.0D : Excessive smoke, Help needed

[daveyonthemove]

Originally Posted by Bloders2

Is your EGR blanked off now or not?

Not yet, I have the blanking plate on it's way and should have it fitted in a day or two.

[Bloders2]

Originally Posted by daveyonthemove

Not yet, I have the blanking plate on it's way and should have it fitted in a day or two.

thats where my money is

[daveyonthemove]

It's starting to look that way.

[paddyred]

That amount of soot suggests a dodgy egr valve. You always get oil blow by from the turbo and the breather so its not a surprise that its in there. Your EGR is obviously chucking out a lot of exhaust into the inlet when its then reducing the efficiency of the burn on the diesel creating more soot which is going back through the EGR and basically putting you into a downwards spiral of EGR doom. Have you taken the Inlet manifold off and cleaned it? If not I would suggest you do. Its really simple to do. Unbolt the anti-shudder valve again, take off the EGR pipe, unplug the injectors from the electrical harness and unplug the cam sensor which is bolted into the manifold and then undo about 15 10mm bolts and pull it off. I did mine the other day and just got a big plastic washing up bowl full of petrol and gave it a good scrub.

[daveyonthemove]

Originally Posted by paddyred

That amount of soot suggests a dodgy egr valve. You always get oil blow by from the turbo and the breather so its not a surprise that its in there. Your EGR is obviously chucking out a lot of exhaust into the inlet when its then reducing the efficiency of the burn on the diesel creating more soot which is going back through the EGR and basically putting you into a downwards spiral of EGR doom.

That makes sense!
So, do I bite the bullet and remove it/clean it or wait for the blanking plate to arrive and block it off totally?

[paddyred]

Originally Posted by daveyonthemove

That makes sense!
So, do I bite the bullet and remove it/clean it or wait for the blanking plate to arrive and block it off totally?

Depends on how you responsible you feel for the environment! You can:

Take it off and clean it:
Pro's:
Will fix your problem
Still reduces NOx emissions (Not part of the MOT but still)

Cons:
Might turn out to be faulty
Takes a little while as its a PITA to get off
Messy
Could go wrong and get blocked again
Will eventually block up again
Will put soot into your intake again and block up the intake
Causes more engine wear due to the above reasons
Reduces fuel economy
Reduces power

Blanking it:

Pro's:
More Power
spools turbo faster so more low down torque
More MPG
Will fix your problem
Will stop it going wrong in the future
No more soot in your intake
No more blocked butterfly valve and clogged sensor
Cleaner diesel burn so will leave the engine cleaner
Less engine wear long term
Less smoke from the car when driving so more likely to pass MOT test
5 minute fix

Con's:
Slightly increased NOx emissions
Will log a pending EGR fault code but will NOT put the light on if you unplug the gray connector on the EGR

[daveyonthemove]

Originally Posted by paddyred

Blanking it:

Pro's:
More Power
spools turbo faster so more low down torque
More MPG
Will fix your problem
Will stop it going wrong in the future
No more soot in your intake
No more blocked butterfly valve and clogged sensor
Cleaner diesel burn so will leave the engine cleaner
Less engine wear long term
Less smoke from the car when driving so more likely to pass MOT test
5 minute fix

Con's:
Slightly increased NOx emissions
Will log a pending EGR fault code but will NOT put the light on if you unplug the gray connector on the EGR

I can live with this option.
Removal looks like a lot of hassle if a simple plate will resolve my issues.

[daveyonthemove]

EGR blanking plate arrived today so I fitted it straight after work and disconnected the electrics but it has made no difference at all.

To Recap:

Fuel Pressure regulator replaced.
Air intake sensor replaced.
MAF Replaced.
EGR Blanked off.
DPF Gutted and mapped out.
Throttle body and inlet manifold cleaned out.
Liqui Molly diesel purge, 2 can on top of half a tank of diesel.

I did scan for faults after my last test drive, and found Fuel Volume Regulator Control Circuit range/performance logged.
Not sure if that is a result of the EGR being blocked (which also raised a fault code, but that is to be expected).

I did email a local Volvo specialist this morning to see if they could turn off the daylight running lights, and they have offered to do this free of charge, so I may have to ask them to look into the issue whilst it's there, but I would rather sort it myself and avoid added costs.

[Bloders2]

Originally Posted by daveyonthemove

EGR blanking plate arrived today so I fitted it straight after work and disconnected the electrics but it has made no difference at all.

To Recap:

Fuel Pressure regulator replaced.
Air intake sensor replaced.
MAF Replaced.
EGR Blanked off.
DPF Gutted and mapped out.
Throttle body and inlet manifold cleaned out.
Liqui Molly diesel purge, 2 can on top of half a tank of diesel.

I did scan for faults after my last test drive, and found Fuel Volume Regulator Control Circuit range/performance logged.
Not sure if that is a result of the EGR being blocked (which also raised a fault code, but that is to be expected).

I did email a local Volvo specialist this morning to see if they could turn off the daylight running lights, and they have offered to do this free of charge, so I may have to ask them to look into the issue whilst it's there, but I would rather sort it myself and avoid added costs.

can you recap the sypmtoms please

my next thought is injectors, but not sure how reliable they are for these vehicles.

[daveyonthemove]

Originally Posted by Bloders2

can you recap the sypmtoms please

my next thought is injectors, but not sure how reliable they are for these vehicles.

I've just remembered that the car had a new turbo last month (prior to my purchase) and I think this is a key part of the problem.
The DPF was clogged up bad, one of the worst the guys had seen when they gutted it.
Lots of Googling has led me to believe that clogged DPF's create exhaust build up at the turbo and boil off oil causing turbo failure.
Turbo failure often leads to oil being thrown down into the intercooler, and that would explain the build up of oil in my Throttle body and the AIT sensor being saturated in it.

I'm thinking that the turbo got replaced, but the intercooler was not inspected/cleaned out at the time, and I'm now ingesting residual oil as I drive along, which would explain why it emits black smoke when the turbo spools up, and not at idle or slow driving.

I'm hoping to have the intercooler pipes removed and cleaned this weekend and drain off any oil in the intercooler if there is any.

Just to show how bad this smoke issue is, here is a video I took an hour ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exAMWpdInf4