Smoking driving me mad

[powers1]

Originally Posted by kamba

Apologise what I meant was I had the panel that is above the grill removed and the air intake pipe was open to

So when i cranked it over I suspect smoke came from there

Oh and this was a different mechanic who said that

You should never have any kind of smoke coming from inlet or manifold.In the engine bay,any smoke should only come out of a cracked exhaust manifold!
Smoke in inlet means you have turbo seals gone,valves (doubt it!)or oil breather clogged(shouldnt be since you say you replaced it with the vortex type!).
To make sure,slowly pull your oil dipstick out slightly ,with engine running and check if you have any smoke blowing out!If no smoke ,this eliminates the breather and valves,leaving just the turbo!

[kamba]

Still not fixed mate smoking on start up then clears

[kamba]

Ok car been running with egr connected for a week and following symptoms


- smoke on start up
- cloud of smoke on hard acceleration

Today I blocked the egr vacuum hose again and the following was seen

- smoke on start up (not as much)
- no cloud of smoke on hard acceleration

Would that mean possibly egr faulty and will blocking the vacuum hose cause any issues


Last note since buying the car it has had following error code but no error lights on dash would I be right in thinking code states valve already disabled or could it be left in open position

Also car has a little more power since vacuum hose blocked

Error code

4501 - exhaust valve recirculating control deactivation

[powers1]

Ok..you have given me something to go on!
The fact that with egr valve connected ,you have more smoke (oil),means thats its coming from exhaust and engine is burning oil,thats why I asked you to check the oil level dipstick for any signs there of blowing smoke!

Some error codes do not bring EML on but are stored as intermitent errors ,since you dont always have the egr blocked!EGR error code is because its wasnt connected.FYI and your mechanics,the egr valve needs to be connected before any diagnostics is performed,otherwise you wont get proper readings from your MAF or pressure converter.
No problem blocking egr vacuum pipe (in fact its beneficial).You only need to connect it for doing diagnostics.

Smoke on start up only,maybe a glow plug !Have you had these checked?Could also be a dirty injector?
Can you first do the oil level dipstick test and let me know !

[kamba]

Hi

Error code was there when EGR was connected we then cleared it and it came back
After this I blocked the vacuum hose

The car also had glow plug 6 error which has been changed as assumed this was the reason (may ask to plug in again incase any other glow plugs out since change

Car was serviced approx 1000 miles ago with new oil, I have checked the dipstick level is still at the max mark although oil is black which I'm guessing is normal for a diesel

Hope this helps if you need any other info let me know

[kamba]

Apologise just re read about dipstick will check this in morning as only does it when car parked for a few hours

[kamba]

Ok just did dipstick test and no smoke

[kamba]

No smoke from dipstick but smoke from exhaust pipes

[powers1]

Originally Posted by kamba

Hi

Error code was there when EGR was connected we then cleared it and it came back
After this I blocked the vacuum hose

The car also had glow plug 6 error which has been changed as assumed this was the reason (may ask to plug in again incase any other glow plugs out since change

Car was serviced approx 1000 miles ago with new oil, I have checked the dipstick level is still at the max mark although oil is black which I'm guessing is normal for a diesel

Hope this helps if you need any other info let me know

Good feedback!We are getting somewhere
EGR just leave it blanked,one problem less!
No smoke blowing from dipstick is good news as eliminates any engine internal problem.
The 3.0d m57 engine isnt a "dirty" engine and I would expect the oil to be a very dark brown colour ,not black!This makes me doubt the quality of the oil that was changed 1000 miles ago!Some oils do make the car smoke more,on start up!
Since you said that with egr hose off,car has a little more power.then this tells me that your egr fault/error maybe vacuum related and you may have a vaccum leak which would prevent the egr valve from opening/closing correctly!This leak could be vac pipes or indeed the egr pressure converter leaking.I have the OE values if they need them!
Can you get your mechanics to do a vacuum test with a vacuum gun?
no harm in checking the glow plugs again for errors,but if are sure the smoke is an oily smell,then this eliminates glow plugs as this would be an unburnt diesel smell if a glow plug was faulty.
How many miles on your car?

[kamba]

I would say smoke smell is also a bit like diesel smell

I will ask garage to do vacuum hose check

Would decrease or leak in vacuum pressure cause any issues

I will re check colour of oil to confirm

I was told it was Castrol oil

Thanks every so much for your help so far