Volvopenta problem

[xbillaroo]

My D2-75 turbocharged Volvopenta is blowing smoke blue/white leaving a sheen on the water and using lots of oil. I suspected the turbo so changed it with no relief of symptoms. The blow by from the tappet cover is minimal. The oil cooler small blow hole at the bottom is blowing air when running but dripping oil when stopped. Engine starts easily and runs well at normal temperature but I can’t afford the oil it’s using and I’m a major contributor to global warming with all the smoke from my exhaust. I welcome some insightful diagnosis.

[xbillaroo]

Could it still be the turbo?

[Statistical]

Blue smoke is oil being burned. So oil is getting into the combustion chamber and the reason it is using oil it is being combusted.

My first though would be the seal is bad in the turbo and is leaking oil into the charge air which is then goes to the cylinders where it is combusted. However the odds that two turbos including a new one have the same issue is unlikely.

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by xbillaroo

Could it still be the turbo?

Maybe, did you spend the kids inheritance and buy the Volvo one or get an Ebay one?
Here’s something to explore! all the Shibaura’s ( thats basically your engine) have the air intake under the valve cover , 4 upward facing ports in the cylinder head BUT separated from the rocker gear by a thin section of the rocker cover gasket, its actually possible to hydrolock a Shibaura with an oil change if that gasket is compromised. I know you have a turbo so this idea is difficult to support since there should be boost going INTO the rocker cover, not sucking oil out of it but anything’s possible.
One of those “anythings” could in fact BE the boost going into the crankase, if that happened, the turbo drain would be pressurised and then indeed the turbo seals would start leaking, they aren’t able to cope with drain pressure. Check the rocker cover gasket.

[SailingHarmonie]

How many hours on the engine? Any history of overheating or other problems?

[xbillaroo]

The new turbo is a Chinese one. Had the rocker cover off since the trouble to check valve springs and check valve adjustment. I think the rocker cover seal is good . Engine hours are long as it’s 2005 motor from Australia and we’re now in USA after traveling this time since 2015.

[skipperpete]

The early ones had a different arrangement, the tappet cover and the rocker box are separate items each with its own gasket, its the only place I can think of that would cause the problem you describe that can easily be checked, next easy thing is a leakage test and maybe do an injector test.

[xbillaroo]

I have only the single tapper cover with the single rubber gasket that divides the two areas as you describe. I am still hoping a faulty turbo seal again . Tomorrow I hope to run it up to turbo pressure and see if it eases the smoke and oil. Probably, just wishful thinking.

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by xbillaroo

I have only the single tapper cover with the single rubber gasket that divides the two areas as you describe. I am still hoping a faulty turbo seal again . Tomorrow I hope to run it up to turbo pressure and see if it eases the smoke and oil. Probably, just wishful thinking.

I’m still thinking that the white smoke could be an injector…. Or a broken precom chamber, one cruiser posted about losing parts of the precom, engine running ok but a bit smoky. With your engine, this failure would have possibly damaged the turbo as the bits exited the cylinder.

[xbillaroo]

Image of the smoke. The police arrived after about 5 minutes of motoring as someone had reported we were on fire!

[MicHughV]

That is some serious smoke...something really wrong here.

The list of things that "could" be wrong is long...

I'd start with a compression test, but at the end of the day, I think you are looking at an engine tear down...

[skipperpete]

What does that unmistakably white smoke smell like. It looks like you have an injector problem,run it again and crack the injector pipe nuts. It takes about 15 seconds to clear the smoke so don’t despair if at first it seems like this isn’t working. …….this smoke was what the Cummins PT injectors produced when an unskilled mechanic over tensioned the injectors and split a cup, here at Manly in Brisbane a motor cruiser did exactly as in your photo last weekend, huge clouds of white smoke and almost zero breeze to move it, it did indeed look like a boat had caught fire.

[xbillaroo]

There is a strong fuel exhaust smell. I warmed up the engine and cracked each injector waiting 30seconds with no discernible change in the exhaust smoke but at only 1200 revs. There was a large slick on the water of oil/ fuel that even continued for awhile after I shut the engine down. Could the seals in the new turbo be shot as well? Smoke amount is not huge at idle but increases with revs to catastrophic levels but when we cut the engine back to idle it is greatly reduced . However, still more than the healthy engine.

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by xbillaroo

There is a strong fuel exhaust smell. I warmed up the engine and cracked each injector waiting 30seconds with no discernible change in the exhaust smoke but at only 1200 revs. There was a large slick on the water of oil/ fuel that even continued for awhile after I shut the engine down. Could the seals in the new turbo be shot as well? Smoke amount is not huge at idle but increases with revs to catastrophic levels but when we cut the engine back to idle it is greatly reduced . However, still more than the healthy engine.

If you ever get a look at turbo seals you’ll see that they’re pretty hardy little things and the cavity that the bearing oil supply drains into is huge and connects via a big pipe to the oilpan so no, I don’t suspect the seals on the new turbo but wouldn’t dismiss the possibility. More likely would be a blown head gasket, but between cylinders rather than across to the water jacket. This would allow the engine to run on very low compression without enough heat to get the fuel to combustion. Low compression smoke can be white but you’d definitely be seeing a lot of rough running and maybe hard starting. If it was as simple as a hole in a piston there’d be heaps of fumes out the filler cap. A leakage or compression test is required.

[xbillaroo]

Engine starts easily, idles nicely , temperature good, no blow by; take off filler cap no fumes while running. Oily slick starts immediately engine starts and continues. As engine warms smokey exhaust starts and increases with more revs and decreases with less. Using large amounts of oil considering only running for minutes. Head gasket gone to one of the oil gallery’s?