Black Smoke, Misfire and No Power

[SufferinSurfer]

Hi All,

I am a recent migrant from Down Under with a very very sick 93 2LTE (misfire, smoke, no power, jumpy tranmission). I could really use a Surf savvy mechanic to help resolve some of these problems. I had the injectors done recently by a diesel specialist but ended up having to fix a few of their mistakes. I live near Luton and would be extremely grateful for a recommendation in either Herts or Beds area.

Cheers,

[Artful_dodger]

Hi All,

I am a recent migrant from Down Under with a very very sick 93 2LTE (misfire, smoke, no power, jumpy tranmission). I could really use a Surf savvy mechanic to help resolve some of these problems. I had the injectors done recently by a diesel specialist but ended up having to fix a few of their mistakes. I live near Luton and would be extremely grateful for a recommendation in either Herts or Beds area.

Cheers,

Sounds to me like the timing is out on the diesel pump. If you can 'limp it' over to stevenage at some point then we can have a look for you and maybe sort it out.

you can email me thru here or call me on 07930379698

Cheers
Paul

[SufferinSurfer]

Just thought I would update this thread with the latest. Many thanks to Artful Dodger and his mate for their efforts to fix this poor Surf.

1) Blocked off EGR hoses
2) Completed diagnosis on TPS - Seems to be working
3) Adjusted TPS
4) Replaced fuel filter
5) Checked timing - was found to be out, now corrected
6) Added some injector cleaner (injectors replaced < 5000Ks ago)
7) Checked air filter (OK)

So far, if anything, the problem is slightly worse.

Current symptoms are:

1) Misfire on idle especially in Drive or Reverse
2) Misfire under acceleration and deceleration
3) ECU code 11 on diagnosis
4) Engine blows black and grey smoke especially under revs or load
5) Complete power loss on uphill take off (really slow off the mark on the flat until turbo kicks in).
6) Engine occasionally cuts out when rolling to a stop,
7) Smell of unburnt fuel from the exhaust

Will soldier on and update as this process continues. Grateful for any ideas and suggestions in the meantime.

Cheers,

[Cant Get Right]

Replace everythhing under the bonnet, that should sort it. Hope u get it sorted mate

[dieselboy]

how are the fuel lines? has the tank been drained and had fresh diesel replaced into it?

can the ECU be temporarily replaced to see if it fixes the problem? (someone will correct me if im wrong on this, but to me it sounds like a fueling or air problem)

have you check the butterfly opens when the throttle is pressed?

just some ideas i threw in there. hope you have it fixed!!!

[Albannach]

Code 11 is a not in Park/Neutral error. I fixed mine by replacing the TPS! Get a known to be good TPS and try that.

Also, just because the injectors are new, doesn't mean they're ok. They could be dribbling or not atomising properly. Where did you get them?

[dieselboy]

another thing i forgot to ask is has the truck ever been run out of fuel?

i run a diesel out of fuel once, and it mis-fired for ages before it eventually got air out of the lines. and it smoked a lot too.

[SufferinSurfer]

Okay. Further updates. Thanks for the replies so far.

1) The ECU has been switched out and replaced with another (no change)
2) Ran a sniffer test yesterday. The head seems to be okay.

I am not sure about the fuel lines but I don't seem to be having problems getting fuel to the engine. More the reverse. The injectors could be the problem. They were sourced and fitted by a diesel injection specialist, supposedly. However one thing I will check is that the correct ones have been fitted.

I am suspicious of the TPS because of the Code 11 and the number of posts both here and in Oz that mention the TPS as the cause. Note to Albannach: Did you run a diagnostic test on your TPS before you replaced it? If so what results did you get?

I am taking it off the road next week and plan to work through the following:

1) Switch out the TPS with another
2) Check fuel lines
3) Switch the Crank Angle and Engine Coolant Sensors
4) Remove, replace, recondition the fuel pump
5) Run a compression test.

If all this fails I might take the advice just to replace the engine! Hang on, wouldn't it be cheaper to scrap the whole truck and buy another one???

[dieselboy]

i wonder if it is worth getting a jerry can (dury can.. ?) with some fresh diesel in, and swapping the fuel pickup in the engine bay to go to the jerry can?

when it is mis-firing, does it always sound like its the same cylinder?
the way to check this would be to try and listen very hard to the engine speed and the frequency of the mis-fire. if the mis-fire is regular (may be tap the body work with you finger to get the rythm) if it is regular then it could be just one cylinder / injector or something else.

if the mis-fire is irregular then you know its not a specific cylinder / injector problem

i think what you are doing is great, the process of illimination would solve it eventually.

[Albannach]

I did do diagnostics on the TPS, it checked out OK but for all it cost, I replaced it anyway. It cleared the fault code.

[SufferinSurfer]

Although several months have passed since the last entry on this thread I have not been idle. And I have a resolution to the problem finally.

After ruminating and trying a few things out I finally took it to an old diesel specialist (Dave Krass) and told him what I had done already. He took it for a drive and said "It is either the head, the head gasket or the valves. From the way it drives and from the symptoms I reckon your pistons are good".

Just before I took the head off I checked various sensors via the ECU plugs. I have an Excel spreadshet with the pin out allocations and wire colours if anyone is interested. Anyway the sensors checked out okay. Not brilliant but good enough.

Next I removed the head, stripped it and took it to be pressure tested. The pressure test came back good and they skimmed the head as well. I re-ground and re-sealed all the valves and re-assembled the head. Having re-ground the valves I checked the clearances. Several of the clearances were so tight (less than 0.03mm) I had to replace 7 of the shims sitting on top of the cam followers. It turned out that 3 of the inlet valves had been so tight the valve could never have closed properly. Some shims had to be reduced from 2.8mm to 2.5mm. In one instance I even had to shave some off the valve too!! (Thanks Dad).

On refitting the head I:

1) replaced the timing belt;
2) replaced all gaskets and seals;
3) removed and blocked the EGR assembly (both ends);
4) fitted new water thermostat;
5) fitted new fan belts; and
6) reset the TPS (using an analog multimeter).

I had some trouble aligning the timing marks and left the fuel pump one sproket out. I did a trial start. The engine took a lot of effort to fire, smoked like blazes and misfired. No black smoke this time though. I reset the timing, this time bracing the fuel pump cog on mark by threading a bolt through the cog against the rear timing cover (the long bolt holding the air conditioner is ideal for this).

I reassembled and turned the engine over. It started first time and ran smoothly with little or no smoke. I put everything else back together and went for a tentative drive. It ran like a ###### dream. Plenty of power and no smoke. Problem solved and the main culprit...valve clearances. I have no idea how it got this way but the cam has actually been damaged in some places. So my next job......replace the cam shaft. Many thanks to

Artful Dodger and Andy from Stevenage;
TL Engineering Elstow;
Dave Krass of Ampthill;
Walter Lunga from Steve Eagell Toyota Luton; and
My Old Dad Jim.


Now I am a Happy Surfer

[cfrizzy]

if you replace the camshaft a good mod is the 3L cam from the 2.8.
it is a higher lifting cam with a different profile and it is supposed to give more top end power and make it more drivable on the road.
if you go down this route keep us posted as I am thinking of doing the same when I have the cambelt done on mine.