Engine judder & White smoke

[Destroyer-Dan]

So I have a 118D with the M47 engine the cars exhaust emits white smoke and smells toxic at idle the engine itself runs nicely but i will have a intermittent judder at idle and I will have to press the accelerator to level out the engine judder .... I've removed the injectors from the engine the body of the injectors is clean and so are the injector wells...but the tips of the injectors are covered in carbon .... can anyone else suggest any other places I should be looking or I'm I on the right track so far .... I have already checked for any head gasket issues and and coolant is all good I've checked the turbo and there is no play in the bearings  

[Greydog]

Hi Dan

White smoke is normally fuel or water vapour but I have seen one where a leaky brake master cylinder was was letting fluid into the servo worth a check

Fuel Pressure checked? When was the fuel filter last changed (if ever)? Mass air Flow meter? Any chafing or pinch marks on the engine loom

Thinking out loud

Dave

[Destroyer-Dan]

Thank you mate I'll 100% check the brake master cylinder I haven't noticed the brake fluid level drop at all its sat at the max indicator...  I haven't checked the fuel pressure but one thing I did do was reinstall the injectors with some proper quality copper washers and filled the car up with some premium fuel and the judder has gone now

I'm not sure of the cars history unfortunately as it was brought as a steal from auction for £300 I have ista and I have scanned the car with a fault for the glow plug module and the boost controller I assume that is the actuator on the turbo so I triggered it in ista to activate the actuator and it behaves normally so I will check MAF too ... one thing I did notice today is there is white smoke coming out of the oil dip stick when removed...

No pinched wiring loom that I've noticed as of yet and no EML 

[Destroyer-Dan]

So a little update I've replaced the crankcase ventilation valve that's fitted on to the cam cover and that has stopped the white smoke coming out of the oil dip stick pipe (when removed of course) and the crank case pressure has lessend (oil cap test) ... I've replaced oil and filter as well as the air filter the engine sounds a lot quiter than it did before but the smoke is still coming from the exhaust I'd say it's got a blue tint to it but it's more white than blue and it smells a bit... not as much as it did before but still a exhaust fume smell I also had error code 003F57 in ISTA I've activated the turbo actuator a 1000x over and over again and it has actually free'd up a bit as I did it while the engine was up to temp and continued to do it as the engine cooled down but I do still have this visible smoke and fumes from exhaust  

[Destroyer-Dan]

 

 

[Greydog]

Hi Dan

Operating the Turbo actuator doesn't mean the Vanes are working what you describe is classic worn turbo seals 

Dave

[Destroyer-Dan]

Ok so another update I removed the actuator and dismantled it sprayed contact cleaner on the internal component of the actuator and that actuator is operating perfectly now I checked the live data in ista (% values) and when I rev it shows me exactly what percentage the actuator moves which again working perfectly.

I operated the turbo vanes by hand while the actuator was drying out from the contact contact cleaner and I could feel stiff spots in the vanes but have now freed that up with a tiny bit of persuasion I have no turbo whilst now which is a good thing but I still have blue smoke at first i thought it was white but i guess that video was taken at night so harder to see here is a new video taken during the day which shows its blue I just hope it is the turbo seals and not something worse like valve stem seals or piston ring wear 

The smoke gets worse with acceleration 

[Destroyer-Dan]

ok so after doing some more digging on the internet ive been able to link the issues ive had and ive came up with a theory {correct me if im wrong}

a brief version of events 

* Problem 1 - A lot of smoke was coming out of the oil dip stick tube when the dip stick was removed which indicated to me the crankcase pressure is to high } - solution replaced crankcase ventilation valve (original factory CCVV was full of dry carbon & blocked) .. replaced air filter, oil change & oil filter and this fixed crank case pressure and no more smoke coming out oil dip stick tube.

* Problem 2 - blue smoke & exhaust fumes coming out of the exhaust } - Theory....Due to Problem 1 crank case pressure being so high that has forced the oil to seep past the turbo seals on the exhaust side of the turbo and leak oil into the CAT/DPF system } so i need take the car on a long drive to be burn the oil out of the exhaust system this will stop the blue smoke ?

