Loss of power and gaining smoke

[naterade]

Any help diagnosing my recent issue is appreciated!

I have noticed in the past week a loss of power, and more black smoke coming out the tailpipe. The shifting seems too early, and when I give throttle to downshift, the van doesn't want to, it just blows smoke.

I worked her hard last week, hauling a lot of stuff for my wedding festivities, lots of miles, and I borrowed the van to my friend to run an errand, after which I found out O/D was off (in my haste I didn't explain anything to him), and he did do a 10km stint down the highway at ~100km/hr with O/D off.

Not sure if there's any one cause here, perhaps something was weak and ready to go.

I'm suspecting the turbo charger - I can hear it going sometimes, but seemingly less than normal, and with less gusto. From what I've searched here, most "loss of power/black smoke" problems are being attributed to a worn turbo. Other causes have been offered including cracked exhaust manifold or maybe just bad diesel.

I am hoping to come West late July/early August, and pay a visit to CVI for some help, but does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Cheers
Nate

[redmond]

Loss of power and smoke can be one of quite a few issues (many threads on these).
Going with your turbo, did/do you have "new" sound? Whining? Is the smoke only under load?

You can also check the threads about broken balancer and timing belt skipping a notch. Does the engine run smooth or rough at all - and when (idle, start-up, cold, etc.)? Stalling?

[naterade]

Loss of power and smoke can be one of quite a few issues (many threads on these).
Going with your turbo, did/do you have "new" sound? Whining? Is the smoke only under load?

You can also check the threads about broken balancer and timing belt skipping a notch. Does the engine run smooth or rough at all - and when (idle, start-up, cold, etc.)? Stalling?

No 'new' sounds, no whining, smoke only under load.

Engine runs like it always has.

[redmond]

Do you have a boost gauge?
You can pull off the intake hose and check the play of the turbine - the rubber hose that goes into the front of the turbo. It's not the best method but if you can really move the turbine around the bearings are gone. I hope it's not turbo! I've been told that a turbo is either working or not - so you have boost or no boost (not just a small loss of power). You may have a different issue.

The egr is also another common one - sticking open.

[yojimbo]

I would suspect an injector fault, egr fault, or wastegate stuck open which is easy to check. A boost gauge would be helpful to diagnose. Turbo failure could cause black smoke, but it would also run weird, as the oil leaking from it would be flowing in at the wrong time as opposed to injector timed.

Oh, and blocked air or fuel filter, or air leak post turbo. If your friend ran it really low on fuel it could have sucked crap up.

[Artacoma]

Could be just a blocked vent hose that goes from the valve cover to your intake, easy to check.

[FalcoColumbarius]

...Oh, and blocked air or fuel filter, ...

When did you last change the air filter element? Seriously, I received a verbal bollocking from Butch when I complained about more black smoke and less power and when I really examined the facts that "Couple of months" was in reality over half a year and the element was filthy. Think: Air filter $35; Turbo rebuild $700odd. Remove the air filter element from the housing, move into a shadowed area, shine a trouble light/flash light into the outside of the filter paper, look inside the filter, it should be quite bright. A new filter should be a soft bright white, if it's grey then you should consider replacing it.

Falco.

[naterade]

Ok, well, I just put the van down the highway to and from Fort MacLeod today, and the more I drive it, the more I realize that the turbo is still working. Also, it seems mainly like the van wants to shift too soon , and won't downshift when throttle is applied.

I mistook this as a lack of power, but really, it's just in too high a gear when I need to accelerate, and won't downshift.

It does downshift itself when I drop the speed down enough (drops to 3rd below 60) but when I try to accelerate again, it just shifts into 4th again right away... So, I've been working the O/D button a lot to get up to the speeds I need.


What could be causing this?





*edit* More info: I do not have a boost gauge, but I still hear the turbo, so probably not that... I pulled the tube off the egr and plugged it with machine screw a long time ago, so I don't think that's the issue either... Falco, I checked the airfilter too. It is not clean but it is not that bad. Light still comes through.

[FalcoColumbarius]

I would first check the ATF level, next check the kick-down linkage. Air filter: Mine was light grey and some light was getting through but the difference in performance between that one and the new one was pretty obvious. How old is your current filter element?

Falco.

[Tojo]

Check that the pin (circled in red) hasn't come loose. It's held by a tiny split pin that usually rusts away and releases the linkage.

[yojimbo]

*edit* More info: I do not have a boost gauge, but I still hear the turbo, so probably not that... I pulled the tube off the egr and plugged it with machine screw a long time ago, so I don't think that's the issue either... Falco, I checked the airfilter too. It is not clean but it is not that bad. Light still comes through.

That means the egr is still in place, it could be leaking, unlikely but if it was dirty it could be stuck a bit open, though you would have noticed before I expect.

it still sounds like a fuel air problem, as it smokes. Even if the gearbox is changing at the wrong time, you should still be able to give it a lot of right foot and get the revs and the power up, and if the fuel/air was good, that shouldnt smoke that much.

[naterade]

How old is your current filter element?

Falco.

Had it changed Feb 2011 at CVI. That's when we met in person Falco

Since then I've put around 30,000km on the van... So probably time for a change soon, correct?


Many thanks to the rest of you for all your help, I will check these other things out tonight when I get home

[naterade]

Check that the pin (circled in red) hasn't come loose. It's held by a tiny split pin that usually rusts away and releases the linkage.

That was it!! THANK YOU Tojo!!

Put a long machine screw in and a double nut to ensure it stays in.


Thanks everyone!!

I Delica.ca !!!


Nate

[FalcoColumbarius]

Got to make sure the honeymoon goes smoothly.

Falco.

[naterade]

Got to make sure the honeymoon goes smoothly.

Falco.

Indeed, things are looking more promising by the day.


I would like to still come to see Butch and have him check the van out before we head south, and also visit Sabbir at Max Overdrive and get a nice safari basket

Cheers!