Thread: Td5 using engine oil - burnt oil smoke on takeoff

Sounds like valve stem seals, and you can replace with the head in place.
I have a valve spring compressor that works from above, and in typical direct injection diesel fashion you should be able to wind each pot over to TDC, undo the collets and spring retainers and the valves can't can't go anywhere as they rest on the piston crown.
I don't know if there's enough space in the TD5 head to do this after removing the cam?
Done a few Tdi's like this which exhibited the same oil consumption.
A number of the stem seals were floating with the valve stem rather than staying put on the guide

Mine did same but was due to worn bore on no1...filter element had failed😐

Compression test will tell you the csuse.

Originally Posted by INter674

Mine did same but was due to worn bore on no1...filter element had failed😐

Compression test will tell you the csuse.

Yep.

Originally Posted by twr7cx

Any advise on diagnosing the cause of engine oil burning on my Td5 (apparently as all the external leaks are sorted it must leak internally now to escape)? It's used approximately half the dipstick (between high and low reading) over 5,000km. When the vehicle cold starts or taking off from idle there is a 'blue' burnt oil smoke cloud behind it. Aside from that it starts and runs fine, no noticeable loss of power and economy seems a bit higher than normal (but that could be change of weather, driving routes, etc.).

To ensure no runaway engine I've pulled the turbo charger inlet and outlet silicone hoses off, the sides are stained black with oil residue, but they're not wet or dripping or any actual drops of oil in there, no signs of oil inside the turbo air path itself so I assume the turbocharger is ok - it's a TurboTechnics unit and has done less than 100,000km/9 years.

Given when the burnt oil smoke clouds appear I suspect perhaps valve stem seals are gone? Is there a way to diagnose/confirm? I assume that they can't be replaced with the head in place? The engine is at 290k km. The previous owner removed the head to replace the head gasket over 10 years ago before it had traveled 180k km.

What are the alternatives for oil entering into the combustion? Worn rings? Failed head gasket?

check for blow by ( unscrew oil cap with engine running ) shouldn't be any or at the least be very minimal, if none
Try to get an inspection camera if you have one through the egr plate on the exhaust manifold to see if the carbon build up is dry or wet , if wet it narrows it down to rings/ bore or valve stem seals but with what you have described it does seem like valve stem seals and / or guides( give the engine a rev before you do the above to make it smoke then let turbo wind down for 10 seconds and shut off ), if dry carbon in manifold.
check the turbine side of turbo to see if that carbon is dry, the vgt's can leak oil into the lower pressure side ( turbine )first,

Originally Posted by rick130

Sounds like valve stem seals, and you can replace with the head in place.
I have a valve spring compressor that works from above, and in typical direct injection diesel fashion you should be able to wind each pot over to TDC, undo the collets and spring retainers and the valves can't can't go anywhere as they rest on the piston crown.
I don't know if there's enough space in the TD5 head to do this after removing the cam?
Done a few Tdi's like this which exhibited the same oil consumption.
A number of the stem seals were floating with the valve stem rather than staying put on the guide

agree Rick , you can use that method on a TD5 as well, though unfortunately if you remove the cam on a TD5 you may as well do it the old way as you would have to replace the head gasket as the seal will be broken because the head bolts go through the cam carrier..... Fortunately though, you can remove the injector rocker shaft and , using a spanner between the rocker shaft bolt holes and a modified long socket , you can compress the valve spring to remove and replace the collets

Originally Posted by INter674

Compression test will tell you the csuse.

unless it's only the oil control rings either gummed up or seized / broken

Originally Posted by discorevy

check for blow by ( unscrew oil cap with engine running ) shouldn't be any or at the least be very minimal, if none
Try to get an inspection camera if you have one through the egr plate on the exhaust manifold to see if the carbon build up is dry or wet , if wet it narrows it down to rings/ bore or valve stem seals but with what you have described it does seem like valve stem seals and / or guides( give the engine a rev before you do the above to make it smoke then let turbo wind down for 10 seconds and shut off ), if dry carbon in manifold.
check the turbine side of turbo to see if that carbon is dry, the vgt's can leak oil into the lower pressure side ( turbine )first,

Some great info there, thanks.
There's no blow by with the oil cap unscrewed and engine running. I'm not running the factory crankcase pressure vent valve as I've got the Mann Hummel Provent 200 fitted which has it's own inbuilt.
I've been short of time to check the turbo but hopefully will get there in the next few days. Fingers crossed it's the fault as it's an easier fix and a great excuse to upgrade from the Turbo Technics VNT to Td5Inside's CRturboPT VNT with the billet CNC machined wheels...

Can you change back to the standard vent for a test?

Originally Posted by Graeme

Can you change back to the standard vent for a test?

Sure can. What am I testing/looking for though? Just setting it back up to standard to see if it still smokes?

Yes, to demonstrate that the add-on isn't causing the problem by not breathing well enough.