Really thick smoke from 4.5 1fz-fe

[Bakarhussain]

Hi everyone,

Bought my dream LC80 around Christmas and unfortunately it is smoking really bad.

- really thick smoke, on idle and when you drive. The smoke is white and stays around for a bit. Smells petrol rich

- not head gaskets related. Oil not milky and coolant has no oil.

- i have changed PCV to no avail.

- had sat for a while and previous owner let the fuel tank go empty and only filled up 5 litres just to start engine.... I have noticed when it was on half tank fuel it didnt smoke as bad

Really hoping for some advise before taking it to a professional who will charge me an arm and a leg

 

[jpoole]

To get the conversation going:

• What year and engine? there are variants of diesel and petrol engines in these and an array of possible issues/causes depending on which you have.
  • edit: I missed the 1FZFE title so that covers engine, what year and since you are not in the US what fuel system you have are relevant. Is it odb2 or odb1? Does it have a MAF or a VAF sensor to control fuel injection? The systems are different in relevant ways and the earlier (in US at least) ODB1, VAF systems more problematic.
• Smoke is coming out of the tailpipe right ?
• I'd pull the spark plugs to inspect. They'll be really clean if coolant is getting into a cylinder and could have a range of black/gray/white deposits if excess fuel or oil is hitting the cylinders. Take pics of the plugs labelled by cylinder and share here.
• I'd check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail / injectors (search this forum for how to do that)
• Are you monitoring fluid consumption closely?
  • MPG in the 10-14 range is pretty typical, I'd expect way lower if fuel is causing smoke (convert to your units as needed)
  • Close to 0 oil consumption is typical if engine is healthy and valve stem seals relatively fresh, I'd expect noticeable oil consumption if smoke is bad
  • Close to 0 coolant loss in cool months or very little in hot months is typical in cool months and you'll see steady coolant loss if that's what's causing the smoke
• Are there other issues, check engine lights, low power, rough running, high or low operating temps (use odb2 sender, IR gun or some other means of getting actual temps)
• I'm curious about the state of your catalytic converters given what you are describing. They could be getting fouled up, may be hollowed out, etc.

Good luck

 

[Bakarhussain]

To get the conversation going:

• What year and engine? there are variants of diesel and petrol engines in these and an array of possible issues/causes depending on which you have.
  • edit: I missed the 1FZFE title so that covers engine, what year and since you are not in the US what fuel system you have are relevant. Is it odb2 or odb1? Does it have a MAF or a VAF sensor to control fuel injection? The systems are different in relevant ways and the earlier (in US at least) ODB1, VAF systems more problematic.
• Smoke is coming out of the tailpipe right ?
• I'd pull the spark plugs to inspect. They'll be really clean if coolant is getting into a cylinder and could have a range of black/gray/white deposits if excess fuel or oil is hitting the cylinders. Take pics of the plugs labelled by cylinder and share here.
• I'd check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail / injectors (search this forum for how to do that)
• Are you monitoring fluid consumption closely?
  • MPG in the 10-14 range is pretty typical, I'd expect way lower if fuel is causing smoke (convert to your units as needed)
  • Close to 0 oil consumption is typical if engine is healthy and valve stem seals relatively fresh, I'd expect noticeable oil consumption if smoke is bad
  • Close to 0 coolant loss in cool months or very little in hot months is typical in cool months and you'll see steady coolant loss if that's what's causing the smoke
• Are there other issues, check engine lights, low power, rough running, high or low operating temps (use odb2 sender, IR gun or some other means of getting actual temps)
• I'm curious about the state of your catalytic converters given what you are describing. They could be getting fouled up, may be hollowed out, etc.

Good luck

To get the conversation going:

• What year and engine? there are variants of diesel and petrol engines in these and an array of possible issues/causes depending on which you have.
  • edit: I missed the 1FZFE title so that covers engine, what year and since you are not in the US what fuel system you have are relevant. Is it odb2 or odb1? Does it have a MAF or a VAF sensor to control fuel injection? The systems are different in relevant ways and the earlier (in US at least) ODB1, VAF systems more problematic.
• Smoke is coming out of the tailpipe right ?
• I'd pull the spark plugs to inspect. They'll be really clean if coolant is getting into a cylinder and could have a range of black/gray/white deposits if excess fuel or oil is hitting the cylinders. Take pics of the plugs labelled by cylinder and share here.
• I'd check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail / injectors (search this forum for how to do that)
• Are you monitoring fluid consumption closely?
  • MPG in the 10-14 range is pretty typical, I'd expect way lower if fuel is causing smoke (convert to your units as needed)
  • Close to 0 oil consumption is typical if engine is healthy and valve stem seals relatively fresh, I'd expect noticeable oil consumption if smoke is bad
  • Close to 0 coolant loss in cool months or very little in hot months is typical in cool months and you'll see steady coolant loss if that's what's causing the smoke
• Are there other issues, check engine lights, low power, rough running, high or low operating temps (use odb2 sender, IR gun or some other means of getting actual temps)
• I'm curious about the state of your catalytic converters given what you are describing. They could be getting fouled up, may be hollowed out, etc.

