Black smoke

I expect a degree of black smoke to belch out on start up, it is a 12 year old diesel after all, which is otherwise running really well.
However, I also get it belching out when I put my foot down to accelerate. Is this also to be expected?
Or is it just running rich? Can I adjust it without effecting the current smooth running?
Or is it symptomatic of nastier issues?
Perhaps I should take it for a bloody good longish run and blow the cobwebs away. Maybe it might clear it out a bit.

chico929 said:

I expect a degree of black smoke to belch out on start up, it is a 12 year old diesel after all, which is otherwise running really well.
However, I also get it belching out when I put my foot down to accelerate. Is this also to be expected?
Or is it just running rich? Can I adjust it without effecting the current smooth running?
Or is it symptomatic of nastier issues?
Perhaps I should take it for a bloody good longish run and blow the cobwebs away. Maybe it might clear it out a bit.

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So at a guess it would be a 1998 300tdi?

If the landy is pootled around town the majority of the time it could just be it needs a blow out every now and then. How long does it belch for? It could also be any of the following. Split or delaminated turbo hose, split/holed intercooler, blocked fuel filter, gunged up egr valve, tweaked fuel pump.

sounds like someone has been messing with ur IP. has it always done this or has it just started recently?

chico929 said:

I expect a degree of black smoke to belch out on start up, it is a 12 year old diesel after all, which is otherwise running really well.
However, I also get it belching out when I put my foot down to accelerate. Is this also to be expected?
Or is it just running rich? Can I adjust it without effecting the current smooth running?
Or is it symptomatic of nastier issues?
Perhaps I should take it for a bloody good longish run and blow the cobwebs away. Maybe it might clear it out a bit.

Click to expand...

Is the EGR still fitted?

chico929 said:

I expect a degree of black smoke to belch out on start up, it is a 12 year old diesel after all, which is otherwise running really well.
However, I also get it belching out when I put my foot down to accelerate. Is this also to be expected?
Or is it just running rich? Can I adjust it without effecting the current smooth running?
Or is it symptomatic of nastier issues?
Perhaps I should take it for a bloody good longish run and blow the cobwebs away. Maybe it might clear it out a bit.

Click to expand...

Black smoke is caused by lots of diesel which then doesn't get burnt properly, you get it on start up because on start up it throws in HEAPS (more than you could ever get it to inject via the throttle) to get it to start - so yes as you would expect.

The black smoke could be that your air filter is dirty and blocked - so there is not enough air for the diesel to burn!

It can't run rich, it's a diesel - the diesel is controlled by your right foot, in essence when you boot it you put in shed loads more diesel and in a sense that is it running rich. On hard acceleration first the engine really doesn't need all that diesel and it can't burn it hence smoke; this is why modern diesels that are working properly don't black smoke like the older ones because everything is balanced so it gets just the right amount of diesel.

You really should not need to adjust anything if it has just started, it could be blocked air intake system (EGR will soot it all up), filter as said above, it could be that the injection pump turbo boost vac system is not working right and it is going into boost pressure diesel metering before it should (i.e. when there is simply not enough air being blasted in by the turbo). Injectors could be filthy or needing calibrated.

Yes it COULD be a symptom of something worse but I would not be worrying yet.

Hmm, I can`t count. Its a `96 therefore 14 yrs old.
The belches are instant then stop after couple seconds, Ratty.
MrJC the EGR has been blanked off, possibly never had one. Is that possible, did they come from the factory blanked?
Mudhunter, to answer your question, I`m not sure if its always been like it or not. Only looked properly `cos a biker passed me waving his hand in front of his face like it was gushing out. I was gonna ask `whats the IP?`, but Discomanias post clarified that and the answer is its not been touched in my ownership. It doesnt mean theres nowt wrong now tho`. And a recent service showed the filter to be clean.
Great response between you, and food for thought on what to check or have checked. Thanks for that.

chico929 said:

The belches are instant then stop after couple seconds, Ratty.

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In that case I would say it's just where it's an older engine so the air/fuel ratio is not controlled by an ECU. As Discomania has said, the engine is unable to burn the initial fuel that floods in which will result in the black smoke.

If it was black smoking the whole time you were flooring it I would be a bit more concerned. As it is at the moment I would just keep an eye on it to see if it gets any worse. It does sound normal though.

Cheers Ratty, one and all.