And then there was smoke on me a bit.

[Bueff Biofuel Enthusiast Find all posts View Profile Close Bueff]

Just as I was heading to work this morning, overtaking the frustrating pensioners doing 60 on a main road it sort of backfired on me a bit.
All of a shudden there was a rattleing noise and a massive amount of white to greyish smoke.
My first thought was, engine run away, so thanks to Cade and other members for sharing your runaway stories here.
I managed to pull over and stall it, the engine started to rev just over 3500rpm so not too bad, thanks to the slow pensioners and when I checked the oil level it seemed to be normal between the full and empty mark.
My guess after a bit of research would be blown turbo seal and oil feeding into air inlet.

Its a 1hdt engine and my question to you gentlemen is what damage could I expect given it still has normal oil levels in it and hasn't reved like stupid. I wasn't gaim enough to try to start it up again and had it towed back to the shed.

thanks for your help as always

Jens

[Captaincademan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Captaincademan]

Re: And then there was smoke as she ran away

I doubt there is any damage at all mate. Pop the intake manifold off and clean it. Shine a light into the ports and inspect the valve stems and ports for crud. Of course new seals if you think that’s the culprit. Put it back together and go again mate. Good save.

[Tony From West Oz Vice Chairperson of WARFA Find all posts View Profile Close Tony From West Oz]

Re: And then there was smoke as she ran away

I doubt there is any damage at all mate. Pop the intake manifold off and clean it. Shine a light into the ports and inspect the valve stems and ports for crud. Of course new seals if you think that’s the culprit. Put it back together and go again mate. Good save.

It is good that you recognised the symptoms of self fueling from the sump oil (via the turbo seal) you most likely have dodged the bullet and survived without any engine damage.
Be sure to check the high pressure side of the turbo compressor system for engine oil. Flush out the intercooler and while you have it apart, clean all the airways from turbo to valves.
Knowledge is power - in this case, power to avoid massive engine damage.

[Captaincademan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Captaincademan]

Re: And then there was smoke as she ran away

Dead right about the intercooler. I took the pipe off the manifold and put a bucket over the with lots of rags and the ran the engine through a heap revs to clean it out. It dried out in no time. Was easier than pulling it off.

[Bueff Biofuel Enthusiast Find all posts View Profile Close Bueff]

Re: And then there was smoke as she ran away

Thanks gents,

I will have a look at these things, it doesn't have an intercooler so a bit less to worry about.

Again many thanks and I will report back once everything is back in working order.

Enjoy your weekend!

[Bueff Biofuel Enthusiast Find all posts View Profile Close Bueff]

Re: And then there was smoke as she ran away

Good morning Gentlemen,

The ute is back on the road and as suggested by you, the runaway was caused by a faulty turbo.

we have replaced it with one of these guys

https://www.turbochargersplus.com/pr...-17010-billet/

And it's running quite well. We also checked the compression and it's around the 400 mark evenly on all cylinders. Mechanic says that's okay for an engine of its age. Any feedback from you guys?

Thank again for your input, have a great day!

Jens

[Captaincademan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Captaincademan]

Re: And then there was smoke as she ran away

Glad to hear it mate, and glad it was a cheap episode to recover from.

I'm sure the aftermarket turbo will be fine (for a while anyway!! )

I would consider a catchcan if you have the inclination. I made one up that will hold over a litre, and it has the 'water in fuel' float in the bottom of it which will connect to the car wiring system. it will activate with only a small qty of oil in it, so I have a chance of shutting down prior to run away. My concern is leaking IP seals not turbo seals.

The reason I suggest a catchcan is to keep your air flow dry of oil from the PCV. that way if you do regular inspections (10 sec job - pop a turbo hose off) you will know if the new turbo seals are leaking / weeping, as that is the only other source of oil. If you dont want to make one, there are lots available.

[Johnnojack Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Johnnojack]

Re: And then there was smoke as she ran away

A lot of people use catch cans but unless you have an EGR which you can't or won't disable then I see no point in them. With everything in good order a bit of oil going into the intake from the crankcase ventilation does no harm whatsoever. At 370000 my Isuzu engine always has a film of oil through the intake and intercooler but everything stays quite clean. The engine was fortunately made without an EGR. If it had one that would want different story

[Captaincademan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Captaincademan]

Re: And then there was smoke as she ran away

Hey Johnno,

a little bit of oil without soot is no problem, agreed. However I was only suggesting it so Jens could identify the oil source, if any is discovered. And the only reason I suspect there may be some leakage from the turbo is that it is an aftermarket turbo. It may last just as long as a factory one, (after all the factory one failed too), but it also may not.

it will certainly give you no protection for a runaway caused by failing turbo seals.

[3DB Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 3DB]

Re: And then there was smoke as she ran away

With everything in good order a bit of oil going into the intake from the crankcase ventilation does no harm whatsoever.

But if everything is not OK and you have no piston rings to speak of (as in my Merc) and you blow torrents of smoke and oil through your crankcase vent, you might want consider one of these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrvciHy2wD8

I was given one that was surplus to requirements and it has been excellent. No smoke or oil comes out the other side, just clean 'air' and you never have to empty it as the oil drains back into the sump. Don't forget the non-return valve option on the drain though. There are also plenty of cheaper knock-offs on eBay.