does it have a boost gauge? with sdi injectors and standard boost you will get alot of black smoke. put the boost up to 19psi and you should see an improvement.

 

Rough starting from cold could be an fuel leak most likely around the priming bulb and pipes going to the filter. I replaced all mine and the bulb and its has eliminated the rough start.

 

i think the boost has already been adjusted but i suppose i could try get a boost gauge. where would be the best place to pick up a cheap but decent one? it is white smoke though not black smoke.

ive had a good look and there doesnt seem to be any sign of fuel leaks

thanks for the suggestions though guys all suggestions appreciated

 

have you got a boost leak? could explain the smoke

is the lumpyness the egr valve sticking?

 

The only time I've managed to get white smoke out of my diesel was when one of the fuel pipes to the injectors wasn't on properly so the fuel was leaking out. It also idled very badly.

Boost leaks usually give black smoke don't they?

 

Sounds exactly the same symptoms as my car 2 days before the turbo oil seals failed...
I only got white smoke a few hours before it exploded :lol:

 

definitely not the egr valve sticking as its been removed and blanked off probably should have mentioned that.

im going to have to have another good look at all the fuel pipes at the weekend il also check for boost leaks.

hopefully not the turbo seals
although i can definitely hear the turbo making more noise than my last td i presumed it had been adjusted more though?
the cars been doing this for a few weeks now at least.

 

swapped my sdi injectors for standard ones today hoping itd cure my problems but it hasnt. still doing same.

cant see any evidence of fuel leaks anywhere and the turbo is not using any oil so im stumped.

i whipped of the covers on the left of the engine as i was going to try time the cam i dont see any obvious factory markings to use to set it just a few white paint blobs. 3 in total and in totally different places.not very useful. what are you supposed to use to time the cam in these? anyone have any good pictures?

i took off the rocker cover hoping to see the cam as i was going to time it that way but theres a nice cover over it so that idea went out the window.

i did find this plug near the fuel pump. its disconnected and i dont see where it plugs in. anyone have any ideas?
could it be causing any of my problems?

 

nah thats just an air con plug bud

 

The timing mark on the cam is drivers side take off top cover and look for mark at 5 o'clock.
Make sure you lock everything up as the l series are quite fussy.

 

cheers popeye for clearing that up

minesarover what sort of mark am i looking for? is it the small circle indent or a line or something else?

 

it's hard to describe but theres a line in the plastic molding that 'points' towards the cam pulley at around the 5 o clock position - there's also a mark on the pulley and as you can guess they should line up.

 

the line in the plastic i can find no problem its the mark on the pulley im having problem finding.
ive spotted 3 blobs of white paint at 3 different places but thats about all i can see on it?

 

Still got this problem really annoying me now tempted to chuck in a new engine.
Still having trouble working out what to line timing up to.
Also wondering if this digital maf is to blame. It has lots of switch positions should i start trying different positions?

 

On one of the cam pulley spokes (cant think of the word) is a raised line which mates up to the line on the casing when at tdc (this line may be covered in paint but is noticeably different from the other "spokes").

 

Either of these helpful?

 

Yes the bottom engine....on the cam look at 4 o'clock there is a raised line , this needs to line up to the line on the casing .

 

havent been on here in a wile. still having the same problems. timing seem to be set correctly. i have now been told to check valve clearances? is this likely to be a problem which could cause the symptoms i have?

also how would i go about checking it?

 

3months later and still no closer to fixing this

car has a mafam fitted is there any instructions as to how these work?
what position should the switches be set?