Heavy breathing and smoking

The title does refer to my disco 1 (140k unknown service history ) not me tbw
chucking out black smoke even when idling .Using a fair amount of oil about' half a dipstick' per 400 miles .
removing oil filler cap when idling ,enough pressure to lift the cap and fair bit of smoke .....

what do you guys reckon ? im thinking worn piston rings

Ive done all the usuall stuff air filter, cleaned intercooler etc

is it possible to do piston rings in situ or i am better off with a secondhand engine?

cheers Mike

check air pipes to and from turbo and remove pipe from and check turbo for play and amount of oil thrown out with pipe removed engine running,worth also checking all valves are opening fully ,you cant put new rings in worn bores and expect it fixed

Thanks for the reply james ,
I have previously checked the turbo and pipework , a bit of oil in there, not too much play in the turbo bearings . i will remove the pipe after the turbo and see how much oil is chucked out .

I checked /adjusted the valve clearances yesterday , the clearances were all a little bit wide .
All the valves were opening correctly .

cheers Mike

Before doing owt drastic, get a compression test done (in fact two tests), the first normal one (checks pressure on all cylinders in normal way). Then get a leakdown compression test, this second test pumps up each cylinder in turn, and measures the time taken for the compression to fall.
The results of the first test will tell you the spread of compression ratios across the cylinders. The actual pressure achieved at cranking speed, is noted, and compared to each of the other cylinders. There should be an even spread across the results, no one cylinder should be 5% less than any other. Very varied readings indicates bore wear/ring wear.

Test two shows how long a cylinder retains a pressure. If the interval is very short then valves and stems are suspect.

Any further investigation means lifting the lid, and having a look at the bores, and valves.

I suspect yours is using oil by blowing it by the oil control rings and out the exhaust. If the turbo has been cleared of any fault..

Rather than buying a used unknown engine, I'd get yours re-bored, new pistons and rings, and new valves, guides and seals at the very least.

Thanks for that for larkshall , i think i will take the head off anyway ,as one the glowplugs is snaped off anyway .
i believe the comp test is done via the glowplug holes .

will be a few weeks before i tackle it anyway, as i plan to drag the caravan to devon with it soon . Just need to stick a bend on the exhaust to stop it blowing black crap all over the caravan :doh:

cheers Mike

Let me know how it goes. Oh and be careful, I have just had an engine die by chucking oil out of the turbo and back into the engine. Motor of cause decided to use this oil as extra fuel. result is hole in no 4 piston, burnt through. Not a landy engine (a merc sprinter engine), but you get the drift)

well went on hols to Devon and guess what the head gasket went enroute

Anyway im guessuing the head may have been skimmed before as it already has a 3 hole gasket fitted . (not stripped it down yet ) .With the 3 hole gasket which is the thickest ,im assuming a(nother) head skim would leave me with a lack of valve/piston clearance ~?

that said as one glow plug is snapped off and needs machining work to remove ,plus head skim . I think im as well buying new head at £275+ vat Britpart i know , but its what the MOD have when they get there 300tdi engines rebuilt so must be ok im guessing .

Anyway ill get the head off in the next few days and check it for warpage etc ,plus the bores ...

Mikey D said:

well went on hols to Devon and guess what the head gasket went enroute

Anyway im guessuing the head may have been skimmed before as it already has a 3 hole gasket fitted . (not stripped it down yet ) .With the 3 hole gasket which is the thickest ,im assuming a(nother) head skim would leave me with a lack of valve/piston clearance ~?

that said as one glow plug is snapped off and needs machining work to remove ,plus head skim . I think im as well buying new head at £275+ vat Britpart i know , but its what the MOD have when they get there 300tdi engines rebuilt so must be ok im guessing .

Anyway ill get the head off in the next few days and check it for warpage etc ,plus the bores ...

Click to expand...

check rad is hot all over ,ive used a lot of their heads and have allways been okay

Thanks James , the rad was hot all over when i pulled over ,not sure how long the temp gauge had been on max tho .
will give an update when dismantling has occured

cheers Mike

well engine is now out and dismantled , quite a noticeable ridge at the top of bores and some marking on one of the crank journals .

so its off for a rebore and crank grind .

one of the long water pump bolts had sheared off previously , one that goes thru the p gasket .

well i say p gasket , but in this case no gasket just silicon sealant , thanks to a previous owner /bodging garage :doh:.

i suspect thats were my coolant went and thus my overheating .

Anyway in the haynes manual it says to replace the main bearing bolts , if indeed this is required does anyone know the part no's , bearing in mine two of the bolts are different as tapped for the oil strainer fixing bolts .

Any other random advice /tips would be welcome too

cheers Mike

Anyone ? you not about JM??