I was hoping you can help me, I've recently purchased a 1995 Ford Escort Turbo Deisel, and although the car drives very well and there seems lots of power, if I put my foot down to accelerate quickly, I notice grey darkish smoke from the exhaust, like I say there doesnt seem to be any lack of power so am I burning oil, diesel, whats the smoke, thankyou for any replies
Check the engine oil dipstick every so often to confirm if it's burning oil or diesel fuel. Since it IS a diesel, it's probably that; even a Greyhound bus with a tight engine leaves an exhaust cloud on acceleration.
Diesels smoke when there's too much fuel for the engine load and RPM, or the opposite not enough air. First thing is to check for a clogged air filter or a restricted air intake or exhaust system.
Second thing, since it's a turbo check it for proper function - attach a boost gauge if you don't have one now, and make sure it is getting up to the proper manifold pressure. If the turbo is starting to go bad it won't deliver as much boost, so you get less air in the combustion chambers.
If that's not it, there may be a problem with the injection pump. Some people turn up the fuel pressures or the pump limiter past the factory approved settings to get more power out of the engine, and that could cause smoke on full throttle. (Of course, it will also void the warranty if it's new enough to be covered...)
Thankyou for your reply, Im going to give it a service, with a new air filter/fuel filter/oil change and put some redex through the system, see if that helps, i cant afford expensive diagnostics or new turbos etc
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