Why do tuned diesels smoke

The third main type of smoke you might see is blue smoke. Blue smoke is of course not bright blue in colour - it is more of a pale grey with a distinctive blue tinge to it. It can be hard to spot for the inexperienced, but if you have seen it once before you cannot miss it. If you have seen blue smoke, unfortunately it is almost always bad news. Blue smoke is caused by the burning of engine oil. This means that for some reason, oil is getting into either the intake, exhaust, or worst of all into the engine itself.

There are a few common places where this oil can be leaking. Turbocharger - if the seals start to fail in the turbocharger, oil can leak into the turbine or compressor housings.

Luckily, as the turbocharger is its own unit, this can be removed and replaced or reconditioned. Piston Rings - in high mileage engines, wear in the piston rings and bores reduces their ability to control the oil from entering the combustion chamber. This causes oil to be burned and produce smoke.

Repair usually requires an engine rebuild. Valve Stem Oil Seals - another common place for oil to leak is from the valve stem oil seals in the cylinder head. Replacement requires removal of the valves, and therefore the cylinder head has to be removed making this a substantial job.

Head Gasket - Head Gasket failure allows oil, coolant and combustion gases to mix. Diesel engines are notoriously smoky, producing much more blue, white, and black smoke than their gasoline-powered counterparts. The fundamental reasons for this are that diesels operate at higher pressures, with lower-purity fuel, and variable fuel-air ratios.

This post covers the different types of smoke, and their complicated causes. Blue smoke is usually a sign that the engine is burning oil; but why would a diesel burn oil? Well, the short answer is that diesels get very hot, and they stay hot for longer than gasoline-powered engines because of the way they work.

What about glow plugs? Well, not all diesels have them, and in those that do, glow plugs are only there to help with starting.

Compressing any gas increases its temperature, in proportion to the pressure increase; letting the compressed gas expand will cause it to cool. This effect is why air compressors get hot, and why pressurized air and carbon dioxide always feel cold when you let them expand. In the case of a an engine cycle, this compression is known as adiabatic compression , which just means compression in an isolated environment the cylinder.

It works by removing the built-up sludge and varnish created by burnt oil and lubricating your engine. The stiction eliminator can also clean other engine components such as the oil pump, HEUI injectors, pistons and more. This high-quality oil treatment can help reduce friction in the engine, lower engine operating temperatures and make the engine run efficiently and smoothly. Stiction Eliminator belongs first on the list due to its money-back guarantee and ease of installation.

Another option you can try is to run a compression test. Many auto parts stores offer compression test units for rent, with your money back when you return the tool.

You could also try replacing your PCV valves. These valves can sometimes go bad and suck oil into the intake, depending on the vehicle. White diesel smoke can sometimes be a sign that there is a larger issue with your engine.

Here are some of the common causes of white smoke and how you can eliminate it:. Black smoke. In many cases, tuning a diesel can be a bit of a black art without the right test equipment. The ideal air-fuel ratio AFR for a petrol engine will be So you could say a non-turbo Diesel is clean around 14 to By 12 or it would be blowing out oodles of smoke, and by 15 or it would be very clean. A tuned turbo-diesel would also blow smoke but usually this is anywhere under 15 or Remember black exhaust smoke is taking money straight out of your wallet!

Common causes of black or grey smoke are incorrect injector pump settings, dribbling injectors or a blocked air intake system, just to name a few.

Blue Smoke. There are a number of reasons why engines will blow blue smoke, but assuming the correct oil is used, the main culprit behind the problem is oil burning in the cylinders. It only takes a tiny amount of oil to produce blue smoke from the exhaust. Some engines have been known to continue running strong for thousands of kilometres even burning small amounts of oil.