hi, I'm looking for people's opinion about my series 3 diesel. it has 78,000 on it and absolutely no blowby, however I am aware that the diesels can be a bit fussy about timing and fuel injection. I have attactched this video and want to know wether this looks like oil (blue) smoke or white smoke from incomplete combustion. it always starts well, however you will hear that it idles quite rough when cold and blows smoke. if you watch the entire video, you can see that this quickly clears up.

once the engine has warmed up, it always starts without smoke and has plenty of power. Do you think it's even worth chasing the cause of these problems? because it will only be driven a few hundred miles a year and it's not a showpiece. could the smoke be a worn timing chain? or valve stem seals? I have already replaced an injector which solved a diesel knock. and am I right in thinking that there is very little risk of the timing chain snapping like new cars do? if this isn't causing any long term damage to the engine should I leave it?
thanks.

Timing chain issues would result in continuous poor running and when tensioner gone you can hear it rattling in the case so rather unlikely. Valve stem seals gone and it is blue smoke, looks white to me.
A case of lazy pot I recon as a result of 1, Glowplug not working. 2, Another injector with poor spray pattern.
3, A cylinder with a bit lower compression.
As it clears quite quickly and then sounds/runs well I say No's 1 and 2 first to check.

I’ve managed to snap one. Before I knew better it was one of the first things I replaced with an eBay purchase. it now has a Turner Engineering offering with a full engine rebuild. I may as well while in there

First thing to tinker with is always the cheapest and easiest. Have a look at the slots that hold the high pressure fuel pump onto the block. If the bolts that go through them look central enough to allow a few millimetres of play it’s worth adjusting the pump clockwise a mill or two until the smoke stops.
Once fully rotated until no play is left, it’s time for a new chain and the pump backing off till the sweet spot is again reached. If that doesn’t help then it’s wear in other more complicated components.
Before attempting check your tappet gaps with a dial gauge not feeler gauges. If the contact point between rocker and push rod is cupped (and you won’t know unless you remove the rocker galery) it will give a false reading with feeler gauges.
Once your confident of gaps and you have some rotation on the pump, slacken all injector pipe nuts both at the injector and pump half a turn and rotate the pump 1mm. Tighten everything up and start the beast.
You have to repeat this until either the unburnt fuel stops or starts getting worse and you have to go back to the best point.
There is a pointer on the block but no markings on the pump. You have to scratch your own in to keep track of how much it’s moved.

Some say you can elongate the pump slots if you run out of adjustment but in my mind they are there to tell you when the chain has stretched too much and needs renewing.

It’s a faff but worth doing. It’ll give you slightly better performance and give you a feel of wear and tear in other components.

Oh and the burble is classic timing out. Known as the chuff.

There used to be a site with a whole section on diesel smoke and the whys and warefores. White smoke is unburnt fuel. Advance the timing. Black is normal under hard acceleration but should stop when up t’hill.
Blue is oil.

I could bore everyone all day on this

Due to the formula one type tolerances and thoroughbred performance of the rover diesel it’s quite achievable even with poor injectors. Get it the best it can be ‘as is’ (even if not perfect) then improve on things with an injector overhaul. If you have less smoke rather than no smoke it’s easy to continue down the line improving things by then spending money.

You could buy a new set of injector heads and a set of crush washers and a pop tester and tit about with them only to find no improvement. Do the free stuff first

hi, what do you mean by "the chuff" I will have a look at the injector slots and see if it has been adjusted. if it has previously been advanced is this a sign that there is lots of previous wear in the chain? Is the timing chain an easy job that could be done from home? I have had a look online and there doesn't seem to be any diesel timing chain kits. are the petrol chains the same as the diesel ones? thanks. does it look like white smoke to you? I have had a hard timing deciding weather it is white or slightly blue.

hi, I have looked at the pump, and the timing has been advanced but not that far. would you suggest that I continue to advance it or just go straight to doing the timing chain. I don't need the car to be perfect, so if advancing the timing will help and won't damage anything then im ok.

It’s white. Blue would be much much darker. If you get close to your white smoke it smells of raw diesel and makes your eyes sting .

The slots in the pump are there purely to adjust as you go along. No need to worry about the chain until 1. There is no more adjustment left and 2. The sun is blocked out by clouds of white smoke.

Once at the point of a new chain (you have both 1 and 2), you need to pop off the cover and visually check the sprockets and chain. Replacing isn’t a difficult job and usually worth changing the lot while your in there for peace of mind. You can’t know when things have been replaced in the past and it could have had a new chain but another one may not improve things if the sprockets are goosed.

You can get each part from Turner Engineering and although a few quid dearer than chinesium junk, they use their own parts in their rebuilds and have a very good reputation.

woo0003 said:

hi, I have looked at the pump, and the timing has been advanced but not that far. would you suggest that I continue to advance it or just go straight to doing the timing chain. I don't need the car to be perfect, so if advancing the timing will help and won't damage anything then im ok.

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Then adjustment is the way to go. It’s only the same as rotating your distributor cap to time a petrol engine. Just a bit more faff with the pipes.
In fact the engine itself was only designed as a petrol. It was adapted to diesel rather than redesigned when Rover realised farmers would only buy diesel.

It’s worth finding the sweet spot. Many call the diesel rotten but only because they can’t be bothered doing it right. Once running properly you’d be hard pressed to notice the difference and the 2 1/4 is one of the quietest diesels ever made. I’ve had to pop the bonnet on mine more than once to prove to people it’s not a petrol lump.

The chuff is a combination of…… the engine runs smoothly on tickover for a few rotations then has a little wobble and returns to a smooth tickover. The sound on its wobble sounds like a little steam engine and the white smoke appears like steam.

Yours can’t be that far out if it clears once warming up. You can always get it a bit less. I’d be surprised if you have to move the pump more than a couple of millimetres.

No rush in your case. Remember when MOTd, it was only a visual check and a pass if the tester could still make out the rear off side wheel.

Oh and no. You can’t adjust while the engine is running like on a petrol. You have to crack all the injector pipe nuts each time you adjust the pump. The engine would stall anyway.

Set your tappets first. Properly.

Even that could cure your smoke. If they have been set with feeler gauges and there is a cup in the rocker (they are not the hardest ever made) the feeler gauges will bridge the cup and when running will be travelling far too much.

A cheap magnetic dial gauge balanced on the edge of the head and placed on the rocker over the valve will measure the gap perfectly including any uneven wear.

thanks for your help. I've moved the pump 1mm clockwise and It now runs really well and has stopped smoking entirely. however, It is now very nearly out of adjustment. so I will order the parts for the timing system and will fit it when I get time. thanks.

woo0003 said:

thanks for your help. I've moved the pump 1mm clockwise and It now runs really well and has stopped smoking entirely. however, It is now very nearly out of adjustment. so I will order the parts for the timing system and will fit it when I get time. thanks.

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You’ll get a couple of years out of an adjustment. Probably more with low mileage. Always worth new quality timing gear though when not sure of its history.