Power (or lack of!) woes!!!!

[johnno]

Urgent help required please folks :augie

Was towing the tin tent on Saturday and thought "hmmmm, not a lot of grunt when I plant the pedal near the top of the rev range" and also "why are we hunting for revs when I hit the gas"?

Over the last few days things have got progressively worse without having the van hitched, especially when starting up first thing in the morning - this morning being the worst, when the revs died almost completely and the return of power was accompanied by a puff of bluey / White smoke. This drop and rise of power happened a few times when cold, each time with a puff of smoke. When the engine got up to temp, things improved slightly, but any attempt to floor the loud pedal resulted in a power shortage.

My worst fear is a blown turbo, but considering I'm on hols with the family, I haven't got the time or facilities to do much investigating for other possibles.

Any help much, much appreciated.

Cheers,

John.

 

[rustic]

Often white smoke and rough running can be a sign of air getting in to the fuel system.

Have you replaced the fuel filter recently?

Loss of power can be a dirty Maf, see other post with the Patrol, this has same engine as yours as far as I am aware.

 

[clivvy]

im no expert, but I would start checking fuelling. Look at the EGR, check for codes, check the crank sensor, check the fuel filter, check the glow plugs. As for the Turbo, not sure, check the waste gate. I'd be surprised if you hav eany serious issues, could even be a combination of issues, perhaps involving the MAF sensor.

I would check the MAF first in fact, as thats very easy. Unplug, see if its the same (when DRIVING)

 

[johnno]

What a transformation a simple change of fuel filter can make!

I nursed the truck through the week panicking something was about to go expensively POP, got hold of a Blue Print filter, changed it in about 10 minutes and couldn't have been more relieved to have my motor back!

I reckon it was needing changed when you see the colour of the diesel that I poured out of it.......

Thanks to rustic and clivvy for the suggestions and re-assurance that things weren't terminal!

 

[BIGSEAN]

If that was the colour out of your filter m8 , i`d be more concerned about your tank.
The only time i have had that colour was with a tank of aviation fuel mixed with heavy oil.

 

[johnno]

I appreciate the concern there mate and I intend to drain the new filter in a couple of weeks to see if the same colour stuff comes out again. If it does, I'll have to investigate further .

I let the jar settle for the night and it appears to be sediment. The fact that the filter I took off was an original Nissan one and that there are other signs that the truck has seen a bit of neglect on the service / maintenance front, give me a little hope that nothing more serious is going on. I've owned the truck since June and only ever put filling station fuel in it. Is there an access panel to the tank so I can have a look easily enough?

What has worried me slightly though, is that I recently changed the fuel filter from my fathers Freelander and the diesel that came from it was clear as a bell .

For the moment, I'll enjoy the performance that the change in filter has brought !

Cheers,

John.

 

[johnno]

Well, my initial joy has been kind of short lived .

I drained the new filter and though the fuel was considerably clearer, there was still some sediment - this being after only 1 tank of fuel. I can only conclude there's some serious crap in the fuel tank .

Although performance isn't as poor as it was before the filter change, it's not quite as it should be - 50% of the time she takes off like she should, the remainder, she can be a tad sluggish up through the rev range.

2 questions if you don't mind - is there an inspection hatch for the fuel tank and is there a banjo filter similar to that in the 2.7, or indeed any other in line filters I can have a look at?

Cheers in advance for any help,

John.

 

[geoffdown]

Well, my initial joy has been kind of short lived .

I drained the new filter and though the fuel was considerably clearer, there was still some sediment - this being after only 1 tank of fuel. I can only conclude there's some serious crap in the fuel tank .

Although performance isn't as poor as it was before the filter change, it's not quite as it should be - 50% of the time she takes off like she should, the remainder, she can be a tad sluggish up through the rev range.

2 questions if you don't mind - is there an inspection hatch for the fuel tank and is there a banjo filter similar to that in the 2.7, or indeed any other in line filters I can have a look at?

Cheers in advance for any help,

John.

lift boot carpet round lid in floor pan near rear door 4 bolts then u should see the top of tank and the pick up point big enough to get ur arms in the tank:thumb2

 

[lacroupade]

And Johnno, I've been saying this for years til people are sick of it, but these trucks, indeed any serious diesel engine, benefit from serious use, the harder the better.

I've had five and they've all been driven very hard and had high miles....and I've never had fuelling or MAF problems.

So when you get the tank sorted, take her up the motorway somewhere at least 100 miles away and give it some wellie there and back.

 

[supergnome]

Agree with above. they are not a motor for the school run. Give it some hammer now and again. fill it up with cookin and off you go. David

 

[ocelot]

totally agree, once in a while, give the car a heavy right foot............ on the MPG front, I now get up to 35.................and around 25 towing.... not bad for an X reg with 113k on the clock.