Td5 losing power!!

[matthew02]

Hi all,
I have a 2003 TD5 defender and am experiencing some dramas with it at the moment, the vehicle starts and runs fine once warmed up and you drive for a bout 3 kms it starts to get very sluggish and loose power, when this happens it bellows very thick black smoke. Now i have read all the forums and checked the commons faults with these td5's here is a list of what i have done.
- replaced all intercooler hoses with a terra ferma silicon set with new hose clamps, as this semi fixed the problem was running fine for 2 days and the problem came back but seemed to be slighty worse.
- the throttle sensor has been changed previous to this happening , i have checked all connections to the sensor and have checked all outputs and inputs to the ecu for this and all are at correct values.
- new air flow meter fitted with new air filter
-i have had the egr replaced before this problem aswell
now im pulling my hair out to find whats wrong im thinking that maybe the intercooler is blocked or has a lot of oil in it but am unsure.
I believe its a problem to do with the intake as its blowing black smoke because if it was a fuel problem it wouldnt blow thick black smoke ( i could be wrong if i am please correct me).
the turbo is boosting correctly and no issues with that at all. i have had it on a snap on scan tool and no irregular data is visable everything seems to be with in spec/
If anyone could please help would be muchly appreciated!!
Thanks

[slug_burner]

black smoke = unburnt fuel

If you think that the turbo is pushing enough air in then you may have a fuel leak either through faulty injector or porous head.

Check your oil to see if it smells of diesel or feels diluted, if you have excess fuel going into your cylinders then some may be getting into the sump, the oil level will rise and then you are at risk of a diesel runaway as the splash/mist gets into the air intake via the breather.

Some one may come along and provide more sage advice but if not I'd say you need some expert help.

[CraigE]

First I would check the obvious.
Is the turbo modulator arm moving, mine was stuck last week and caused it to be sluggish, but did not blow smoke. Fine at idle and ok when not under acceleration. It is meant to be hard to move but not stuck. Also check vaccum hoses for cracks and splits.
Intercooler is an easy check and can be pulled out without removing the radiator. If you clean it make sure that you clear out any residual metho or what you use to clean it. The easiest way is to check for oil in the intercooler hoses. If you still have the EGR look at the build up from that inside the manifold and clean the sensor.
Clean and check your air flow meter and sensors.
Check the ecu and see if there is any oil at the red plug.
Check oil levels if rising you may have diesel passing the injector washers.
Turbo, could be on its way out or has even gone.
Then there is more technical fueling issues others will know more about.

[matthew02]

Hi,
Thanks for the tips, i have checked the vac hoses when i did the silicon hose kit i replaced the hose form the intercooler pip to the waste gate.
The injector harness was dripping with oil the other day so i replaced that.
i will have to check the oil level and get back to you as i didnt think of this.
it just strange how it will run there for ages seem fine go for a drive everyhting is ok then, after a few kns it gets really bad and undriveable.
i believe that the turbo is ok i will have to make some checks and get back to you.
Thanks again and will be in touch!:)

[CraigE]

Hi,
Thanks for the tips, i have checked the vac hoses when i did the silicon hose kit i replaced the hose form the intercooler pip to the waste gate.
The injector harness was dripping with oil the other day so i replaced that.
i will have to check the oil level and get back to you as i didnt think of this.
it just strange how it will run there for ages seem fine go for a drive everyhting is ok then, after a few kns it gets really bad and undriveable.
i believe that the turbo is ok i will have to make some checks and get back to you.
Thanks again and will be in touch!:)
Matt,
The injector harness will always be covered in oil, it is the nature of where it is fitted. It is only more when it gets into the wiring and via capillary action gets to the ecu plug. The two easy checks are to pull the round plug apart at the head and check for oil residue there. If there is it is only a matter of time until it gets to the ecu plug. The red ecu plug is an easy check as well.
I sealed my harness to avoid this.
Cheers
CraigE

[matthew02]

Hi all,
i have fixed the issue that i have had with the defender,
the problem was the excessive carbon build up in the inlet throttle valve was causing the valve to stay shut after it and the egr were operating.
so i removed the egr valve off the inlet manifold and cleaned the carbon deposits from it with a toothbrush and carby cleaner. fitted back up to vehicle and works awesome!
Thanks for the tips and ideas!
Matt