Turbo loud whistle and smoke from exhaust when accelerating
 

Greetings all, my first post about my first Volvo.
It's a lovely black V50 2.0D Sport R Design, '08 reg, 104k on the clock.
I'm loving the driving experience; it goes like a train and handles well.
(Though I guess anything does compared to the Avensis I traded in to get the V50!)
I got 48mpg on a run from Bristol to Falmouth.
There's one thing I'd like opinions on please - the car flies up through the gears beautifully, but there's quite a loud turbo whistle and some black smoke from the back end. Even the Skoda Octavia '06 diesel I had on loan didn't chuck anywhere near as much smoke out as this.
So I'm wondering if this is normal? Anything I could check for, or any "usual suspects".

Nice to meet you all - any pointers most appreciated.
Thanks
Phil

Hi Phil,

It sounds like a small leak in the turbo pipe but my 08 v50 smokes a bit and you might, like me, have the one from the year that has no diesel particulate filter (trust me, its a good thing). My v50 chucks out more smoke than my 1.9tdi octavia thats 2003. I would check for boost leaks but the 2.0d engine does smoke a little

+ 1 on the turbo pipe

Thanks for both your replies guys - that's appreciated.

I fully get that "diesels sometimes emit smoke" - I had a Laguna 1.9dCi that went very well, but laid down a nice smokescreen in the process :-)

I'm trying not to let this stress me too much - it's just that the Volvo is new to me and I notice EVERYTHING it does. #over-critical

Also my last 2 cars had clean-running petrol engines, so by comparison a diesel sounds a bit rural.

I'm sure I read somewhere about air being sucked in through what is probably a minute hole or crack in a pipe - I'll figure out where the pipes are and check their integrity as best I can.

If I decide to change any of them, is it a "home mechanic's" type of job or best left to a decent garage?

Thanks again
Phil

Regarding the DPF ..
 

I don't think my engine has a DPF
Allegedly, you don't have a DPF if the 8th digit of the VIN is 4 and if it's a 5 then you do have a DPF.

Yea that's right, easiest way is to have a quick look underneath though. No DPF does make it smokey! Have a quick look for boost leaks and check the clamps are tight too. Don't tighten the one on the throttle body looking bit just before the manifold mind. If its too tight it causes the anti-shudder valve to stick.

Been driving it around for a while now ....
 

Thanks for your comments paddyred - I've put a few miles on the clock now and have got a bit more used to the car. Basically it drives well, pretty quick up through the gears, smooth at motorway speeds, average 48mpg.

But the amount of smoke it kicks out is alarming me!

Usually it happens when accelerating, both at slow speed and for example when joining a motorway on a slip road.

It seems to occur when changing up, say from 3rd to 4th or 4th to 5th, after letting the clutch out, and when the turbo kicks in.

I've read so much on this forum about potential causes, EGR being a popular culprit it seems.

Not sure how to diagnose this - is a code reader at a garage the way to go? (No dashboard warnings showing by the way).

Many thanks
Phil

You will have a code if you have a boost leak as the car doesn't like it. I would buy a code reader if I where you. Its a good long term investment.

This is the one I bought as one for the glovebox. Its universal (unlike the volvo one) and is actually pretty good for the price. Its a full colour screen and the company releases updates regularly with more in depth code analysis as the scanner gives you advice of possible ways you can fix the issue. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1818976740...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I had smoke issues on mine. You could see the smoke in the day and really bad at night in peoples headlights. Especially motorway driving, even accelerating gently caused a nice cloud behind me covering a lane or two. I eventually blanked off my EGR valve and that sorted it completely. Black smoke is caused by too much fuel for the air you have going in so its not burnt efficiently. You could have a slow/leaking actuator on your turbo but you would usually get limp mode with that. You could have a split hose meaning you have a leak somewhere. It could even be (like mine) the EGR chucking too much exhaust gas back into the inlet causing an unclean burn.

If you have checked your hoses then look at the EGR. You can either clean it if you have a DPF as blanking it off on a DPF car puts the warning light on. Or if you don't have a DPF you can just blank it like I did (the plate costs about £3).

As far as the sound of the turbo goes mine is quite loud. If I go any more than half throttle I get a loud high pitched turbo sound followed by a nice "Tsshh" sound when I lift off. I haven't even remapped it!

@Paddyred, my 50 hasn't got a DPF. Is it that simple just to blank it off without getting any warning lights? If it is, where do I get one of these blanking plates?

TT

Hi TT,

Yes it is that easy. Basically loosen off the two 10mm bolts on the silver egr pipe that goes between the EGR and in inlet manifold (loosen the union at the back of the engine) and loosen off the little pipe support clamp that holds that silver pipe to the block then slide the plate in and do it all back up again. After that you MUST unplug the gray plug that is on the EGR itself. For some reason having it plugged in puts the warning light on. That's it, done.
I don't have a warning light but I do have a fault code for high EGR pressure when using a scanner because its blocked off. It won't put it in limp mode or anything so it doesn't matter but its worth remembering its there so you don't go hunting a red herring if you have issues with something else in the future!

Here's the one I bought http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1613090332...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT