Smoking at part thorttle

[Soot Sandwich]

I am pretty sure my head gasket is blown.  I am going to replace it. 

I added the Giles pump before I knew this to add power.  I never touched the Max-Fuel Screw.  Apparently, I smoke all the time under throttle, even light throttle.  At night, I can see a ton of smoke in the headlights of people behind me.  Is there anything I can do to adjust this smoke?  Also, the car really has no power  but, maybe a little more range with the Giles pump.  I attribute this to the headgasket being blown.  Can I turn the max fuel screw to help partial throttle?  Or, is it all because of the headgasket?

Thanks,

Steve

[macka]

are you sure its the HG? Did you check for coolant in the oil and vice versa? Have you looked for air leaks in the vacuum system? Checked timing? I always check little things that are cheap fixes and work my way up to the wallet/knuckle bleeder work.

[745 turbogreasel]

+1 to everything Macka said, and what color is the smoke?

[burn_your_money]

What do you have the pump timed to?

Do you know the condition of your injectors?

[Soot Sandwich]

Well, I am sure, based on the thread that details all the symptoms of a blown head-gasket, that my head-gasket is blown.  Sometimes, after hours of operation, going up hill I have zero power.  One time, the engine was above the midway point in coolant temp and I had zero power and tons of white smoke from the tailpipe. 

A nasty black film in the coolant reservoir, with bits of black fluid (oil I am assuming).  It also appears that I have oil coming from the head gasket on the backside of the engine.  I may have an air leak in the vacuum system but what does this have to do with the drive train.  My brakes usually go to the floor on the first pump (I attribute this to the MC) and when I do have pressure i can press the pedal back down with resistance.  When I installed the Giles pump I replaced the tensioner and timing belt and I checked timing a billion times.  I timed the fuel pump to about the middle of the spec.  I believe at first we were at 0.95mm? and I changed it to be closer to 1mm. It starts up faster then any gas engine I have ever seen even on cold days.

If I floor it I get a ton of black smoke (soot I assume) with little result that is visible during the day.

I have never checked my injectors, I have no idea on the condition and they are expensive.  And, opening the injector lines while the engine is spinning freaks the *** out of me.

Anymore thoughts?  Things to try?  Thanks for the help!

[Soot Sandwich]

Oh, and its a mechanical head and I have no idea when the valves were adjusted. 

[burn_your_money]

Start with the easy and cheap thing then. Check those valves.

It's very rare for a headgasket to leak oil in the back because there is no pressurized oil passages along the back. The only oil along the back of the engine is for returning oil to the pan. The oil on the back of the engine is likely from the valve cover gasket.

Does the overflow bottle pressurize instantly? Are there bubbles in it with the engine running?

The oil in the overflow could be from a previous problem.

[Soot Sandwich]

Okay I will check the valves asap.  It could be from the valve cover gaskets I had trouble with...Oil leaked everywhere but I was certain it was behind the manifolds.

To check the reservoir, should i start the car and open the bottle?  It shouldn't be pressurize at that point, correct, so if I hear it depressurize it means I am losing compression through the coolant system?

What other issues could the car have had for there to be deposits like that?  It does have the ***ty green coolant in it now...mixing? YIKES!

[burn_your_money]

Well a previous headgasket failure could have released some oil into the system. That oil might have gotten trapped somewhere in the system and when it got hot it freed up and moved to the reservoir. How long have you owned the car for?

What you should do is with the engine cold remove the overflow cap. Put it back on and start the car. Let it run for 30 seconds. Turn it off and remove the cap again. If it hisses then it's the headgasket. If it did hiss you should be able to run it with the cap off and see bubbles in the coolant. You might need to rev it up to see them.

If the car has an oil cooler (just above the oil filter) then that can leak oil into the coolant.

[Soot Sandwich]

Okay, I will try this. 

Yeah new MC ordered today from GAP. That is getting fixed asap.

[Soot Sandwich]

Okay, update, tried the coolant test: opened the system, closed the system, ran the car for 30 seconds, opened the coolant reservoir, nothing, or almost nearly nothing.  Does this mean I am saved?!  Could the lack of power be attributed to not having my valves adjusted in 170k?  (I don't actually know when they were adjusted)  I will measure them today and let everyone know.  Should I measure them hot or cold or lukewarm?

[Soot Sandwich]

Okay replaced the MC, the brakes feel 1000 times better and NEVER go to the floor now.  I am happy and I did it all by myself.

Now, I didn't get a chance to measure my valves but, I did notice I was quite low on oil.  So my valves are probably out of tolerance and I am burning oil... Should I measure my valved cold, hot, anyone?

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Its not a big thing about temp if all you're doing is checking the clearance for ballpark numbers. Cold - warm is easier on the hands.
You probably won't have the special tools and special shims on hand to adjust them anyway. Just get some reference numbers on them all.
They tend to read a bit tighter tolerance when hot - fwiw.
If my mind is thinking right.

Try the cap test again. This time go for 60 seconds.
And get results.

If all that is good - do some driveway testing of racing the engine in different ways that will produce your smoke. Run back there and smell it. Burnt oil ? Burnt coolant ? Unburnt fuel ? all the above ?
Sometimes it helps to back up to a wall (not a pretty wall) - or make a plywood barrier - if the smoke is hard for you to see. Later in the evening before dark works better sometimes too.

Sounds like you might need to go ahead and replace ALL the filters unless you know they are currently new'ish. New fuel hoses and clamps on both sides of the fuel filter. Those things will eliminate most of the common problems.

Are you still on the same batch of fuel ? Do you always get it at same place ? Might be fuel itself. Or the viscosity. Try another source and also add some PowerService DieselKleen in the grey jug. It can do good things, and it thins the fuel a bit too.

Always buy an engine oil that is diesel rated or diesel specific, not the cheapest thing on the shelf.

If still same symptoms after all the above is done and tested - time to move onto pulling the injectors and having them tested at a diesel repair facility.

Faulty/worn injectors can cause smoke and oil burning.

 

[Baron VonZeppelin]

What year model car - and engine - do you have ?

Does the rubber vent hose from your valve cover go into the airbox ? Or does it branch into two parts and go into the intake manifold ?

Pull your oil cap off - hopefully you will see a cover shield - and not the cam lobes. if you see lobes, get a splash/cover shield under there.

[Soot Sandwich]

Thanks Baron.  The car is a 1985 Jetta Coupe 1.6L NA Diesel made in Germany. It has 173k miles on it.  The air filter, glow plugs, oil, oil filter, timing belt, tensioner, injection pump (Giles) has been replaced, new injector return lines, and I am getting a new upgraded fuel filter from Giles as well.

PCV goes right into the intake manifold as you describe and I have no cover shield.

I will run the tests you have suggested here and measure the valves. Hopefully this week.