Technical Turbo diesel - excessive smoke query

[jonti]

I wonder if anyone can help me? Have been running a new bottom end in this car for 3000 miles now and is running v well, except for daft amounts of smoke on acceleration (even for this engine) but also general exhaust stink e.g. when just pottering along with the sunroof open. So a couple of questions...

Thermostat? The indicated temp is always just above cold. Please can anyone explain - is there a thermostat and what does it control, e.g. is it just the fan or does it take the radiator in/out of the loop? I suspect it might be running too cold - altho then again with 2 different heads and the old bottom end it has always run this cold.

TDC mark on the crank sprocket? When putting in the engine, the TDC mark appeared a good few degrees off actual TDC of pistons 1 and 3, hence I compensated 4 this with the timing belt. Can anyone say whether a basic engine like this will run passably, albeit smokey with, say, a tooth out crank v cam as I have wondered if I over compensated.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[maddogmorg]

thermostat works by only allowing water to leave the engine when a certain temperature is reached. the thermostat relys on wax i think so the fan is seperate. one way to check if thermostat is working is to feel the pipe from the engine block to the top of radiator. it should remain cool until it reaches a certain temperature when it'll quickly become hot. if it just gradually warms up as the engine does then the thermostat needs replacing.

dunno about the timing though, maybe a compression test would tell?

 

[jonti]

Cheers Besbie this is very helpful.

Does the thermostat valve cycle on and off, or does it work by gradually opening up and letting a variable amount of water out of the engine depending on how hot it is?

Cheers

 

[jonti]

New thermostat fitted and the engine runs slightly warmer. Looking inside the unit, there seem to be springs that callibrate the movement of the stat and perhaps they weaken with age.

So less smoke, but still noticeably more smoke on cold days. I'm wondering if - with an oil cooler now fitted to the new engine, the engine is infact over-cooled for UK Winter temperatures.

Today's Fact: A 1.9 bottom end is worth £8 in scrap metal !

 

[jonti]

Having sought the advice of a professional, it seems that the position of the fuel pump itself needed adjusting so that the belt tooth ends up exactly where you want it. I didn't know this was possible.

Apparently it no longer sounds like a tractor.

They also pointed out the belt is rubbing a cover due to an 'off-centre' tensioner - thus thinning it. Which supports a theory of mine :idea: that its rarely the belt that breaks on its own - but things going wrong that break the belt.

 

[Tony M]

Which supports a theory of mine :idea: that its rarely the belt that breaks on its own - but things going wrong that break the belt.

The cam belt on the Tipo sedicivalvole is half the width of the clio16v 1.2 engine... you think maybe it's no the belt snapping on it's own rather than the lack of foresight in the design.

 

[Hellcat]

The cam belt on the Tipo sedicivalvole is half the width of the clio16v 1.2 engine... you think maybe it's no the belt snapping on it's own rather than the lack of foresight in the design.

Belt made to minimum width required to reduce drag, or to make it more flexible?