Do I keep or Sell ?

[Chubbycentipede]

Back in November last year I bought what i thought was a good used van (fiat doblo), little did I know it would cause me a bit of a headache... This doblo had a newly fitted re-con engine, new clutch kit, brakes, pads, springs and water pump. It had 83k on the clock, and body work was in good condition. Moving forward 6 months or so, it's had £800 spent on it, which has consisted of an oil leak repair to sump, as the bolts had been snapped and was held in by additional self tapping screws ! It then needed 2 new lower arms as bushes had worn, admittedly it's an old van, but now after addressing those problems, the ignition barrel is knackered, so will potentially need a new barrel as well...

Heres the predicament i'm in... after getting the barrel fixed, do I sell or do I keep. Asides from what seems to be a bit of lagging in acceleration, and being optimistic, I keep the van and nothing else major goes wrong in the next few years. On the other hand, given the poor workmanship from the seller i.e the sump, do I cut my losses and get what I can for it ? The thing that bothers me is the workmanship of the previous owner and makes me wonder what else could go wrong. The only positive is that when i first bought the van, I had it inspected by a trusted mechanic, and from what he could see under the ramps, it generally looked good for it's age. He also plugged it into his computer and cleared previous fault codes.

Part of me feels like I'm better off keeping it, as I've addressed the faults so far, but the other part of me thinks I should get rid, as it feels like a bit of a money pit and I'm just going to be sat waiting for something else to go wrong...

Thanks for reading if you got this far

 

[porta]

Depends how much you paid for it,
Is it little enough that you run it till it fails or have you lost confidence in it?
Is there too much in it and you want to cut your losses

 

[Chubbycentipede]

Depends how much you paid for it,
Is it little enough that you run it till it fails or have you lost confidence in it?
Is there too much in it and you want to cut your losses

I paid 3,995 for it. The lagging in acceleration isn't causing to much trouble as it just used for small journeys. However on some occasions I can be driving down a bypass doing 60-70 mph, and find after 10/15 mins of driving theirs white smoke coming from the engine. Which makes me wonder if its the turbo thats seized maybe... all in all I would just say I'm loosing confidence in it really.

 

[porta]

It’s a tough call, you either sort the issues and keep or sell or do nothing and cut your losses

 

[s130]

I paid 3,995 for it. The lagging in acceleration isn't causing to much trouble as it just used for small journeys. However on some occasions I can be driving down a bypass doing 60-70 mph, and find after 10/15 mins of driving theirs white smoke coming from the engine. Which makes me wonder if its the turbo thats seized maybe... all in all I would just say I'm loosing confidence in it really.

White smoke is normally associated with oil burning. If only after 10 to 15 minutes of medium/heavy load the smoke appears then one could argue that once the engine is fully warm and stressed the piston rings leak more thus burning oil.

I would do a cold and hot engine compression test to rule out rings / valves and go from there.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

White smoke is normally associated with oil burning. If only after 10 to 15 minutes of medium/heavy load the smoke appears then one could argue that once the engine is fully warm and stressed the piston rings leak more thus burning oil.

I would do a cold and hot engine compression test to rule out rings / valves and go from there.

Difficult to comment on this without seeing the smoke. Typically diesel smoke can be either black, blue or white. The colour most people are familiar with is black which is associated with excess fuel - most often evident when the engine is pulling on large throttle openings and often due to lack of maintenance ie, clogged up air filter but there are other possibilities like injectors not atomizing properly or, on older systems, the pump overfueling. Next most common is blue smoke which can vary quite a bit from an obvious blue to a quite light blue which you might almost call white and is due to oil being burnt. Lastly is white which is most often seen when starting a cold engine and is often due to unatomized fuel, on the cold internal engine surfaces, traveling through into the exhaust system unburnt and then partially burning in the exhaust system. I well remember the thick choking white smoke in our workshop, especially on cold winter mornings, as commercials, garaged inside overnight for security, were started up and moved outside. So I think I'll politely disagree with S130 (although I'm very happy to be corrected as I'm not a diesel expert) he could be right though if there is heavy fuel contamination of the oil which would thin the oil viscosity and let it bypass the rings when the oil thins further as it heats up?

I suspect the smoke in this case may actually be of the very light blue variety and as Chubby suspects he might have a turbo problem I'd be having a good look in the turbo trunking between the turbo and engine for any excess oil deposits which might indicate turbo seal problems. Don't expect to find no trace of oil at all in the pipes because crankcase fumes are nowadays fed into the intake so a light "moistness" of oil on the inside of the pipes is to be expected, I'm talking about liquid oil, especially often in the intercooler, but also on the inside of bends. If you find oil actually pooling then there's also always the possibility of the engine sucking it in on large throttle openings and at higher revs and "running away" uncontrollably.

 

[s130]

So I think I'll politely disagree with S130 (although I'm very happy to be corrected as I'm not a diesel expert) he could be right though if there is heavy fuel contamination of the oil which would thin the oil viscosity and let it bypass the rings when the oil thins further as it heats up?

By all means do. White could be white or misty grey or just excessive steam/condensation. Sometimes you see excessive white / grey smoke on petrol cars when the have put diesel in. Would still certainly to the compression test to rule out block / head / stems etc.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

By all means do. White could be white or misty grey or just excessive steam/condensation. Sometimes you see excessive white / grey smoke on petrol cars when the have put diesel in. Would still certainly to the compression test to rule out block / head / stems etc.