Good luck

Thanks for getting in touch

- fuel : Petrol
- smoke location: Exhaust(tail pipe)

will check the following in the morning
- spark plugs
-fuel rail
- obd port
- maf

 

[Bakarhussain]

Colour of the smoke

 

[Bakarhussain]

It does have a LPG kit fitted... But i havent used this and currently lpg tank is empty

 

[CJF]

- not head gaskets related. Oil not milky and coolant has no oil.

Still highly possible it's a failed headgasket. Are you losing coolant? Or have you not been monitoring it?

 

[Bakarhussain]

Still highly possible it's a failed headgasket. Are you losing coolant? Or have you not been monitoring it?

Have checked coolant dosent look like its dropping... However, the car hasnt been driven or stayed running for long periods due to the thick smoke

 

[tech_dog]

Is it smoke or steam? Hold some cold metal in that smoke and see how wet it gets.

One other thought... does it get better when warmed up? Vacuum switching problems can give a cold engine too much EGR, Crank vent air, etc.

 

[baldilocks]

Based on what I see in the photo and you describing the odor as that of petrol, I’d say you have a fuel injector that’s hung open. This could be the injector itself or a short in the wire which has an injector constantly grounded. A common place for this to occur is where the engine wire harness passes near the EGR tube on USA models. I don’t know if yours has an EGR system.

You can simply remove the spark plugs to find out which cylinder is the issue. That plug will be washed clean.

 

[Bakarhussain]

Based on what I see in the photo and you describing the odor as that of petrol, I’d say you have a fuel injector that’s hung open. This could be the injector itself or a short in the wire which has an injector constantly grounded. A common place for this to occur is where the engine wire harness passes near the EGR tube on USA models. I don’t know if yours has an EGR system.

You can simply remove the spark plugs to find out which cylinder is the issue. That plug will be washed clean.

Just added some pictures of the engine bay..... Will give this a go in the morning


Can i just thank you all for the advise and support.... Really appreciate it...i was soo excited to get this car and felt really disheartened when this issue accured.... Really want to get this beast back on the road and go for a long road trip

 

[Bakarhussain]

Is it smoke or steam? Hold some cold metal in that smoke and see how wet it gets.

One other thought... does it get better when warmed up? Vacuum switching problems can give a cold engine too much EGR, Crank vent air, etc.

I have noticed when the petrol was half full the smoke didn't come.... 1 quater / close to empty and it smokes

Will try the metal next to the exhaust and will photograph the results

 

[YVRYota]

Following.

I've bought an LX450, so far I've discovered PO had delete catalytic converters. He did mentioned a leak in the Y join, and issue with EGR.

With a few other minor issues, stabilizer bushing and needing new brakes. I'm overwhelmed where to get started.

 

[jpoole]

I see EGR and a MAF, likely odb2 but I don't know that I can determine that from the picture though someone else here probably can.

The LPG system looks like it may end up complicating ongoing troubleshooting, maintenance and ownership of this 80. What I see of the wiring doesn't inspire a lot of confidence that it was added in a way that will be durable long term and it may have developed issues already. If it were mine I'd be considering a full audit of that wiring to at least make sure there aren't loose connections though I'd be considering removing all of that LPG stuff and reverting back to the stock setup in all ways possible whenever time allowed.

The LPG system may not be related to your current smoke/steam issue of course and I would diagnose that issue before diving into any big work. Figure out what's going on then make changes systematically as appropriate to avoid creating a really confusing/messy situation.

Also, in case you aren't aware internal combustion engines typically create more than a gallon of water vapor for every gallon of fuel burned. That means that some level of steam is always going to show up in the colder months while you won't see it on warm days, which is normal. It seems like you have more than normal amount of steam/smoke but I wanted to make sure you were aware that some steam is normal depending on temps.

 

[tech_dog]

I have noticed when the petrol was half full the smoke didn't come.... 1 quater / close to empty and it smokes

Will try the metal next to the exhaust and will photograph the results

This might point you towards the vacuum switching that controls how much air is being pulled from the charcoal canister and valve cover ventilation. It's not a great guess, but what else could be linked to fuel level, with more gas rich air in the tank?

I'm not certain this is a good test, but maybe consider disconnecting the charcoal canister on the intake side and see what happens when it pulls clean air instead.

 

[CJF]

I have noticed when the petrol was half full the smoke didn't come.... 1 quater / close to empty and it smokes

So fill it up and drive it.

Maybe there's excessive water in the bottom of the tank?

 

[Wisco80]

Mine blows a lot of white smoke also, supposedly compression is good so probably not headgasket, but I'm not too worried about it because I want to swap this year anyways.

 

[Bakarhussain]

Will be pulling out the fuel injectors in the next comeing days... Need to see if these may be the issue.... When i did fill up the tank i filled up half the tank. From half tank to empty it only did 3.5 miles.... So next on my agenda is the injectors

 

[CJF]

From half tank to empty it only did 3.5 miles....

 

[jonheld]

Will be pulling out the fuel injectors in the next comeing days... Need to see if these may be the issue.... When i did fill up the tank i filled up half the tank. From half tank to empty it only did 3.5 miles.... So next on my agenda is the injectors

That has to be a typo.
There's no possibility that you burned 12 gallons in 3.5 miles.

 

[Wisco80]

That has to be a typo.
There's no possibility that you burned 12 gallons in 3.5 miles.

I think he meant 3.5 miles per gallon