Hello all!
I have a 08-09 Fiat GP 1.3Mjet (70hp) that has just ticked over 208,000km (about 125,000 miles). Absolutely loving it so far, but recently I've noticed a few issues which started recently.
On cold starts (around 7 degrees), the car produces a noticeable stream of blue smoke from the exhaust. It starts fine (after 2-3 cranks), and after about 30 seconds the car no longer smokes at idle, but will puff blue smoke when revving once started up. Usually the smoke clears up after a few mins of driving, and as far as my rear view mirrors can tell, the car doesn't produce said blue smoke once I've gotten going. Also to note, on start up a very acrid smell enters the cabin. I'm not sure if its the smell is diesel exhaust or burnt oil (being that this is my first diesel vehicle), but I only ever smell it for a few seconds after a cold start.
On start up, the car also doesn't seem to run on all cylinders. The car vibrates un-rythmically (apologies if that's the wrong term) at idle, and at least to my knowledge, it feels as if a cylinder is either not firing or having a hard time consistently firing. This subsides after bringing the car up to 2k rpm for a few seconds, and after a few mins of driving, the engine feels fine (if a bit vibrate-y, though it is a diesel so I assume some vibrations at a stand-still is to be expected).
The final major issue, and the most troubling to me, is that as of late, the car will randomly choose to jerk when driving at a constant speed/rpm. This started a week ago, immediately after fueling the car up a bit. Once I had fueled the car up, it started to jerk when I drove at a constant speed. Nothing major, but especially felt from the drivers seat. After about 60 odd miles, the jerkiness got progressively worse, so I decided to put some premium diesel in (thinking that perhaps I fueled up with bad batch of diesel before). When I got to the petrol station, a big whoosh of air came out (or in? All I know is that there was a definite pressure difference between the tank and atmospheric pressure) of the tank. I recall it being a MUCH bigger "whoosh" than normal. After dropping premium diesel in the tank and adjusting the fuel cap to be more "loose", the jerkiness seriously subsided, though it does still appear occasionally but not to the same extent as before. I've since added cetane booster and injector cleaning additives to the tank, and they do seem to be doing something but im unsure whether or not the injectors are to blame. Just to note, when the jerkiness happens, I don't feel a pronounced lack of power, but especially at low rpms it feels as if there is a small delay to me pressing the gas pedal and the engine picking up. Acceleration doesn't feel much different, though 70hp doesn't allow me to accelerate very quickly anyway.
These are the only engine issues i'm experiencing recently. There is also a "crr" sound when the engine is at high rpms (I've chalked it up to one of the belts but I've never properly investigated this issue), and its due a service very soon. Overall, the car is still fully drivable, and perhaps I'm being a bit paranoid, but if anyone has experianced similar issues or is able to somewhat diagnose what is causing these issues I'd be extremely grateful!!
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this!
Ian
TL,DR: Not all cylinders firing on cold start up, blue smoke on start up, jerkiness when driving at constant speed after fueling car up (intermittent)
I have a 08-09 Fiat GP 1.3Mjet (70hp) that has just ticked over 208,000km (about 125,000 miles). Absolutely loving it so far, but recently I've noticed a few issues which started recently.
On cold starts (around 7 degrees), the car produces a noticeable stream of blue smoke from the exhaust. It starts fine (after 2-3 cranks), and after about 30 seconds the car no longer smokes at idle, but will puff blue smoke when revving once started up. Usually the smoke clears up after a few mins of driving, and as far as my rear view mirrors can tell, the car doesn't produce said blue smoke once I've gotten going. Also to note, on start up a very acrid smell enters the cabin. I'm not sure if its the smell is diesel exhaust or burnt oil (being that this is my first diesel vehicle), but I only ever smell it for a few seconds after a cold start.
On start up, the car also doesn't seem to run on all cylinders. The car vibrates un-rythmically (apologies if that's the wrong term) at idle, and at least to my knowledge, it feels as if a cylinder is either not firing or having a hard time consistently firing. This subsides after bringing the car up to 2k rpm for a few seconds, and after a few mins of driving, the engine feels fine (if a bit vibrate-y, though it is a diesel so I assume some vibrations at a stand-still is to be expected).
The final major issue, and the most troubling to me, is that as of late, the car will randomly choose to jerk when driving at a constant speed/rpm. This started a week ago, immediately after fueling the car up a bit. Once I had fueled the car up, it started to jerk when I drove at a constant speed. Nothing major, but especially felt from the drivers seat. After about 60 odd miles, the jerkiness got progressively worse, so I decided to put some premium diesel in (thinking that perhaps I fueled up with bad batch of diesel before). When I got to the petrol station, a big whoosh of air came out (or in? All I know is that there was a definite pressure difference between the tank and atmospheric pressure) of the tank. I recall it being a MUCH bigger "whoosh" than normal. After dropping premium diesel in the tank and adjusting the fuel cap to be more "loose", the jerkiness seriously subsided, though it does still appear occasionally but not to the same extent as before. I've since added cetane booster and injector cleaning additives to the tank, and they do seem to be doing something but im unsure whether or not the injectors are to blame. Just to note, when the jerkiness happens, I don't feel a pronounced lack of power, but especially at low rpms it feels as if there is a small delay to me pressing the gas pedal and the engine picking up. Acceleration doesn't feel much different, though 70hp doesn't allow me to accelerate very quickly anyway.
These are the only engine issues i'm experiencing recently. There is also a "crr" sound when the engine is at high rpms (I've chalked it up to one of the belts but I've never properly investigated this issue), and its due a service very soon. Overall, the car is still fully drivable, and perhaps I'm being a bit paranoid, but if anyone has experianced similar issues or is able to somewhat diagnose what is causing these issues I'd be extremely grateful!!
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this!
Ian
TL,DR: Not all cylinders firing on cold start up, blue smoke on start up, jerkiness when driving at constant speed after fueling car up (intermittent)
