3.0td smoking when idle

[rbaz]

Pull the turbo (inlet manifold) pipe off if its full of oil its the turbo a little oil is normal.

[General Banter]

Yes, this can happen. However shot valve stem seals will give the same symptoms. When you stop your engine, oil seeps down past the offending valve stem seal and sits on top of the piston. When you restart it burns off over a hundred metres or so, then all goes well, until you stop the engine again. Of course, the smoke will be a light blue colour.

It is difficult to diagnose whether valve stem seals are at fault, but if the exhaust manifold is dropped, traces of oil in the exhaust port of the particular cylinder can be an indicator. If the turbo is at fault, all ports might have oil traces. Valve stem seals CAN be replaced without removing the head on most petrol-engined vehicles if the right process is followed (let me know if you need guidance on this), but I haven't ever done it on a diesel engine, so unsure. Good luck.

You're absolutely spot on mate, I just usually go and check the turbo first as it's often the easiest to check

[The Hoffi]

Thanks again for all the replies and recommendations allthough neither of them get me in a good mood!
What you are saying about the turbo and the stem valve seals makes sense but (sorry for the but) burning engine oil would mean to me that I have to top up oil levels but instead there is too much oil.

I will try and get hold of my mech of trust tomorrow, not sure if he is working though. But with this weather an open air workshop is not really what I would fancy.

Is either of the suspected parts a common failure on the Surf? The clock tells 169k (I think still km)