Yup. I've been approached by friends who are concerned about drips and steam from their exhaust, especially in winter and with a petrol engine . It's caused by condensation of which there's a much larger amount where a CAT is fitted. Steam is not so common with diesels but you do still see it with a cold engine on a cold day.

 

[Chubbycentipede]

Thanks for all your comments, appreciate your help ! As for the white smoke, I would be confident in saying it is white smoke. What I find is, when I'm doing little city runs, I don't seem notice any smoke, but when I get up to speed on dual carriageways, then sit on traffic, I then get the white smoke coming out of the front of the bonnet.

I don't really do a lot of miles in my van, and it's mainly pottering around the city. So I only really notice this when I get up to a significant speed, and it doesn't seem to take long to smoke after. I have drove about 90 miles to Bournemouth and haven't had any problems, and temperature gauge just stays at the half way mark, so it's not suggesting any overheating at least.

It's something I will get looked at for sure though!

Am I right in thinking, the turbo can seize ? And could this be a possibility?

 

[s130]

Thanks for all your comments, appreciate your help ! As for the white smoke, I would be confident in saying it is white smoke. What I find is, when I'm doing little city runs, I don't seem notice any smoke, but when I get up to speed on dual carriageways, then sit on traffic, I then get the white smoke coming out of the front of the bonnet.
I

If you are right in that it is out of the bonnet (not explained/described before) then we are looking at possibly external to engine combustion areas but ancillary, cooling, other areas that may be water based?

Blowing radiator cap? Radiator leak under pressure? other water based/hose issues. If water based then I would expect a gradual (or more) loss of cooling fluid?

We need more information / observations / etc.

 

[Chubbycentipede]

If you are right in that it is out of the bonnet (not explained/described before) then we are looking at possibly external to engine combustion areas but ancillary, cooling, other areas that may be water based?

Blowing radiator cap? Radiator leak under pressure? other water based/hose issues. If water based then I would expect a gradual (or more) loss of cooling fluid?

We need more information / observations / etc.

appreciate your help! what information/observations will help ?

 

[porta]

A local garage should be able to do a pressure test, including testing the radiator cap and/or sniff test or
get a proprietary leak test (dye) and observe for any leaks

 

[Duhamel94]

Self-tapping screws say it all, get away from this van while you still can!

 

[s130]

appreciate your help! what information/observations will help ?

Check your radiator header tank for coolant level going down.

Next time it happens pull over ASAP and get the bonnet open. Where is the steam? cloud coming from? Front of engine bay, radiator or back of engine bay.

If back of engine then could be a core plug leaking under duress. Hairline crack in the block, blowing gasket, . . . . .

Again all the various suggestions by me and others are just that. Remote over the forum diagnosis is always tricky and often a hit and miss exchange.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

So, we've gone from white smoke - which I think we were all assuming would be coming from the exhaust - to what now sounds like steam, which of course would be white wouldn't it. And the OP now, belatedly, tells us it comes out of the front of the bonnet. People need to be much more specific when describing symptoms if we are going to be able to offer meaningful advice.

The first post in this thread mentions that his trusted mechanic cleared "cleared previous fault codes". Might be interesting to know what they were? also if any codes are now showing? Just clearing fault codes doesn't rectify very much.

I'm inclined to agree with Duhamel above regarding the self tapers in the sump. Disturbing that anyone might think this an acceptable thing on a new/recond engine don't you think? Makes you wonder what other "nasties" are waiting to bite you in the future?

 

[s130]

Makes you wonder what other "nasties" are waiting to bite you in the future?

Indeed. One reason I hate giving advice to other than family on buying or ditching a vehicle even if I've looked at or inspected it. Sod's law will no doubt rear it's ugly head.

 

[Chubbycentipede]

So, we've gone from white smoke - which I think we were all assuming would be coming from the exhaust - to what now sounds like steam, which of course would be white wouldn't it. And the OP now, belatedly, tells us it comes out of the front of the bonnet. People need to be much more specific when describing symptoms if we are going to be able to offer meaningful advice.

Apologies for not being more specific. I never suggested it was steam, I just said it was white smoke coming from the engine, meaning out the bonnet when 'when sat in traffic'.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Apologies for not being more specific. I never suggested it was steam, I just said it was white smoke coming from the engine, meaning out the bonnet when 'when sat in traffic'.

Sorry Chubby, didn't mean any offence. I think this is going to need "eyes on" and we're not going to be able to give you much meaningful help like this from a distance.

Don't know if there's anyone in your area who could pop over and give an opinion?

 

[s130]

Sorry Chubby, didn't mean any offence. I think this is going to need "eyes on" and we're not going to be able to give you much meaningful help like this from a distance.

Don't know if there's anyone in your area who could pop over and give an opinion?

If I were Gloucester way I would certainly be willing to hop on over. Sadly being in North Wales I'm sort of out of the equation.

 

[Chubbycentipede]

If I were Gloucester way I would certainly be willing to hop on over. Sadly being in North Wales I'm sort of out of the equation.

Thanks mate appreciate your advice anyway