High temperature and a bit of smoke!

**Hopewell** · 27th July 2011, 18:51

Alright guys,

Of late, I seem to be having a few issues with my '57 Vec 150 CDTi, although everything seems fine when I put my boot down!

I am not sure if I have a few separate issues, or nothing at all.. so I will list the obvious symptoms that I have noticed, and what I have checked. The internet being the way it is, typing an issue into google about a 150 CDTi is always doom and gloom.. its the same way that any human ailments in google point towards cancer lol.

Firstly, it seems that I have a leak in my AC. After a re-gas, it seems that this is the condensor as in the past week, the system just seems to have lost quite a lot of its cooling factor. Although this isn't my worry, I was not sure if this was a contributing factor. Looking to sort this in the next few weeks.

Secondly, my teperature usually sits at a pretty constant 85 degrees C. Now of late, I have noticed it creeping to just over 90 degrees, and this isn't something I have seen ever before. This is my first summer with the car, so I am not sure if I am being paranoid here, or if there is an underlying issue. Equally, I can't tell if this is due to the AC being on or not. When checking the radiator cooling fan, it doesn't seem to be coming on, even when sitting with the engine on after a long run. FYI, the coolant light did come on last week, so I topped it up a tad. It was low, but not massively/worryingly so.

Lastly, in the morning, when doing a cold start, I am getting a little puff of blue smoke. Now I know that this is potentially just a bit of soot, but again, this could be a link to something else!

Now, I have done a bit of research on here, and being a manual vec, I know I have no DPF. I have even checked the sticker inside my driver's door. I have also had a look at the swirl bar, and it seems to be sturdy, and not too dirty. I haven't paid much attention to the power under 2000 revs, but there is always power to be had when I put my foot down! As I have nothing else to compare it to, I have no idea what its like on the power side

So.. Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated!

**Hopewell** · 27th July 2011, 19:09

Just gone out to have a play and a real look.. turbo seems to be spooling at ~1500 revs, and really kicking in at about ~1700 revs, so I guess there isn't much wrong there.

The exhaust is very sooty inside, but only slightly so outside.

**hebblemarine** · 28th July 2011, 06:46

Soot inside a non-DPF diesel exhaust is normal.

My V6 runs between 85 and just a tad over 90, where the fan cuts in. I can't hear the fan running from inside the car and it's only just noticeable outside. If the temp gets up to 90 then drops down when you're round town / in traffic, then your fan is cutting in. If it's anything like mine, they have very quiet fans - even on maximum speed!

A puff of blue smoke on a cold start could be 1 or more glow plugs...

Keep a close eye on that coolant level and try to identify the source of the loss. It shouldn't lose any!

**alcutler** · 28th July 2011, 07:23

Originally Posted by hebblemarine

Soot inside a non-DPF diesel exhaust is normal.

My V6 runs between 85 and just a tad over 90, where the fan cuts in. I can't hear the fan running from inside the car and it's only just noticeable outside. If the temp gets up to 90 then drops down when you're round town / in traffic, then your fan is cutting in. If it's anything like mine, they have very quiet fans - even on maximum speed!

A puff of blue smoke on a cold start could be 1 or more glow plugs...

Keep a close eye on that coolant level and try to identify the source of the loss. It shouldn't lose any!

Simplest way to check for overheating / cooling fan operation is to get the engine up to temp and then let it tickover until the fan cuts in. You should be able to see the fan operating, but keep an eye on the temp gauge. I recently put a new thermostat on my 1.9 cdti 120 and it runs at around 85 degrees and will climb up to 90 when stationary - so yours sounds about right.