Another Smokin Diesel

Help!. I bought a project '82 SWB S3 2.25 n/a diesel that is smoking bad all the time. Done head lift. New Valves,old ones worn and pitted, new set of rings and 1 new piston, as No.4 had some damage on crown, new Rocker shaft. Smoke doesnt seem too blue and doesnt smell like classic oil burning smell. Tried to retard/advance timing, but no change. Engine starts reasonably easily, but just pours out smoke. Can any one just say where next to look.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions

Lew

Smoke identification is (should be!) straightforward in a classic diesel.

My first move would be to let it run on a fast tickover (say 1,200 rpm) for at least an hour, giving it a mighty BLIP rev-up every five minutes or so. Then try to take on the road for a hard drive. If the smoke is really bad you won't do this.

Unless he smoke is being caused by oil in the exhaust system burning out, then it MUST be bad combustion in the engine. You have done the rings and valves, and it starts well enough, so the compression ought to be OK.

Did you have the cam-chain off? If so, how SURE are you that the camshaft timing is good? ONE tooth out on the chain stuffs both the valve timing and the injection timing together. It must be EXACTLY correct.

Next is to set the injection timing to the standard default settings.

Next is the injectors - get them set to the exact spring pressures 125 BAR for "used" injectors.

Once that is all done you can start proper fault-hunting.

CharlesY

Cheers for the help, will go for the run and see if smoke lessens. Havent touched timing chain but that not to say it wasnt wrong before hand. Will get injectors checked and will re set timing

Cheers Lew

Llew said:

Cheers for the help, will go for the run and see if smoke lessens. Havent touched timing chain but that not to say it wasnt wrong before hand. Will get injectors checked and will re set timing

Cheers Lew

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Good plans.

I would like to know what happens with this one.
Post here or PM as you wish.
By and large what colour would you say the smoke was?

Is the fuel fresh, and free from water?

A good trick sometimes is to drop the fuel filter, empty it, fill it to the brim with WHITE SPIRIT, refit it, and start the engine. This might just clean something out, like a sticking injector needle or the like.

Injectors are really easy to take to bits and clean, but you MUST then be able to set the spring pressures on a tool such as the Hartridge Pop Tester like mine. There is really no way to make a decent guess at this job, and if even one of the four was a bit out it might smoke like a dirty old lum.

CharlesY

Tried to run, too much smoke, thought I was going to choke to death in garage. Thought the neighbour were going to call fire dept. Fuel pump timing seems good, timing marks on fly wheel and injector pump line up. Starting to check timing chain. After that will do checks on imjectors, may have Hartridge machine at work locked away as not used anymore.

Llew said:

Tried to run, too much smoke, thought I was going to choke to death in garage. Thought the neighbour were going to call fire dept. Fuel pump timing seems good, timing marks on fly wheel and injector pump line up. Starting to check timing chain. After that will do checks on imjectors, may have Hartridge machine at work locked away as not used anymore.

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Wow .... if there's a Hartridge PopTester lying unused do your best to get it! Make sure you get TWO sets of adapters for injectors. I will have a look and see if I have the original instruction sheet and if so I can let you have a copy if you need it.

You could become a very popular fellow if you have one of those on your bench!

FIRST make sure ALL the valve clearances are set correctly. One tight valve might cause this sort of problem.

It's a bummer. Pray it isn't busted piston rings or the like.

CharlesY

Got timing cover off, timing chain/Sprockets looks in v good condition, with plenty space on tensioner ratchet for any excess chain slack. Chain tension good on drive side. Was hoping there would be timing marks on camshaft wheel but no such luck. Just trying to get hold of DTI to prove timing, but looks good when turning over by hand. I know it doesnt take much to put it out, but dont think timing out unless was set up incorrectly. Looking more like need to do head lift again.

Thanks again for advice

Lew

Llew said:

Got timing cover off, timing chain/Sprockets looks in v good condition, with plenty space on tensioner ratchet for any excess chain slack. Chain tension good on drive side. Was hoping there would be timing marks on camshaft wheel but no such luck. Just trying to get hold of DTI to prove timing, but looks good when turning over by hand. I know it doesnt take much to put it out, but dont think timing out unless was set up incorrectly. Looking more like need to do head lift again.

Thanks again for advice

Lew

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You are right Lew, there are probably no timing marks on the sprockets. What a stupid idea.

The setting up procedure is quite complex - it's pure crap actually. I have it set out in a Diesel manual here if you need it, but if the chain looks good you can NEARLY assume it was set up OK at the time.

Check the breather system and the valve clearances, and if all is well there I fear you may need to do a compression test on it.

I really want to know what fixes it.

CharlesY