S40 2002 1.9 D lots of white smoke, loss of power

[robelia]

Hi all

I would appreciate some help to understand what is the problem (apart the old age) with my 2002 S40 1.9 D, 120,000 miles, well maintained (I thought)

it started with the engine stalling occasionally at traffic lights when idling and higher oil consumption; one day at 70 mph I had a sudden massive loss of power, with lots of whitish smoke from the bonnet and the exhaust.
I stopped the car, had towed home.

This has happened nearly 2 years ago, when I had time I had started the car and tried and understand what is the problem.

The car starts well, idling a bit irregularly, no smoke, when I try to rev she goes maximum to 3000 rpm and makes A LOT of white smoke, also seems to burn oil, in the sense that I had to add some.

I think that the most sensible thing to do now is to scrap the car because any fix would be no economical, she also needs timing belt done, but I still would like to understand what has gone wrong, it is turbo? EGR? or perhaps something very easy to fix which I don't get?
It is a bit of mistery to me, I could not find a description of a similar problem in the forum.

Thanks for reading this long post,

regards

[Rooster]

Turbo's failed and engines trying to run on its own oil,

Quiet a common issue with these engines

[robelia]

well, this is one of the reason I am not sure it is a turbo problem, it has never happened that the engine revs itself on his own oil, actually I can't go over 3000 rpm

[HalV40]

remove the air inlet pipe to the turbo, poke the vanes with a pencil, I'll bet they're wobbly and loose or seized.
If the condition of the car bodywork is good and rust is little, it might be worth getting the cambelt and turbo done by a independent garage. Should be under £500 at a guess. Cheaper if a turbo cartridge is available for this engine and the turbo housing isn't scored or damaged.

[baldmosher]

Originally Posted by HalV40

remove the air inlet pipe to the turbo, poke the vanes with a pencil, I'll bet they're wobbly and loose or seized.
If the condition of the car bodywork is good and rust is little, it might be worth getting the cambelt and turbo done by a independent garage. Should be under £500 at a guess. Cheaper if a turbo cartridge is available for this engine and the turbo housing isn't scored or damaged.

No chance. Turbo will be over £500 by itself. Probably closer to £750. That's assuming no other related damage and cat not ruined by the smoke. Cambel and water pump £300 minimum. You'd get a V40 in good condition for less!

Obviously much cheaper if you're doing the work yourself and can find a decent turbo used.

[robelia]

Hi, I have had a look at the turbo as suggested, it looks fine to me, it is not seized and I don't see excessive play.

I wonder, could it be something like the timing belt jumping one tooth?
could it explain why it still works almost normally at low RPM but not at higher RPM (smoke, no power) because of the reduced time of the cycle?

or perhaps one injector not working?

still in the darkness...

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by robelia

Hi, I have had a look at the turbo as suggested, it looks fine to me, it is not seized and I don't see excessive play.

I wonder, could it be something like the timing belt jumping one tooth?
could it explain why it still works almost normally at low RPM but not at higher RPM (smoke, no power) because of the reduced time of the cycle?

or perhaps one injector not working?

still in the darkness...

If the turbo, boost valve and associated hoses are all good, then it might be the head gasket.

What is the coolant level doing and is there any mayo or coffee cream on the dipstick?
If it's using a lot of coolant or overflowing when hot, then the HG has probably failed.

[Haizum74]

A similar thing happened to a friend who has the same model, loss of power down the motorway. Turned out to be the pipe below the fan that goes back towards the engine and up to the metal piping that had a split in it. Got it replaced and sorted.

Worth a look

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by robelia

Hi, I have had a look at the turbo as suggested, it looks fine to me, it is not seized and I don't see excessive play.

I wonder, could it be something like the timing belt jumping one tooth?
could it explain why it still works almost normally at low RPM but not at higher RPM (smoke, no power) because of the reduced time of the cycle?

or perhaps one injector not working?

still in the darkness...

If the timing belt jumps one tooth it will just lose a little power, not drink oil and blow smoke. If it jumps 2 teeth, it will rattle big time and 3 teeth is game over, as the valves hit the piston crowns.

A leaky or blown injector will not turn the engine into an oil burner and the exhaust would smell of fuel if it was bad enough to turn the engine into a smoker.

Might be worth getting the hidden fault codes read, as a bad fuel pressure sensor (Rail or HP pump) can cause smoke.

[bobthecabbage]

Could still be the turbo. The shaft could have split and the exhaust side is seized. Also could be the variable vanes if its the 115bhp.

Had a very similar thing on vw touran.

The engine was breathing through the EGR and the crankcase.

In this case though hardly anything came out the exhaust.

Also some of the symptoms could be due to EGR and or the MAF sensor.

When my MAF failed there was no power and lots of smoke and the engine warning light came on!