My 1997 S70 TDI starts with way too much (grey) smoke. My mechanic is pretty sure that my distributor pump (VP37) is broken and he tells me the probleem will get much worse. If it's just the springs that are broken it will cost me 550 euro's ($770), but the repair can cost upto
1300 euro's ($1800) if there is more damage in the pump itself.
Is there any way this can be fixed cheaper? Can I fixed it myself with cheaper parts? I'm pretty handy with cars, but I never dealt with pump internals.
Hello. Does the car run OK after initial startup? I suspect it does. If so, tell your mechanic that he is completely useless, and has missed the most basic problem with a diesel engine. Then, go buy some new glow plugs, and a 10mm deep socket and fix your problem! Stories of broken springs in the injection pump are an absolute joke. Sorry, but lots of people seem to be getting ripped off by so called 'diesel mechanics' these days.
I have fixed several cars with this smoky startup problem over the past few days. Strangely, most of the people have been to their main dealers with starting problems and have been told that they need expensive repairs. Main dealers don't seem to know anything about diesel engines these days, and glow plugs don't show up any fault codes. They are only used for starting in cold weather, and they're cheap and pretty easy to replace. By the way, the glowplugs are located next to the injectors, on the front of your engine, and they have a heavy cable bridging all 5 plugs. The cabling just pulls off the glowplugs. It sticks on tight, but really does just pull off like a spark-plug lead.
Hope this helps. I can't imagine you have any serious problems. I've done 370,000 miles on the 2.5 tdi engine, spread over 2 V70s, and I've never come across injection problems. Lovin the cars still, and glad to see the group is still in good use. All the best. Joe. P.S The E-mail address doesn't work. Contact me via the group pls.
If one injector had a broken spring, could it cause it to sound like its "misfiring" at lowish engine speeds ( up to say 2000rpm) ? Also, at night, when accelerating hard, there is quite a bit of exhaust visible in the following cars headlights as if its overfuelling. It does seem to be very lively, and fuel consumption is still quite good ( 40 to 43 mpg UK when driven quite hard) Mileage is 168,000 and Tim did say the injectors were past their best a while back but haven't got round to having them overhauled yet. Thanks, Nick
I have already replaced them myself. I also made sure the circuit worked.
The injection is also delayed, possibly by the low pressure from the distributor pump. That made the mechanic think it was the springs in the pump.
Currently a new problem has arisen. The return line is leaking diesel. So I came up with a new diagnosis. The fuel line going to the pump has too much pressure, the line coming from the pump has too little pressure. That makes me think there must be an obstruction in te pump. I called my mechanic and he found my theory plausible. There is some kind of valve inside that can choose to take diesel auto of the tank or out of the return line. That valve might be stuck or obstructed. I will bring my car to my mechanic next friday. Hope he can fix the car by just using a hammer :)
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