FL 2 Smoking?

Hi all

Looking for some ideas really and apologies I am not at all technical!

I have a 2010 FL2 with 62k on the clock. Last service told me clutch was heavy so off it went and had new clutch and Flywheel. After around 100 miles I got a load of smoke coming from under the engine. By the time RAC arrived 2 hrs later, all cooled down & no problem found. Happened again a few weeks later - tested at garage and advised turbo faulty (no loss of power but a slight whistle).
Had a new turbo fitted then a few weeks later smoking again!!!

No-one seems to know where the smoke is coming from? No faults diagnosed.

The only possibility so far is the plastic on the engine soundproofing is torn and hanging loose. Could this be melting on the exhaust & causing smoke?

Can anyone recommend someone in the Basingstoke area who can put it on a ramp & have a look for me?

I love my FL but I’ve lost all confidence in driving it now

Thank you and sorry for such a long post!

Where is the smoke coming out? Underbody? Engine bay? Exhaust? It shouldn’t be too hard to identify the source, even if the cause is a little harder.

Rank Amatuer said:

Where is the smoke coming out? Underbody? Engine bay? Exhaust? It shouldn’t be too hard to identify the source, even if the cause is a little harder.

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It’s from the back of the engine bay, coming from underneath. The trouble is, I’m usually on the road somewhere when it happens and by the time I can get to a garage it’s stopped. I do have a video but not sure if I can upload here? (Sent it to the garage but told they can only do something if it’s happening at the time). The smell is awful! Really noxious - sort of strong diesel / oil smell

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

Sounds like you need to go for a drive with someone prepared to dive underneath with a torch when things begin to smoke. It could be oil dripping onto the exhaust, or a piece of plastic trim, or a mechanics glove from when you had the clutch fixed (dropped objects can be very difficult to retrieve). Hard to say without someone having a damn good look.

Fresh diesel smell is a . Best play safe if you have your FL2 on a pathway then start the engine and put a cardboard underneath to locate the leak or residue. If your driving and the smell is obvious have you hit something to damage underneath. Dont forget the fumes can seriously harm you.

Rank Amatuer said:

Sounds like you need to go for a drive with someone prepared to dive underneath with a torch when things begin to smoke. It could be oil dripping onto the exhaust, or a piece of plastic trim, or a mechanics glove from when you had the clutch fixed (dropped objects can be very difficult to retrieve). Hard to say without someone having a damn good look.

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Thanks for the suggestion. The garage mechanic had it for two weeks over Christmas and it didn’t happen once
If it happened every time I drove then that would be a good solution.
Seems to be a bit of an impossible problem unless I have a mechanic with me 24/7 for the next month or two

saxavordian said:

Fresh diesel smell is a . Best play safe if you have your FL2 on a pathway then start the engine and put a cardboard underneath to locate the leak or residue. If your driving and the smell is obvious have you hit something to damage underneath. Dont forget the fumes can seriously harm you.

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Thanks, no leaks have been found and no spots on the drive. It’s been put through diagnostics umpteen times and no faults which is why I’m suspecting something non-mechanical like the plastic lining. Just need to find someone local willing to take a look at it other than main dealer.

It could be a something like a boost pipe that has a tiny leak. This could then drip oil occasionally, sometimes burning off on the hot exhaust or turbo.

VAG group turbo diesel boost pipes suffer this particular dropping boost pipe fault, although on those, the oil drips onto the ground or under shield and not anything hot.

If it doesn't occur when stationary then maybe it's related to the new clutch/flywheel?
If you've got a small oil leak in the clutch housing you won't see it but when you drive and oil gets on the clutch plates, clutch slips, plates get hot and burn off the oil, even the clutch itself will smoke when it gets hot enough

My D3 had a new clutch before I had it, the mechanic didn't refit the gearbox breather so when the box got warm it dripped oil onto the bell housing. Never smoked but got a strong hot oil smell after a run.

I think what you need is a forum member nearby who'd be willing to have a look for you. Could you get it to smoke on a long run or is it random?

1988smithy said:

My D3 had a new clutch before I had it, the mechanic didn't refit the gearbox breather so when the box got warm it dripped oil onto the bell housing. Never smoked but got a strong hot oil smell after a run.

I think what you need is a forum member nearby who'd be willing to have a look for you. Could you get it to smoke on a long run or is it random?

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Yes, a local person would be perfect to check the breather. It’s quite random, first time was literally just after the clutch was fitted 100 miles down the road, (long story, fitted in Lincolnshire I live Hampshire) second time about a month later after 2 x 1hr runs the same day, 3rd time was a very short run but going slowly in the snow. That was nearly 2 months ago and it’s not quite as smelly now.

Thanks for listening, all comments and help are really gratefully received. I’ve spent £4K on a £7k car - can’t afford much more.

kermit_rr said:

If it doesn't occur when stationary then maybe it's related to the new clutch/flywheel?
If you've got a small oil leak in the clutch housing you won't see it but when you drive and oil gets on the clutch plates, clutch slips, plates get hot and burn off the oil, even the clutch itself will smoke when it gets hot enough

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I have noticed any clutch slipping? Would it be really obvious or not while driving say on a Motorway?

Thank you

Just my opinion, but you might not notice it, unless you're looking for it and might not slip all the time. Clutch judder might be more noticeable if you've got oil on it though.
Slip will be more noticeable under high load, accelerating up hill in 1st or 2nd gear for example

kermit_rr said:

Just my opinion, but you might not notice it, unless you're looking for it and might not slip all the time. Clutch judder might be more noticeable if you've got oil on it though.
Slip will be more noticeable under high load, accelerating up hill in 1st or 2nd gear for example

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Hopefully the garage mechanic would have spotted something like that when he had it for a few weeks over Christmas, he did take it on a long drive. I’ve not noticed it myself but that doesn’t mean anything much

You would expect so yes!
It could also be a pool of clutch/brake fluid, engine oil, diesel etc from a service, collected somewhere that has been dripping on the exhaust when you go round a corner etc. Maybe it's all gone now!!

Next time it happens, pull over somewhere safe quick as you can and try and get a pic of where it looks like the smoke is coming from. Post pic on here

check where the air intake pipe runs across the top of the engine,more to the drivers side.
look to see if you can see any oil dripping from the pipe at the join.common fault.
this then drip`s down back of the engine and burns away on the manifold.i clean mine every few week`s
but nobody seems to know why this happens.

1988smithy said:

Next time it happens, pull over somewhere safe quick as you can and try and get a pic of where it looks like the smoke is coming from. Post pic on here

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I have a great video that shows the smoking.. I've tried to take a couple of stills from the video as I don't think videos are allowed on here.
You are looking at the back of the engine bay on the left hand side...

Is it coming from the near side wheelarch area?

1988smithy said:

Next time it happens, pull over somewhere safe quick as you can and try and get a pic of where it looks like the smoke is coming from. Post pic on here

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I’ve got a really good video of where it’s coming from, tried to take a pic but it doesn’t really show too well. I don’t think videos can be uploaded?

ian mitchell said:

check where the air intake pipe runs across the top of the engine,more to the drivers side.
look to see if you can see any oil dripping from the pipe at the join.common fault.
this then drip`s down back of the engine and burns away on the manifold.i clean mine every few week`s
but nobody seems to know why this happens.

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ive put some cardboard under the pipe & will check in the morning. Thanks