TD4 facelift - occasional 'pinking' & cloud of smoke

Hi
My TD4 (2006 facelift) had a problem where it lost power, almost limp home mode , engine light (right side one) came on and struggled to go over 60 mph.
I have changed the MAF and have the Ron Synergy 2 fitted, checked all the connections etc, and this seemed to cure the power issue, the right side light went out but I still got very occasional pinking noise and cloud of smoke when accelerating from low revs and now the left engine light is on.

I noticed the fuel pump wasn't making any noise in the rear arch so have now changed that and the filter as well.

It starts 1st time every time, doesn't cut out ever, idles smoothly , accelerates quickly and have full power, runs very smooth without any noise and smoke , but I still get the occasional 'pinking' noise and cloud of smoke for about 1 second when accelerating, almost like a misfire. Also the left side engine light is still on.

Any thoughts to what this might be?
thanks
Chris

what mileage is it on if over 70000 then have a look at the fuel pump if it is not fuelling enough then engine management light will come on also what fuel are you using , use a good branded one like esso or shell or bp do not be tempted to buy cheap fuel from supermarkets

Hairys not crystals........ Lol

teddywood1 said:

what mileage is it on if over 70000 then have a look at the fuel pump if it is not fuelling enough then engine management light will come on also what fuel are you using , use a good branded one like esso or shell or bp do not be tempted to buy cheap fuel from supermarkets

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Hi thanks for the reply , yes , it is now on 104k ... when you say fuel pump, do you mean the one in the tank ? I have changed the low pressure pump under the rear wheel arch (and changed the filter as well)
re the fuel, always use shell or BP thanks again.

cheers

Chris

ZDomZ said:

Hairys not crystals........ Lol

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er, not quite sure what you mean ?

Chris, do you still have the EGR fitted? If so it's worth blocking the actuator pipe to disable it and see if that solves the problem. Longer term you may want to remove the EGR entirely and replace with a pass through pipe.

Hi NoDosh, thanks for the reply, unfortunately it isn't that , I removed the EGR about 3 years ago

So far I have replaced the MAF with the one recommended by RON to work with the Synergy 2 , cleaned and checked all the injector rail loom, replaced the low pressure fuel pump and filter under the wheel arch, also changed the turbo pipes in case they were collapsing.
All of the above made a huge difference but still have the engine light on and very occasional hesitation , pinking noise and puff of smoke, I noticed last night that the pinking type noise is coming from the back , which I think would point to the main fuel pump in the tank , would a dodgy fuel pump in the tank cause this noise and problem ?

Also about a year ago I replaced the PCV valve & filter with the BMW one.

thanks again for your reply and advice.

Chris

You don't have a pump in the tank.........just the one by the rear wheel arch and then a high pressure one under the bonnet above the oil filter on the block by the left hand engine mount.
It sounds as though you may have an injector problem.......try turning the Ron box off for power though you will still need the maf part of it to be on.
Mine did this before an injector went us.....you would get a power surge on constant throttle and a misfire which would clear with a blip of the throttle until it finally gave up the ghost on the motorway.............you could try doing a leak back test on the injectors .

thanks mjrimmer , will give that a try next weekend now

Just a thought though , I am sure the rattle/pinking noise comes from the back ?

mjrimmer said:

You don't have a pump in the tank.........just the one by the rear wheel arch and then a high pressure one under the bonnet above the oil filter on the block by the left hand engine mount.
It sounds as though you may have an injector problem.......try turning the Ron box off for power though you will still need the maf part of it to be on.
Mine did this before an injector went us.....you would get a power surge on constant throttle and a misfire which would clear with a blip of the throttle until it finally gave up the ghost on the motorway.............you could try doing a leak back test on the injectors .

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So do later td4s not have the in tank pump? I thought that they all had?

chrisst2 said:

er, not quite sure what you mean ?

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Balls.......

Mine has started doing a similar thing but no engine lights (yet).
Very occasional pinking on acceleration or low throttle opening at high rev cruise.
Occasional puff of smoke and momentary surge in power.
Sometimes smokes (more than normal) on cold startup then sorts itself out after 2/3 mins.
Its not too upsetting at the moment but I feel its becoming more frequent.
I also recently fitted a new LP pump so sure that's not an issue.
Its a '05 TD4 on 150k
My thoughts is a sticky injector so due a leakback test when I get around to it.

roccotune said:

So do later td4s not have the in tank pump? I thought that they all had?

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No, the later ones don't. Changed around 2002/2003.

OP

Sounds like an injector issue. Mine were pinking until I had them changed at 120,000 miles approx on my '06 TD4.

The Ronbox makes it worse. The Ronbox shows up any existing problems.

I suggest you turn the power off as suggested earlier.

I had 2 injectors replaced. They need replacing around 100,000 miles approx. (like the low pressure fuel pump which you have already done)

thanks Epicuser, will turn off the power on the Ronbox , and see what happens, keep you all posted

well, as suggested Epicuser , I turned the power off on the Ronbox and all seems well so far, no pinking/hesitation but the eml is still on, I realise by turning the power off this is just masking the problem and will do the leak back test next weekend, would a faulty injector keep the eml light on? (left hand light is the emissions light ?)
Is there a guide to the leak back test ? I couldn't find one when searching?

thanks for your help so far and a Happy New Year to you all

Chris

When my injectors were playing up it did not display any eml lights.

There is a thread on here somewhere about doing a leak back test. I have never done it. I just paid a garage to sort it.

thanks Epicuser :clap2:

Hi did you ever solve this problem, how did the leak back test go was it ever performed ? if so which kit did you use a common rail injection system.

well, the problem seemed to be resolved in as much as it was just occasional misfire and cloud of smoke , seemed to happen every couple of months and I decided to live with it , until 2 weeks ago , when it started missing pretty much as soon as it was under load and leaving clouds of white smoke behind and such an awful rattling/screeching type of noise :-(
So, did the leak back tests again, changed the fuel rail high pressure sensor, and the new loom for that, tested the injector wiring harness, found an intermittent break in that, soldered and tested , all fine, took it for a drive, better but still misfire on occasions, not as bad but still regular and clouds of smoke.
In the end I decided to buy 2 second hand injectors and by trial and error swapped them about, turns out injector 1 & 2 were knackered ! Bought 4 reconditioned ones and now it goes like a dream, so smooth, no misfire, no smoking and no rattling/pinking.
As I had no experience of injectors or replacing them I guess I was a bit frightened to have a go, how I wish I had done it last year, it was so much easier than I expected.
if anyone has a similar problem of misfire/hesitation/pinking noise , I would recommend just buying a couple of 2nd hand ones and swapping them about. Also, don't rely on the leak back test , as I say I did that twice and both times all seemed fine when clearly the injectors were knackered.
Anyway, thanks everyone for your input over the last 18 months !!!
cheers
Chris