ZX 1.9 TD Very smokey after sat idling

ajswiss · Post by **ajswiss** » 05 Jun 2009, 10:59

Hi

I am new to the forum so please forgive if this has been raised before.

I have a 1994 ZX 1.9 TD. Its a good car and I don't see any reason to change it for a newer one. The only downside is that it can be very very smokey after it has sat idling, even for a short while. The smoke appears during the initial pull away and might be when the turbo kicks in ? The smoke is grey / white and is possibly oil ! Whilst running normally it seems to be fine and there is little noticeable smoke.

I changed the oil and added a bottle of Wynns Stop Smoke oil supplement and this cured the smoking for a few months. Unfortunately it started smoking again and I had to add more Wynns !

Is this a common problem and can it be easily fixed ? Or is it something more serious like a worn turbo or fuel pump ?

Forgot to mention the car uses very little oil and the coolant never needs topping up

Cheers

steelcityuk · Post by **steelcityuk** » 05 Jun 2009, 11:33

As a quick guess I would say turbo or valve seals. At idle the induction system is under vacuum pulling oil from the seals but as revs rise and the engine comes onto boost it will resist oil leaking from the seals.

Steve.

jonathan_dyane · Post by **jonathan_dyane** » 05 Jun 2009, 11:57

How do you drive, and what sort of use does the car get? By this I mean does the car get driven hard, or is it subject to being driven gently/city centre stop start etc?

Post by **CitroJim** » 05 Jun 2009, 13:14

Welcome to the forum ajswiss

Another possibility if the engine has a Lucas DPC injection pump is that the pump has a split boost overfuelling device diaphragm. This is the circular device on the front (as you look at it) with a pipe leading up to the intercooler.

This can be proved by disconnecting the pipe temporarily and seeing if the smoke clears.

If you disconnect the input hose to the intercooler, this will isolate the turbo as a cause.

ajswiss · Post by **ajswiss** » 05 Jun 2009, 13:41

Thanks Jim

Would the problems you have highlighted be temporarily be cured by the addition of the Wynns Stop Smoke ? The addition of this stuff definitely stops the car smoking which makes me wonder if it is seals ????

firstrebel · Post by **firstrebel** » 05 Jun 2009, 18:32

My brother had a Transam when he lived in the Bahamas and it smoked. He used Wynn's to stop/reduce the smoke. It does not cure the problem just blocks the gaps caused by wear or damage or component failure. It is very temporary.

Bob

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 06 Jun 2009, 08:47

the cold start device/s on ZX's can cause them to smoke if they are not functioning corectly,

regards malcolm

vince · Post by **vince** » 06 Jun 2009, 09:32

I had a ZX 1.4 which did exactly this, it was the valve stem oil seals. Once changed it went away

Only thing is it wasnt a turbo diesel