Disco 2 TD5 white smoke at idle

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GaryWrench

Member
Posts
15
Recently come back to the fold and found a nice 2002 TD5 GS with 85k miles and one owner from new, loving it really .. but...
was fine (if damn slow) but after a run on a dual carriageway it started throwing a white smokescreen out when pottering around or at idle when warm. Friends diagnosed a turbo so i fitted a brand new Garrett unit and my smoke dropped to hardly anything or the odd big puff which I put down to the intercooler needing clearing out . Crawling out of the shopping centre two weeks later Ive caused chaos with so much smoke one day I was shrinking in the drivers seat and this morning crawling through traffic it was terrible.
Just read the error codes and I have:
Injector 1 Open Circuit Detected Logged
Can Error Fault Currently active
Injector 1 peak Charge Long Logged
Airflow Circuit Fault Logged High
Aircon Fan Drive open load fault.

Al have cleared fine.

So I will drive around a bit and recheck faults as some could be ancient.

Water levels are fine, temp is fine, not suspecting any coolant/headgasket issues

The car seems sluggish - certainly less go than my last facelift disco but this is 20 years later so I'm not expecting it to go as well.

The smoke is the issue... any thoughts? I'll repost here when Ive checked the fault codes again after a drive.

Thanks.
 
sierrafery said:
Is it automatic?

Check the ECU red plug for oil. Unplug the MAF and see how it runs that way... the EGR is still in place?
Click to expand...
Manual, oil in red plug, cleaned out still the same. EGR still inplace, will google MAF location and look when I get home
 
thanks for replies, new injector loom installed , ECU cleaned up, wasnt a lot of oil around at all really . Still smokes like a smoke grenade. disconnected MAF sensor wiring and it makes no difference. Error code 'Can Error Fault Currently Active' has reappeared but nothing else.
 
GaryWrench said:
Error code 'Can Error Fault Currently Active' has reappeared but nothing else.
Click to expand...
That's specific for automatic ECUs as the manual doesnt have a CAN circuit... tell me what part number is on the ECU cos i have the feeling that the PO fitted a botched up automatic ECU then this can be the problem....btw what diagnostic tool you have?
 
just put it all back together and come insode so I'll remove the ECU looking for part number in morning when its daylight. Previous owner had it from new until he died earlier this year , has been maintained by his nephew a very well known (at least locally) land rover specialist whos fastidious so i cant see it having the wrong ECU. I have read that the code reader itself may give an error as its not a true ODB2 in the disco ? I have a Launch CRP123X which i use on works vans and have been very pleased with it
 
If it's OBD2 scanner it can show false fault codes, you have to plug in a compatible tool(nanocom or hawkeye) for the real code and watch live sensor readings while the symptom occurs but usually white smoke is mostly mechanical not a management issue cos these can cause black smoke due to overfuelling not white, if it's mechanical i'm quite useless i can just quote what the general oppinion is about that:

Diesel Engines Blowing White Smoke from Exhaust​

WHITE SMOKE occurs when raw diesel comes through the exhaust completely intact and unburned. Some causes of this include

  • Faulty or damaged injectors
  • Incorrect injection timing (could be a worn timing gear or damaged crankshaft keyway).
  • Low cylinder compression (eg caused by leaking or broken valves, piston ring sticking, cylinder and/or ring wear, or cylinder glaze)
When white smoke occurs at cold start, and then disappears as the engine warms up, the most common causes are fouling deposits around piston rings and/or cylinder glazing. Use of our Flushing Oil Concentrate and FTC Decarbonizer address these respective problems.

Water entering combustion spaces will also create white smoke. Faulty head gaskets and cracked cylinder heads or blocks are a common cause of water entry, and are often to blame. Unfortunately, expensive mechanical repair is the only proper solution here.
 
sierrafery said:
If it's OBD2 scanner it can show false fault codes, you have to plug in a compatible tool(nanocom or hawkeye) for the real code and watch live sensor readings while the symptom occurs but usually white smoke is mostly mechanical not a management issue cos these can cause black smoke due to overfuelling not white, if it's mechanical i'm quite useless i can just quote what the general oppinion is about that:

Diesel Engines Blowing White Smoke from Exhaust​

WHITE SMOKE occurs when raw diesel comes through the exhaust completely intact and unburned. Some causes of this include

  • Faulty or damaged injectors
  • Incorrect injection timing (could be a worn timing gear or damaged crankshaft keyway).
  • Low cylinder compression (eg caused by leaking or broken valves, piston ring sticking, cylinder and/or ring wear, or cylinder glaze)
When white smoke occurs at cold start, and then disappears as the engine warms up, the most common causes are fouling deposits around piston rings and/or cylinder glazing. Use of our Flushing Oil Concentrate and FTC Decarbonizer address these respective problems.

Water entering combustion spaces will also create white smoke. Faulty head gaskets and cracked cylinder heads or blocks are a common cause of water entry, and are often to blame. Unfortunately, expensive mechanical repair is the only proper solution here.
Click to expand...
Thanks, starting to think I need to change the injectors :(
 
Last edited:
Stanleysteamer said:
Totally agree with @PopPops re the seals, and you can get injectors reconditioned which should be cheaper than new.
Click to expand...
Thanks both, yes I’d get refurbished injectors rather than new , would change injectors rather than just the seals if I’m taking it apart … if it was an EFI I’d say the injector was stuck open but they are mechanical on the TD5 operated by the camshaft so can’t stay open … ?? Somehow it seems like it’s sucking oil in from somewhere .. became bad after a run, changed the turbo went away.. became bad again , changed the injector loom, still bad.. car has stood around a fair bit I think before I had it .
 
GaryWrench said:
Thanks both, yes I’d get refurbished injectors rather than new , would change injectors rather than just the seals if I’m taking it apart … if it was an EFI I’d say the injector was stuck open but they are mechanical on the TD5 operated by the camshaft so can’t stay open … ?? Somehow it seems like it’s sucking oil in from somewhere .. became bad after a run, changed the turbo went away.. became bad again , changed the injector loom, still bad.. car has stood around a fair bit I think before I had it .
Click to expand...
Doesn't quite work like that!
See this.

any little piece of cr@p can keep an injector open.
 
GaryWrench said:
....they are mechanical on the TD5 operated by the camshaft so can’t stay open … ??
Click to expand...
It's more complicated that that(and than the rudimentary theory from aulro), the camshaft and rocker shaft are managing the flow through the injector in the fuel rail it has nothing to do with the injected quantity through the nozzle into the combustion chamber, that's 100% electronically controlled, a generic explanation can be found in the LR technical Academy file attached but that's just the basics

1730664353751.png

1730664309240.png
 
Stanleysteamer said:
I apologise from the bottom of my heart for only finding a rudimentary description of all this. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Thanks both. flat out with work for the next two weeks so may shelve the disco for a bit - stashed it at the back of the yard at work. Probably get someone local to change the injectors for a refurbished set with new seals.
 
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