WHY does this car want to kill me - page 1 - IDI Engine - VWDiesel.net The IDI, TDI, and mTDI source.

• WHY does this car want to kill me by theman53 on 11 Jun, 2008 23:05
• The second category is white smoke:
  
  White smoke and blue-white smoke share some of the same characteristics. White smoke is fuel not being burned. Extreme white smoke can be caused by the combustion chambers cooling down. One cause of this could be incorrect injection pump timing. Coolant getting into the combustion chamber can cause white smoke also. Possible causes are blown head gaskets, cracked heads cavitation, etc.
  
            Pulled that off of the FAQ... If you remember my last post of curious IP timing I am hoping for IP timing to be the problem.
  The car is an 86 NA Jetta. It has no coolant in oil or using any coolant in the 4 hours it has ran. The cold start lever won't stay down now that I have it running...was timed with it down and disconnected from cable. Blows white smoke...so bad as I was letting it idle and making adjustments after 10 minutes my eyes were burning, so I know fuel is unburnt. The head was completely checked out and rebuilt and I did the head gasket. The belt timming is spot on. I have had this car 3 years and got to drive it maybe 100 miles so far. WHY DOES IT WANT TO KILL ME???
   What do I do? Set IP timing by ear? Runs, starts, sounds good though... :evil:  :evil:
• #1 by jtanguay on 11 Jun, 2008 23:28
• try setting the timing to around .90 or even as high as 1mm??? that way you give the fuel a bit more time to burn.  it will clack louder but o well.  mine has been fine for the past 20'000 some odd km's.
• #2 by zukgod1 on 12 Jun, 2008 12:53
• Set it by ear if you feel comfy doing that.
  
  Last time I set mine (I have a inch gauge instead of MM) I set it to about 1.08. Fired it up and thought it was going to loose a rod it was pinging so bad. Must have been off on my gauge somehow. I loosened the pump and gave it a slight tap till it was quieter, it's still a tad loud but once I hit about 2000 it quiets down.
  Anyway, if you just need to get it going give it a try, you can shut it right down if you need to.
• #3 by theman53 on 12 Jun, 2008 23:04
• I am fairly comfy on changing the pump timing by hand...if
  it isn't much different than doing a gasoline distributor by ear. I can do those almost as good as a timing light can, I just don't want to kill this car by messing up. I know a little movement will make a big jump in timing. Just tell me it is ok and about like a distributor on a gas car and I will do this....I just need to hear that it is ok to do and not mess up. Do this with the car running right?
• #4 by jtanguay on 13 Jun, 2008 01:44
• Quote from: "theman53"

  I am fairly comfy on changing the pump timing by hand...if
  it isn't much different than doing a gasoline distributor by ear. I can do those almost as good as a timing light can, I just don't want to kill this car by messing up. I know a little movement will make a big jump in timing. Just tell me it is ok and about like a distributor on a gas car and I will do this....I just need to hear that it is ok to do and not mess up. Do this with the car running right?

  
  
  yep while its running.  i know a polish mechanic who's worked on all kinds of diesels, and he times it by ear.  takes a while to get it right, but if you're REALLY good you can have it even better than a dial gauge as it makes up for injector pop pressures, etc.
• #5 by theman53 on 13 Jun, 2008 07:54
• will do as I am a pollock myself  :lol: great grandparents dropped the ski----My last name is now Rolince not Rolinceski--- when comming over after somesort of problem in the 1940's :shock:
  I haven't turned up any thing on the pump so it should be fine then. I will try to tear it up tonite. Thanks Lucas <><
• #6 by theman53 on 14 Jun, 2008 17:52
• no change. No matter which way I went or how far I always have the white smoke. Any suggestions? My wife wants to kill me as well as the car. I would love to have it run without the cloud and we'll all be happy. If the performance is good, should I just run it? let me know
• #7 by vanagonturbo on 14 Jun, 2008 23:52
• white smoke is usually coolant. Its possible that you have a leaky headgasket that is introducing coolant into the combustion area. Are you consuming coolant?
  
  Tell your wife to deal with it you are working on a car that gets pretty decent fuel mileage.
• #8 by theman53 on 15 Jun, 2008 09:52
• I haven't consumed any coolant. I just bought a head and did the entire head gasket...3 rd time. I bought it with a bad head gasket off a guy who did the head gasket for me, ruined the head. Then I did one (my first one) and broke the injector of #2 in the head casting, and now got this new head totally rebuilt and put it on last summer. It smoked then and I had the fuel pump tested, they said it was junk...I sent it to prothe and just last week got it going and the smoke hasn't stopped. New injectors as well. Compression was about 350 in all but #4 which was around 300 cold. The only thing I could possibly think is that I didn't do a piston protrusion to see which head gasket to use I went with the 3 notch as that is what was on it. The guy I bought it off of said he and another guy were the only owners and it never had a head gasket in its 165,000 miles.
  The cylinder walls looked really good and I am at my wits with this. It should run without smoke. It has really good power.  :evil:  :cry:
• #9 by burn_your_money on 15 Jun, 2008 10:24
• How quickly does it start up?
  How is the power the way it is running right now?
  Does high RPMs clear the smoke?
  If so, what color, if any is the new smoke?
  When the engine warms up does it clear?
  Are you using the cold start lever to start the car?
• #10 by theman53 on 15 Jun, 2008 11:42
• It starts pretty much immeadiately.
  Power and starting is much better than my rabbit which is dying.
  At no rpm or timing setting does the smoke go away...it is no better or worse though
  The smoke is always white, and smells of unburnt fuel, burns your eyes and your money
  It doesn't clear no matter how warm
  I am kind of using the cold start lever, after I got it back from prothe it doesn't work correctly. It won't go down with the cable and if you push it down with a screwdriver it will spring right back up. I guess it is always on now but I dont know.
• #11 by jtanguay on 15 Jun, 2008 13:16
• i'd say experiment with some increased timing until the white smoke goes away.
• #12 by theman53 on 15 Jun, 2008 13:21
• I have turned the pump all the way away from the engine and all the way towards the engine and the smoke doesn't change. I believe it is unburnt fuel...I just don't know why. I have ran it for 30 minutes and it is fully warm and still no difference. I don't know what else to try that I haven't already, if you have read any of my former posts. I will keep trying the timing and I am going for a leak down test any and all reasonable suggestions I will try. THanks guys
• #13 by gigaz2 on 15 Jun, 2008 15:18
• hmm, mine is doing the same thing, except it won't start unless I loosen the injectors, prime the lines and try again.
  
  so I know my problem should be air in the fuel, as I tore 3 pumps apart and made one from assorted pieces without changing any seals  :oops:
  
  I gess its a miracle it starts in the first place
• #14 by theman53 on 15 Jun, 2008 15:58
• I don't have any clear leaving the pump sorry in last post. I do have a clear line into it with no air there.  After running it more and more I have noticed a bit of oil gaining on the dipstick. Number four injector I have loosened the injector line and not much change in idle...  :evil:  :cry:  :evil:    Which ticks me off as it idles better than my rabbit I drive 150 miles a day. I guess I will have to rebuild or throw away. This engine is all new except pistons, rings. I did it all very slowly and pieces at a time, that is why it doesn't have new everything. My turbo engine needs all the machine work and head done as it is locked up now. I just want to cover it in 2 stroke gas and light it right now, but all the money in the bolt on pieces is stopping me right now.
  I just need to take a break and watch some Bob Ross and think of some happy trees.