Smoking from oil filler

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Skanny78

New Member
Posts
3
Evening All,

I’m new to the forum and hoping someone can help me.

I’ve got a 1995 110 300tdi with 300,000km on the clock. It was a CKD built in SA and shipped back here. I’ve owned it for 20 years so know the history and it has been serviced every year.

Last year my oil pressure switch blew out on the motorway and dumped all my oil out. Managed to tap it, plug it with a bolt and get home.

Since then the turbo has packed up and been replaced, as has the vacuum pump. Now she’s leaking a lot of oil from various places and smoking / steaming heavily from oil filler, dipstick and crankcase breather.

I’ve changed rocker gasket which helped a bit with the leaks. In addition I’ve fitted an allisport breather and cleaned all breather pipes, adjusted rocker clearances and changed injectors and glow plugs. Number 2 glow plug was very oily. This all helped quite a bit with the smoking but it was still there. So I wondered if it was pistons etc.

I then did a compression test and the cylinders ranged from 350-370 so I think that is ok? I started the engine, put the filler cap loosely on and it danced about but this stopped as I increase revs which I believe is a good sign?

She’s not burning oil (since I replaced the turbo, was burning loads prior to that) and isn’t noticeably using coolant. Doesn’t smoke any more than she’s always done on start up, which isn’t much to be honest. I’m a bit of a loss to be now.

I’ve tried the vacuum pump trick that Mike from Brit restorations talks about but that didn’t help.

Took it for a long run today, then checked expansion tank and that is bubbling away and when I increase revs it begins to bubble up massively.

I wondering if it’s a head gasket and whether I just need to pull the head off to check but any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Dan
 
Thanks johnlad, I’ve started to remove the head but can’t for the life of me undo 2 of the head bolts so have ordered a larger breaker bar and socket!
 
When you have the head off take a good look at the cylinder bore, you want to see some cross hatching ie lots of angled scratches, if it is totally smooth/polished it is worn out.
 
Ok, thanks. Didn’t know that so will check once I finally get the head off. Is there much that can be done if it is worn out?
 
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