Dollywobbler's TZD estate - departure time

[barry badger]

All fuel pumps have a fuel adjustment screw, slackening the 13mm locknut and then winding out the adjustment screw will lessen the fuel injected. On bosch pumps it's near the top of the pump and on lucas pumps its on the right hand side of the pump in between the injector pipes, angled in towards the engine block. I would give this a try, if it upsets anything you can always set it back to where it was. A small adjustment makes a big difference!
The inside of the exhaust will be heavily coated with soot so any improvements will not be immediately apparent.
Black smoke is unburnt fuel, so it is overfuelling relative to the amount of air going in!

[Dollywobbler]

I'm not sure I want to get into meddling with the mixture. I know increasing the richness can boost power, but this one still feels very sluggish compared to the TXD Turbo. Mind you, I think I've got brake binding issues, so perhaps that's masking the problem!

I still wondered whether smoke could be caused by incomplete combustion caused by clogged or worn injectors. I'll stick with the fuel treatment for now (and will have another look at the sodding brakes).

[Dollywobbler]

Jacked the car up this morning. Both brakes were binding. Went for a 25 mile drive and when I got back, they were both cool, so perhaps it's just an issue while the new pads bed in.

Did have a very embarrassing moment though. I got stuck behind some dawdling tourists. Reached an overtake point, but it was up hill, so I stayed in gear for longer than usual, going up to 4000rpm. The smokescreen out the back was epic! A huge black cloud. The car I'd overtaken practically disappeared. That's not right - no wonder it struggled with the emissions for the previous MOT.

[mat_fenwick]

Too little air (turbo issues?) might be the problem - as Barry said it's not necessarily too much fuel per se, but too much fuel for the amount of air that's being drawn in. A boost gauge temporarily connected up will shown you if you are getting full boost or not and is probably the cheapest form of diagnosis.

[Dollywobbler]

Well, the turbo is still making an odd noise, so I'm still of the belief that it might well be blowing air out somewhere. I think I need to get the cam cover gasket changed (best source?) to see if I can reduce the amount of oil down the back of the engine - then give it a good Gunk. That'll make trying to access the turbo a lot more pleasant as at the moment, it's a bit of a slick down there.

[barry badger]

Oil leaks are sometimes a give away for a split turbo pipe or leaking turbo gasket as oil is carried by the charge air, the heavy oil deposits down the back of the engine could be coming from a turbo pipe/gasket, this could go someway to explaining the black smoke. The 'D' gasket on the base of the intercooler is a common failure point.

[mat_fenwick]

The 'D' gasket on the base of the intercooler is a common failure point.

Good point - it's easy for this to fall out of its groove when refitting the intercooler. Would have thought you'd hear boost loss though, but easy to check the seal isn't poking out anywhere.

[Dollywobbler]

There is an odd rasping noise that seems to come from the pedal area - which has the turbo the other side of it. There is no whoosh as if a pipe is loose though - I had a Pug 306 blow its turbo pipe off and that became very sluggish and was very obviously pushing air out. I probably should get the intercooler off though. Citro-geoff reported an unusual turbo noise back when he owned the car, so I think it's an issue it's had for a while.

[MULLEY]

Is it possible that the intercooler needs a damn good clean & thats the cause of the lack of performance?

[Dollywobbler]

Previous chap reckons he'd given the intercooler a good clean and it certainly doesn't look clogged up. That wouldn't explain the smoke either.

[MULLEY]

Must be an oil feed pipe to the turbo thats split & its pissing out oil & letting in air?

[Dollywobbler]

That seems pretty likely.

I've been on a major downer with this car of late. I've decided that the reason is the clutch. The action is stiff and horrible, which makes it difficult to be smooth, and oil-soaked engine mountings don't help. The smoke thing annoys me too. Perhaps I should stop looking in my mirrors so much...

But I've just had a nice run out in the BX and it reminded me why I love these cars - the combination of ride and handling. It's bloody good, even with a knackered rear arm bearing.

Oh yes, I think that was my major problem with this car. Still lots that needs doing!

[BX Bandit]

A split oil feed pipe will just give you oil loss (and oil pressure).

Both Bosch and Lucas pumps deliver the fuel required in proportion to boost pressure, that is what the black tube connected to the front of the inter cooler is for.

How old is your air filter? It would make sense to remove all the air ducting and make sure there are no blockages (rag for example).

What pump is it?
Is the timing correct?
How many miles have the injectors done?
Has it ever been run on veg?

[Dollywobbler]

Lucas
Gawd knows
Gawd knows
I doubt it

I have had the air filter out completely - made no difference. There is a lot of oil getting into the air filter housing though.

[Way2go]

I have had the air filter out completely - made no difference. There is a lot of oil getting into the air filter housing though.

Something blocked/pressurised in the crankcase oil breather system perhaps?