Forum menu
is it still normal ...
 

[Closed] is it still normal for a modern diesel car to smoke?

Posts: 10978
Free Member
Topic starter
 
[#2962788]

The other half drives the A4 2006 1.9 TDV (<35K) conservatively, today I took it up to 4000rpm and it left an embarrassing thick black cloud behind it, should my wallet be concerned ?


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 3:42 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Dunno about Audi's, but on Mondeo's it was commonly a sign the EGR valve needed cleaning/replacing (not expensive).


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 3:45 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Has it been remapped?


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 3:46 pm
Posts: 8177
Free Member
 

Every diesel car I see smokes at some point, usually under sudden acceleration. Did you give it some beans?

DPF maybe? If she pootles about everywhere it may never get cleaned


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 3:48 pm
Posts: 91168
Free Member
 

If you pootle around on short trips, sooty deposits build up inside it because the fire doesn't get to all the corners. When you subsequently boot it it will all be cleaned out and you get the smoke.

Boot it a bit more and it'll stop. Diesels don't like being babied, especially ones with DPFs. Borrow her car more often for the sake of your wallet.

The little puff of smoke on sudden acceleration is the ECU over-fuelling to help the turbo spool up more quickly.


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 3:53 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Italian tuneup required.

Get it warm, then take it for a high rev razz... nearly to the redline in every gear (might struggle with 6th!)

It will thank you for it (or the cambelt will snap).

Dave


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 3:59 pm
 5lab
Posts: 7926
Free Member
 

it wouldn't be getting through MOTs if it was smoking excessively.

My local testing station ran mine on the limiter for 3 minutes to clear the soot out, then it was fine


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 4:01 pm
Posts: 818
Free Member
 

mine failed its last MOT on emissions (it was smoking quite a bit on acceleration) so they poured some Forte diesel cleaner in the tank and told me to drive it quite hard on a few longer journeys for a week. Smoke was massively reduced and it passed.

this stuff:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=forte+diesel&_dmd=2&_frs=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m359


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 4:15 pm
Posts: 10978
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Good point about the MOT. I'll give it a thrash. Probably due a cam belt as its 5ish years old but its only got 33000m so i'll not be leaving it on the limited for 3mins


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 4:15 pm
Posts: 91168
Free Member
 

Road trip to Germany and let rip. Worked wonders for my motor, smoother now than when I got it ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 4:17 pm
Posts: 33
Free Member
 

Plenty of Redex in the tank before a long run and regularly rev the t!ts off it to clear out the soot in-between that. Mine is 12 years old and used to smoke quite a lot but since adopting the above tactics the smoke is no more.


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 4:19 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

+1 for checking the EGR valve , I cleaned mine out about 12 months ago and it was really gunked up.

My diesel (Rover 75) hardly smokes at all and I drive it like an old man , I use Millers fuel x diesel adative every other time I fill up.

It does suprise me how many more modern diesels smoke like a steam train.


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 4:23 pm
Posts: 91168
Free Member
 

Or you could use the spray-in air intake cleaner.


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 4:28 pm
Posts: 36
Free Member
 

Run some BG244 through the tank, supposedly much better than the Forte & Redex treatments at delivering noticable results.


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 4:32 pm
Posts: 91168
Free Member
 

Btw, I get no visible smoke at all from my 2.0 TDI.


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 4:32 pm
Posts: 17846
Full Member
 

As above - when I first got mine it was sooty as hell under hard acceleraion. I put this down to the previous owner's light right foot.

Some regular driving at high revs soon sorted it out. You don't need to 'rag the balls of it', just get onto a dual carriageway and sit with it at 70 in 3rd or something similar (something like 3500rpm for a while).

Soon sorts it out.

My driving miss daisy fuel saving strategy at the moment has meant mine is starting to get a bit smokey. Might give it a clear out on the way home.


 
Posted : 19/07/2011 4:32 pm