300tdi white smoke and loss of power

Hi all,
I'm new here. I'm from Belgium and the reason that i'm searching here is that i have a major problem with my '98 110 300tdi (220000km or 137500ml).
It run's fine for a while and then for some reason it looses all power and blows out white smoke. In this smoke i can smell diesel.
Then i have to shut down the engine and let it cool down for a while (not that its running hot, temp stays just fine). When i start it again sometimes it immediatly starts smoking again and there's no way i can drive it up a hill, no power at all.
And another time it will run just fine for an hour or more without any problem.
I've already changed the timing belt but it keeps doing it.
I also had to replace the engine wiring harness because this was burnd up due to another problem (i think the previous owner damaged it when he took out the gearbox). So i am afraid that this may be an electrical problem.
Has anyone got any idea what can cause this problem ??
Thanks

check your coolant levels , sounds like your head gasket has gone to me
white smoke means water in the combustion or you have water in your fuel

Off with its head

sounds more like timing or injectors or worn pump if pump pressure lowers timing is retarded

sounds like an injector fault to me

I don't think the head gasket has blown, the coolant level is OK. The coolant liquid is clean and also the engine oil looks clean. No sludge.

A failing injector may be the answer.
What is the best way to check the injectors ?

Thanks guys.

Bever said:

I don't think the head gasket has blown, the coolant level is OK. The coolant liquid is clean and also the engine oil looks clean. No sludge.

A failing injector may be the answer.
What is the best way to check the injectors ?

Thanks guys.

Click to expand...

Look at Busters guide.that should help!

Or get you or a mechanic to get an injector pressure tester and check that its spraying evenly, if not thats your problem

you can check injector to some extent by removing all 4 turn upside down refit and compare spray pattern dont get near as they reach 280 bar and will go straight through skin

Before you start messing about with the injectors, I'd strongly suggest that you check your fuel lines for air leaks, kinks or corrosion. White smoke, particularly when it appears inconsistently can be caused by lots of things, but more often than not, air in your diesel is the main cause. In effect, White smoke is created by a distinct lack of diesel being sprayed into one or more cylinders per injection cycle and the air / fuel mixture is only partially burned (White smoke). Similarly, if your injector nozzles are worn or if your injectors are not opening at the right time (determined by opening pressures), you end up with poor atomisation of the diesel and you will find that white smoke pours out of your exhaust. Lets begin with the cheapest option first, which s checking for air leaks. Start your engine up and rev it up and down ten to fifteen times. Now, take a 10mm spanner and slacken to the bleed bolt on top of your fuel filter housing. You might notice that a lot of air is expelled past this bolt. Once you see a nice clean flow of diesel and no bubbles, tighten the bolt back up and rev the engine hard, whilst keeping an eye on the exhaust. Proceed to rev the engine up and down ten to fifteen times again, this time rev the engine as hard as you can and observe whether or not the White smoke clears. It will take a short while for any air in the fuel system to work it's way through the lines and into the engine but it should have cleared after about 30 - 60 seconds.

Next, turn the engine off and allow it to sit for an hour or two undisturbed. After the time has past, slacken the 10mm bleed bolt once more and then have some one start the engine. Are there any bubbles present?

In theory, there should only ever be air in the fuel filter housing if the fuel level has dropped below the fuel pickup pipe in your fuel tank shortly before the engine has been turned off. Another cause would of course be an air leak at some point in the fuel lines which is allowing air to be drawn back lint the fuel system.

-Tom

Hey guys,

I think the problem is solved.
I found drops of water in the fuel.
Now i flushed the fuel system with Wynns fuelsystem cleaner. Pumped as much fuel as i could out of the tank and filled it up with clean diesel.
The engine has been running just fine ever since so i'm hoping the problem is solved now.

Thanks for all your replys.
You've been a great help.

Great news. Stay on LZ, see you around.

Sounds like this is similar to my issue. Should i empty the tank prior to filling it up, otherwise it will just happen again when its down to a tenner

Gawd dug up an old un here, still if there is water in the tank drain it. Also change the fuel filter or at least open the drain on the bottom [ if you can ] and check for clean diesel coming out when the lift pump is operated.