Page 1 of 2
Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 7:52 am
by dangaran
As i have never owned a automatic diesell before i am not sure if what happened this morning is ok.
I was going up a steep hill so i put my foot down to up the revs and kick down a gear
the van shot from 1.5 to 3 thousand revs and i saw a large puff of smoke
i dont know what colour it was as i have dark windows...
i bet the guy in the car behind could have told me..
is that ok??
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 8:16 am
by nfn
If it was black smoke it's fine -- you just cleared out some carbon deposits. Now that you know, you can use your right foot to deploy the smoke bomb at cars following too closely behind.
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 8:27 am
by Alacrity
Sounds like carbon to me. If you are not in the habit of using kickdown or full throttle it will be, as nfn says, just clearing itself out.
Many years ago, when V12 Jags were the norm in my transmission workshop, they would scare the life out of you the first time you went out & went for a full throttle 1-2 upshift

. Given most were driven by, eh-hm, 'older' drivers, the engines rarely went above 2500rpm. We get in it & set it off to 6000rpm & you wouldn't believe the knocking from the engine detonating & the thick brown cloud behind you. After about 3 WOT upshifts it cleared.
It was not uncommon for owners to ring up a few days after they had the car back asking what we had done to the engine whilst it was in with us, as it was running so much better!!

Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 8:43 am
by Bob
Italian Tune Up.
Worth giving it a blast before MOT to clean up emissions.
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 10:57 am
by Alacrity
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 11:24 am
by helen&tony
Hi
Oh, Gosh....that takes me back a while...when the V-12 e-type came out, a friend bought a SWB DHC V12...before they brought them out in only LWB FHC versions.....turbine smooth, like driving a bullet....everything else on the road in slo-mo

...but then I like ANY Jag
Cheers
Helen
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 11:37 am
by dangaran
Thanks for the info
I did not realise i had a secret wepon buit in for "tailgaters"
Cheers.
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 12:38 pm
by mikeonb4c
dangaran wrote:Thanks for the info
I did not realise i had a secret wepon buit in for "tailgaters"
Cheers.
That's exactly right. It really makes me chuckle to see them drop back in disgust if/when I do that (only done it occasionally but...)

Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:34 pm
by Doone
I don't like tailgaters, I had one so close today, I thought I was towing him. But I left him standing on the hill.

An occasional puff of black smoke when you put your foot down is common on diesels, but if it gets to be more than that, you'll need to look further.
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:54 pm
by helen&tony
Hi
GGGrrr...don't get me started on tailgaters...I never thought of that....an injector spraying neat diesel into the exhaust (that's how they do it on tanks)...instant smokescreen.....they drive so close here, it's only when I hear them gnawing on the rear reversing mirror that I really get edgy....
Cheers
Helen
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:44 pm
by Dabs
Its the Bongo equivalent of a good cough!!
Dabs

Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 8:32 pm
by mister munkey
Mine does the same when booting uphill.
After two years of trying to work out whether its a head problem, weak turbo or some other nuisance, its now been traced to worn piston rings on 1 & 2.
Not a problem in the short term as I seem to have inherited a self flushing oil system. It get a fresh litre every thousand miles - which is a good thing!
At some point it will need to be addresed though.
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 9:29 pm
by Mattsonics
My Diesel Bongo uses about a litre of oil every thousand miles.
Was told by a mechanic that it was the new cylinder head 'bedding in'?! It was fitted 4000 miles ago.
Seems a long time to still be bedding in.
Not particularly worried about it, as all seems very well otherwise - definitely no signs of leaks anywhere.
(I use 10W40 semi synthetic oil)
And I also have the ultra sensitive oil light issue discussed elsewhere -light comes on when dipstick at a quarter between low and high marks.
I also get a plume of attractive smoke out of my tail pipe

!
Matt
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 10:40 pm
by missfixit70
Mattsonics wrote:My Diesel Bongo uses about a litre of oil every thousand miles.
Was told by a mechanic that it was the new cylinder head 'bedding in'?! It was fitted 4000 miles ago.
Seems a long time to still be bedding in.
Not particularly worried about it, as all seems very well otherwise - definitely no signs of leaks anywhere.
(I use 10W40 semi synthetic oil)
And I also have the ultra sensitive oil light issue discussed elsewhere -light comes on when dipstick at a quarter between low and high marks.
I also get a plume of attractive smoke out of my tail pipe

!
Matt
Bull***t!!! I suspect it's piston rings fubar due to the water ingress when the head went.
As for the oil light, that's the level sensor doing what it's supposed to, stops your engine running out of oil if you do something about it as soon as it appears.
Re: Puff of smoke on hill
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 11:01 pm
by Mattsonics
Ok
Is it worth worrying about the piston rings, if they are worn?
I think they may have been changed at the same time as the head - will check with dealer who sold me it, who is well known and reputable.
My Bongo is pretty high milage at 140 000 miles, which will obviously account for wear also.
It definitely doesn't lack power.
Matt