Smoke under the bonnet!

[Rustinho]

I pulled up outside the house and was just about to head in when I noticed a bit of smoke coming out from under the bonnet. In a bit of a panic I popped it open and took a look to see if I needed to fetch a fire extinguisher or something (!) and it was focussed very much on one part of the engine (see attached pic).

There wasn't vast amounts of smoke (think of the amount you get when you blow a candle or a match out and you're not too far from what it was like) and it soon dispersed and after maybe 30 seconds or a minute there was no more smoke.

Given that I'm hardly the most mechanically knowlegable person on the planet can anyone offer any assistance? What exactly is the smoke coming from? Any likely causes? Will it be expensive to fix? Is it safe to drive a few miles (about 5 or 6 miles) to my trusty local garage?

The Surf in question is a 2nd Gen 2.4 diesel.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. Hopefully it'll help me to explain it to the mechanic at said trusty local garage.

[stormforce]

thats the turbo and will cost about £110 delivered for a 2nd hand unit.Take the shields off and start the truck up to see if you can see where the smoke is coming out from.It could possibly be a gasket or at worse a oil seal in the turbo

[Sancho]

That's your turbo. Almost certainly smoke from oil burning on it. When it's cooled down, look for any leaks around or on it. If it's the turbo itself you'll probably need a new one, but check that it's not getting oil on it from nearby as it does get very hot.

[Rustinho]

Thanks folks!

I thought it was the turbo but I didn't want to be a complete plant pot and call something the wrong name! lol

[TonyN]

check underneath the Turbo where the oil feed goes in, if its leaking you'll get smoke as it burns off.