Cause of MAJOR problem??

Hi All, I've got a TD4, 2005 plate Freelander sport, done about 120 000 miles, well looked after. Has had recent fluid/oil changes, new fuel/oil filters and also recent crankcase breather filter change too.
Driving for about 25 mins around the M25, loss of power down to 50 mph. Pulled over and turned car off. Left it a minute or so. Started the car up and then all hell broke loose! Car revved up to max, black smoke belching out of the exhaust and this continued after I'd turned the igntion off. Car continued to rev away for 3 or 4 mins (by which time we had the company of the traffic patrol and a fire engine). Car eventually stopped. Now back home after a lft from an RAC truck. Have checked oil (lost about 2 litres but still plenty in the system) and looked around engine bay but no obvious split hoses (replaced the turbo hose 2 years ago and it's fine), in fact no obvious areas of where the problem could be.
So two main questions if I may - is this a knackered turbo and given the above is the engine liklely to have cooked? Any advice very gratefully received (I'm expecting a big bill for this..............that right?)
Cheers
Rikky

yes and yes. A good reason for keeping a Co2 fire extinguisher to hand,

did yu change to the BMW filter?

The Mad Hat Man said:

yes and yes. A good reason for keeping a Co2 fire extinguisher to hand,

did yu change to the BMW filter?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the speedy reply..........oh dear it seems like this might be an expensve Sunday! I changed the crankcase breather about 8000 miles ago and it was a like for like replacement so I don't think it was the BMW part (is that the plastic rather than the foam?). Would the crancase breather be such an issue after 8000? Cheers again

Bugger!

Quite an alarming experience I'm sure.

GrumpyGel said:

Bugger!

Quite an alarming experience I'm sure.

Click to expand...

I hade my wife and son in the car so they were quite shaken by it all. I'm thinking if it was a petrol car then it would've caught fire and all talk of turbo problems would be a little redundant. Get the feeling my call to the mechanic tomorrow will be a painful one............

get the turbo checked first.... and then take it from there.

The Mad Hat Man said:

get the turbo checked first.... and then take it from there.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll get that checked first thing and let you know the outcome. Having had a quick look at the web seems a recon will set me back at least 500 quid........any idea how many hours it takes to replace? Cheers

The Mad Hat Man said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/152851646361?chn=ps

Click to expand...

That's a great deal. If I need a new one I'll contact them. THANKS for the info. Another brief question - why did the car keep revving AFTER I'd turned off the ignition? Does that suggest other issues...............what a day!!

rikky666 said:

That's a great deal. If I need a new one I'll contact them. THANKS for the info. Another brief question - why did the car keep revving AFTER I'd turned off the ignition? Does that suggest other issues...............what a day!!

Click to expand...

it means that it is more likely to be running on its own engine oil and not fuel. Its called engine runaway......

Diesel engine runaway is a rare condition affecting diesel engines, in which the engine draws extra fuel from an unintended source and overspeeds at higher and higher RPM and producing up to 10 times the engine's rated output until destroyed by mechanical failure or bearing seizure through lack of lubrication.

this is what it could look like....


also:

rikky666 said:

I'm thinking if it was a petrol car then it would've caught fire

Click to expand...

If it was a petrol car, it wouldn't have done it in the first place.

Sounds like diesel runaway to me. This happens when oil from either the turbo compressor seal or breather system gets into the intake system.
Are you sure the turbo is ok? How have you tested it?
I'd take the elbow boost pipe off and see how much oil is in the pipe. If it's wet enough to run out of the pipes, then the turbo has failed.

A good tip is to keep a sharp knife in the engine bay fuse box. This can the be used to cut the elbow pipe, killing the boost and stopping the engine before major damage is done.

Another brief question - why did the car keep revving AFTER I'd turned off the ignition?

Click to expand...

'cause it were running on engine oil most probably ..

http://www.approvedturbo.com/wp-content/uploads/ATC-Oil-Leak-Troubleshooting.pdf

turbo gets hot .. driver shuts off engine immediately ..
oil in turbo shaft bakes on due to heat ..
over time turbo gets less 'n less cooling lubrication ..
seals wear fast ..
much oil gets drawn into the intake ..
that oil fuels the engine ..

turbo's need cooling down prior to engine shutdown ..
if they're to last ..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

other scenario be the crank breather being faulty ..
( see that pdf file )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The way the car acted it's definitely runaway...........we did manage to close the M25 for a few mins because of the smoke. I'll get the garage to look at re turbo etc but my only hope is that the car only burned away a couple of litres of oil as that was all it took to fill it up again so hoping the engine isn't cooked to oblivion. And there's no sign of obvious damage/broken metal and there was no sound as the car finally stopped............bugger all round really......

If it is the turbo, a friend of mine recently sorted one. He bought a cassette for less than £100. He did the work himself on his drive. It took him a couple of days but he managed it without removing the IRD etc. I believe there is a thread on here describing the turbo removal/refitting procedure. I was impressed with the work he did but I have to say, it wouldn't be for me. Fair play to him though, he took a chance and bought the car with the failed turbo (a 2005 HSE in otherwise great condition) for £200 and now has a decent FL1.

rikky666 said:

The way the car acted it's definitely runaway...........we did manage to close the M25 for a few mins because of the smoke. I'll get the garage to look at re turbo etc but my only hope is that the car only burned away a couple of litres of oil as that was all it took to fill it up again so hoping the engine isn't cooked to oblivion. And there's no sign of obvious damage/broken metal and there was no sound as the car finally stopped............bugger all round really......

Click to expand...

Have you tried to start it since? If you to want to try it, then remove the elbow boost pipe first. If it runs OK, then it's worth sorting whatever caused the issue. If it won't turn over or rattles and knocks, then a replacement engine will be needed. Engines don't like being revved like that unloaded, as it stresses the internal components massively.

Good luck. Let us know the outcome.