Analogue Ben
Member
Hi All, hoping someone can help me with some advice. I have a moment of black smoke just after each gear change when going up the gears. It clears up as soon as the revs pick up. Most noticeable on steep hills at low speeds, such as hilly urban areas where you never get the chance to get some speed up and maintain some momentum. The valve and fuel timing has been done, and the valve clearances set by a Landy specialist, but they are not sure what is causing it as "we don't see many 300tdis these days". The mechanic said there are two springs in the injection pump, one for cold and one for warm, or normal running. He said that the cold running spring can weaken with age, causing the fueling to be a bit rich at low revs, until the normal running spring comes in to play. That's how I remember it anyway, so I hope I have described what he said correctly. He also said it wasn't worth the expense of fixing it, as the engine is good in every other way. It's smooth and pulls fine. I would like it to run clean though, even though it drives well. Has anyone experienced this and got any advice please? Anything to do with injection pumps seems expensive, complicated and with plenty of opportunity for doing damage without specialist knowledge. Is it possible for a handy amature to replace these springs, and, do folks agree this sounds like the likely cause of the problem? Thanks very much for any help.