Bag of Spanners

Hi Guys,

I've been trying to search the forum for answers but i'm obviously searching the wrong things as i'm sure one of you will have encountered this problem before.

Yesterday on the way home my 97 S40 2.0 cdi started to run like a bag of spanners, very lumpy and way down on power, this is accompanied by a burning smell and a very harsh smell of sulphur.

The car is on 98k with FSH, last serviced in October, 4000 miles ago. Sailed through it's MOT last monday. I'm kind to it with only the occasional 'spirited' drive.

Its loss of power is so bad that when i turned into my driveway i had to drop it into 1st to get up the slight incline which it normally copes with quite easily in 2nd or 3rd.

There is no audible knock from the engine and the revs don't seem to shift by much at idle, but the car itself is physically shaking with the roughness of the engine.

The only issue i have had with the car is that it was getting low on oil (about a 1/4 of the way between min and max, so i filled it to just over 3/4. This was last weekend.

Any ideas?

Following on from the above, i have just dipped the oil and it is almost back down to minimum.

So to follow the logical conclusion i have just checked for leaks, there are obvious signs of fresh, relatively clean oil on the underneath of the car(though strangely none whatsoever has dripped onto the driveway). It is accumulated on and around a plastic tray that sits under the passenger side driveshaft and slightly further to the rear of the engine bay on the chassis and the passenger side suspension arm.

Any ideas where this is coming from or possible causes?

Thanks

[Ex Bmw owner]

Sounds to me like something 2 do with a blocked cat if you are getting a strong smell of sulphur,the low oil level + the bit on the underneath could well be a different problem altogether.The cat hasn't been bashed on anything has it,or have the mot centre crushed it on there ramp?.Don't hold me to any of that,it would explain the loss of power + the burning sulphur smell though

[pphilpot]

The oil *could* be from your gearbox - I have a '97 2.0 V40 and the Renault gearbox in this is prone to leaking from the passenger side driveshaft gaitor. If it is from that, not too bad to fix with silicone and bendy/rubber arms to reach around the brake disc :-)

On the burning smell problem - have you traced where it is coming from? Does it still smell once the car is stationary?

[Micro]

I think your car has an oil separator (flame trap) the same as my V40td engine. That could cause the burning smell/loss of oil/rough tickover if it's become clogged up.

Check that oil and fumes aren't being forced out of the pipe leading from the crankcase to the flame trap. If it is, you need to clean out the trap/pipes asap otherwise the build up of crankcase pressure will eventually cause leaks from the rear crankshaft oil seal on the gearbox end of the engine.

Micro