Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
Black smoke and/or poor fuel consumption......read on
been going on a few months now, no lack of take off, no fault codes, just the smoke under acceleration.......we investigated it on the ramp the other week and found that the front exhaust was not sitting tight inside the rear section.....did some research to find who supplies the OEMLR exhaust with the hope that the bracket that connects the two sections could be bought separately....nope have to buy the whole front section with the bracket spot welded to the exhaust (I assume coz it leaves the production line just to air gun the nut and bolt as its passes in the factory). Went to Jag dealer to see if they stock it, again the same. Took him up to my local exhaust specialist and then blow torched the old bracket off and fitted a universal bracket.
Out playing all day towing, car flies even with the trailer loaded with a VW transporter van and best of all....432 miles from brim to reserve light compared to normal 380-390 miles on the same tank.
so next time yer fink it might be egr or intercooler hose might be worth sticking yer head mid way under the nearside and see if the front section of yer exhaust can be pulled from yer rear section
Here's mine with the new bracket fitted
DAY ONE 432 miles (towing 3500kg car trailer)
DAY TWO 413 miles (towing 3500kg car trailer)
DAY THREE 455 miles (towing 3500kg car trailer 90% of the time loaded with anything from Merc e200 convertible, LWB VW CADDY CREW, VW Touran, Peugeot 207, Honda Civic
Last edited by character on 11th Jul 2013 12:06 am. Edited 3 times in total
3rd Jun 2013 10:16 pm
grzesiul
Member Since: 11 May 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 6266
fook you got 432 towing?
i get that running light as possible
3rd Jun 2013 10:20 pm
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
well zero'd all the dials whilst standing still..... normally get around 380-400 per day......but as I say performance was above expectation so hope this is not a precursor of things to come
Have brimmed him tonight (45 miles left on reserve according to the display), so will post the results for tomorrow's work
4th Jun 2013 12:00 am
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
well day two after new bracket.......
still pulls off like a bullet, still pulls the loaded trailer with ease, and got 413 miles today bearing in mind I did a lot more urban driving (stop, start heavy traffic and junctions/lights).
Begining to think there is something about this that might help us all. The interesting thing is the OEM bracket fitted to the front end of the exhaust appears to be tight when you try the bolts but you only know whether its FUBAR when you try to pull the front section out of the rear section.
BTW, ALOT LESS SMOKE OUT THE REAR.......having its 75k service this week so would expect some smoke. Not seeing joe public backing off in the rear view mirror anymore
4th Jun 2013 10:54 pm
cornishboy
Member Since: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Bristol
Posts: 649
Character,
Thanks for this - I seem to be getting a little black smoke with no real reason.
The usual EGR blanked/No split IC hoses/Checked IC but still smoke...
So will get and check this.
Do you need to remove bottom skid plate to see this?
5th Jun 2013 6:04 pm
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
well third full day towing...moving bigger stuff, Merc 350's x 3........still very impressive 411 miles from brim to reserve light, much better than the 380-390
not a bad investment for torching off the old and new one fitted "just stick some money in the coffee jar sir aka £3"
6th Jun 2013 6:33 am
AWD man
Member Since: 03 Jul 2009
Location: In Drag
Posts: 831
Hi Character.
This is the joint just in front of my centre box. (TDV8)
Do you think this would cause issues?
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
I've been thinking it's been sounding "boomy" in the cabin for a while now, and I'm hoping this might be the cause of my weird throttle response
Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated 57 RRS TDV8
BAS Map
D3: Gone but not forgotten
6th Jun 2013 8:50 am
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
yes as you can see the soot around the join in effect that bracket is doing nothing to seal the two pieces together.... so time to go down yer local exhaust fitters
BTW, post back on here the results and whether the performance has changed for the better
11th Jun 2013 1:30 am
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
well third day out playing after having had a 75k service / gearbox flush / new fuel filter......455 miles from brim to reserve light
11th Jun 2013 1:32 am
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
first full day out towing, brim to brim...415 miles with 65 miles left according to the display...still doing good IMHO
24th Jun 2013 11:04 pm
blue meanie D3 Decade
Member Since: 04 Aug 2005
Location: Newbury
Posts: 6861
was the motor much noisier with the wobbly joint before you got it fixed?and theeeeennn......???
25th Jun 2013 12:40 pm
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
TBH couldn't tell...but a lot quieter on tick over when warm......another full day of towing, a lot of A-roads today, 421 before the light came on.
so for me £3 investment, I have consistently got over 50miles extra per fill up, that's 5x50miles per week, that's 250miles job miles at no extra cost....happy days
To fink I reported this last Nov to the dealer and they still couldn't come up with a solution
25th Jun 2013 11:12 pm
F355GTS
Member Since: 10 Nov 2008
Location: North Hampshire
Posts: 849
Hi
Can I confirm this is the joint just forward of the exhaust box (Not sure if it's a cat or a silencer!) about 2/3 way back? if so mine's not leaking Mark
26th Jun 2013 7:52 am
Moo D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: Wiltshire
Posts: 13933
Mine was rattling and making a hell of a racket so just welded them together. Lovely and quiet. No difference in fuel though
10th Jul 2013 11:58 pm
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
JUST TO SAY TO YOU ALL.....
since doing this very minor mod, MPG has exceeded 400+ miles each day and has steadily gone up as I assume the engine is breathing correctly with egr's now fully functioning.
yesterday, towing all day long (including ML's, A roads, motorways etc) we got 413 miles on brim to fuel light coming on with 50 miles still to go on the fuel left.
today 234 miles on half a tank
Take a look at the weekend for black soot around the join between the front and rear sections of yer exhaust, if so then yer have a leak which is loosing yer money on a daily basis but of course you'll not really believe me till yer done the mod
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