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1996 Volvo 850 Turbo Sedan with 110,000 miles. This has just happened over the course of the last week, hoping someone can help me out. My car is starting to blow out white smoke from the exhaust when I get on the highway, only after I get on it and the turbo needle goes in the white. Then when I let off the gas and the turbo needle goes to the black, a puff of white smoke comes out of the back of the car.
I used to use Mobil 1 5w30 per the Volvo Dealer in Hartford, CT. They said Volvo Corporate changed it from 10w30 to 5w30 in a new service bulletin about a year ago. Last week I did an oil change, put it back to 10w30 Mobil 1. (I read on here that the 5w30 is too thin and gets past the turbo seals).
I also spot some light oil around the waste gate area.
One friend said maybe I put too much oil back in after oil change, but I checked last night and the dipstick is at about 80%.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for the help in advance.
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1989 240DL B230F w/ 223k miles. Stock, except for some Virgo's and my stereo.
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Get a compression test real soon. The higher compression during boost might be forcing its way past the headgasket. Make sure the engine is warm for the test.
Klaus
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I am not a mechanic, so can you trust what I type?
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What does your coolant level look like? Been replacing any lately?
Generally speaking, white smoke mean burning coolant, blue smoke means burning oil, and black smoke mean burning excess fuel.
Sometimes, the blue can be light-enough that it appears white, but you should be able to distinguish between the two. Regardless, I would shift my focus from undividedly thinking about buring oil, and contemplate the possibility of burning coolant.
There are non-critical explanations for buring oil, which can be easily remedied. There are fewer non-critical explanations for buring coolant, so it is important that our first step be to rule-out burning water.
If burning water then, most likely, head gasket, cracked head, etc.--none of which are good.
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Update: Did a compression test last night and here were the results (highest value recorded):
Cylinder 1: 155
Cylinder 2: 165
Cylinder 3: 175
Cylinder 4: 175
Cylinder 5: 170
Other checks performed:
1. Sucked out a sample of coolant from the expansion chamber with a turkey baster, found no traces of oil mixed in with coolant. Coolant was a nice green color.
2. Checked oil dipstick, there was no traces of foaminess on the oil.
3. Checked under oil filler cap, no foam there either. Also looked under oil filler cap with flashlight into engine, no traces of coolant anywhere in visible oil.
Oil Leakage:
1. Took off the heat shroud above the turbo, inspected around this area. We found oil around the wastegate, and all along the arm that connects to the valve for the wastegate. Slight misting of oil along the firewall metal.
2.There is oil around the end of the hard plastic downpipe connecting to the turbo. There is also oil along the end (attached to turbo – all over clamp) of the accordion style air pipe connecting the airbox and turbo. PTC sensor coated in oil (the sensor attached to the same accordion style air pipe).
3. Oil/water also trailing down the oil return line for the turbo to the point it is dripping at the front of the car, pooling on the plastic air dam, and dripping out of a slot there towards the bumper.
Questions:
1. Is it safe to assume that the head gasket is in good condition based on this information?
2. Is it possible for so much crankcase pressure to be built up in the engine that it would leak out of the seals around the turbo? (I am replacing entire PCV system this Saturday as a starting point).
3. Would the high amount of PCV pressure cause the turbo seals to allow coolant and oil past so it is being pulled into the engine and burned? (hence the white smoke out the exhaust, and slight oil usage).
4. I have been told to do PCV system, clean the oil traces and monitor where the leaks are coming from before condemning the turbo as bad (IPDusa phone rep told me this).
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1989 240DL B230F w/ 223k miles. Stock, except for some Virgo's and my stereo.
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Do you know how stunt planes used to make trails in the sky during air shows? They had a valve that allowed oil to enter the hot exhaust pipe. The unburned oil turns white when it vaporizes.
If your wastegate seal is broken, it can be fixed. Any oil inside the turbo that goes to the intercooler will burn black because of the combustion in the cylinders.
There is a weep hole under the intercooler to allow excess oil/water to drip from the intercooler to the air guide, where it runs to the driver's side and then drips down. The weeping is only done under turbo pressure, but the air guide collects it and then drips on to the garage floor. I cut a round hold in the air guide so that the oil would drip to the ground rather than collect and get my driveway messy :)
Fix the turbo return seal if it is leaking, it will leak onto the exhaust pipe and smoke.
Go ahead and replace the oil breather system. For added work, you could remove the intercooler piping and wash them in soapy water to get the oil out. It isn't a lot of oil and I never bothered.
A dirty PTC will allow the crankcase pressure to be very high, it is the first thing turbo owners should check. You can use throttle body cleaner to get all of the gunk out.
I agree with IPD, the turbo is a very robust model with a lot of life.
Klaus
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Mistakes make us learn. Beer is for a job well done.
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Also I would suggest opening the bottom intercooler hose and catching the oil that drips out. The intercooler will collect a surprising amount of oil over the years. Do it when the intercooler has been warmed up good after a good spirited drive with lots of boost-ing.
Then just undo the hose clamp and pull the hose out of the way, with a catch pan underneath. If you still have your air-guide under the engine I would remove this first. I personally think this is necessary to do first thing when I get a turbocharged car, but I don't hear folks on here talk about it much so maybe I'm more worked up about the oil in there than I need to be.
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1998 V70 AWD Turbo 195k+
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A big smile... The oil accumulates in the intercooler when the boost is only used lightly and on cooler days. Which, for many of us north of the Mason/Dixon line, is 9 months of the year. Commuting for 30 minutes does get the coolant up to temperature, but probably not the engine oil or the turbo. With the emphasis on MPG, the tranny usually shifts gears under 2000 rpm and we tend to drive at 1500 rpm. Given the cooler temperatures and the oil cooler always cooling and the intercooler always cooling the intake air, condensation is bound to happen.
Given the amount of air going through the intercooler piping, most of the oil vapors will get sucked into the intake manifold, if it ever gets warm enough. It is on cold days that the oil liquifies and settles, leaving a nice mess.
So, drive it like you hate it, is good advice. A little rough on the mpg, but really good for the engine.
Klaus
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Mistakes make us learn. Beer is for a job well done.
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that makes sense - thanks for the explanation! I've always wondered why that happened.
Maybe this check (for oil in the intercooler) should be added to my list of things to check when buying a new one - it sounds like this would be a good indication of short-trip service.
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1998 V70 AWD Turbo 195k+
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This makes sense, I will clean all of the hoses and whatnot you speak of, and drain the intercooler tomorrow.
The main part I am still confused about is the burning coolant, not oil. The oil part makes sense to me, but this smell is very different than oil burning. My old 240 would burn alot of oil, I was used to the smell of Mobil 1 10w30 burning all the time, my 850 is certainly not doing that. It is a more sweet smell, very pungent. I have been driving the car very gingerly to and from work only since the smoking started, I wad afraid to romp on it again. If that is the only way to get the intercooler cleaned out, is it worth romping on with this leakage problem?
I guess my #1 question at this point is how does the burning coolant play into all of this?
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1989 240DL B230F w/ 223k miles. Stock, except for some Virgo's and my stereo.
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