[the reason i think this will work is because i've been searching online and apparently oil seal have a small gap like a piston ring does and they don't actually blow out like i imagine a seal to blow out they are designed this way to prevent turbo from being damaged by high crank case pressure this allows pressure to be released through the gap of the turbo seals... it has to go some where... right?... so I don't believe the turbo oil seal are permanently damaged or need replacing due to the design of them ?] 

* Problem 3 - Engine Judder so I discovered that the engine judder hasn't gone away as its being caused by the crank pulley being worn... visually it looks ok but upon removing both drive belts the crank pulley does have play from the rear (the bit closet to the engine) and every time the engine judders the tensioner moves in sync with it I've watched some Youtube videos that show the symptoms of a bad crank pulley and my issue is identical so replacing that will fix that issue 

P.O.A 

* Clean air intake manifold, ports & valves

* Clean boost pipes & intercooler  

* Clean EGR system  

* Replace Crank pulley

* Take for a long drive in hope that it burns the oil out of the exhaust system 

hopefully this is the solution to my problems 

 

 

[Greydog]

This car is going to keep you out of the pub Dan 

Dave

[Destroyer-Dan]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I love that hahahaha 

Do you think that theory seems logical or am I just pis**ng in the wind hoping not to get wet 

[Greydog]

Morning Dan

Always try the low cost simple things first

Once things are clean and operating correctly if you still have the smoke something is worn, split or broken. An engine at higher mileages could have worn Turbo seals or worn Valve stem seals it doesn't take much oil to give a cloud of Blue smoke.

With the crank pulley is it worn or loose? I have seen 2 loose ones 1 caused a lot of damage when it threw its belts 

Dave

[Destroyer-Dan]

Thank you mate highly appreciate the help im thinking of buying another engine for it, it has 72k miles on it but the engine has been stores for 2 years so im not sure if it will be ok or not but its only going to cost £150 so im considering it as i will make my money back just in weight of the engine apparently it was mint and the chap selling it was saving it for himself but never got round to using it and is now selling it as he now needs the space its taking up ill give you another update and let you know what i decide to do 

[X5smw]

I had the crank sensor pulley issue on an e36. Sounds like the same issues. 
as greydog also said, the air flow sensor can also cause the juddering, but usually has an irrational idle with it.

 

 

[Destroyer-Dan]

no my idle needle stays at the same point on the odometer just juddering but i know 100% thats due to the crankpulley but the valve stem seals have gone on the engine so im thinking of just swapping the engine thats only done 72k 

[Greydog]

As you are a roll your sleeves up man then an engine swap is a possibility check realoem find the part number for the engine then double  it and you will get a list of other Years/Models that the engine was used in. It should help with sourcing. If you can see it running in the donor car so you know what your getting.

I would also check the cost of getting the head rebuilt against the cost of an engine swap. 

If your engine is coming out swap the mounts as well as an after thought it's worth checking them anyway as they do fail and can cause odd vibration and running.

Dave

[Destroyer-Dan]

thank you mate highly appreciate the guidance and advice your a life saver 

[Destroyer-Dan]

So today I decided to put the car on the road as it had been sat for nearly a year I gave it a good long run with some high revs driving in 3rd gear 50mph and the smoke seems to have completely cleared up not sure if its the work i carried out on the car or it just needed to stretch its legs but possibly both ill check again in the morning but hopefully thats the end of that issue

[Greydog]

Fingers crossed Dan 🤞

Dave

[Destroyer-Dan]

the car is still going well the only issue i have is cold starts due to glowplugs misfire and smoke for a couple of seconds it sorts itself out so im going to replace the glowplugs and the module and hopefully that should solve it 

[Greydog]

Common issue with the Glow Plugs a friend who is a Diesel specialist reckons if one Glow Plug is gone you may as well change the lot and the module save going back in there. He also told me that it can stop the Re-generation Cycle as BMW use the plugs to help achieve the Regen Heat required 

Good Luck Dan

Dave 

[Destroyer-Dan]

thank you mate highly appreciate all the help you've given me 

[Destroyer-Dan]

so after all that I replaced the glow plug module and it resolved my issues 🤣

[Greydog]

Whoop Whoop Well done Dan

Dave