Smokey G60

[Pickard1 0]

Help.....

In the last couple of days my G60 has started smoking severely. Mainly when the engine is revevd above 3000 revs or when you lift off the accelerator. The smoke is black, in fact its sooty. The rear end of the car and exhaust is covered in soot. If I pull off from the lights there is a cloud of smoke left behind bigger than the car! The engine has gone a little hesitant as well (just like on an old fasioned car that needs more/less choke-best way I can describe it)

 

A bit of history:

The MPG went really low last week and the engine went a bit hesitant. Discovered a wire from the lambda sensor had become disconected. Reconected it and all appeared fine. now this......

 

Any help appreciated.

 

Also, this is sounding like its going to be a garage job, does anyone know any reputable garages in the South Manchester / Stockport area that arent going to faint at the sight of a G60 Engine?

Im from Leics and normally nip over to Jabbasport but now working in Manchester and its a bit far.....

[h100vw 0]

Lambda probe or associated wiring. Try Awesome GTI store http://www.awesomegti.com

 

Or if you can wait til tuesday, if you can nip over to Manchester airport I'll take a quick look for you.

Gavin

[Pickard1 0]

Cheers, that would be really useful.....assuming that it lasts til next tuesday without blowing up or something! is it safe to drive?

I work about 5 miles away from the airport, is there some kind of meet on there or is that just where you work?

Thanks,

Dan

[Jim 1]

Certainly sounds just as Gav says.. lambda probe! Either the probe itself is shot, or the wiring to it (with your recent movement of that cabling) has cracked - both very common on the G60!

 

With regards to being safe to drive.. not 100% but I believe you'll just get very very poor running, bad fuel economy, and a black soot cloud following you everywhere.

[Tempest 0]

is it safe to drive?

 

Yes, but I would disconnect the Lambdaprobe connector for the time being. That also should improve engine behaviour again.

 

I had my Lambdasensor go belly up on me nearly 1.5 years ago, and I was driving around with the sensor disconnected for approx. 3 months till I got a new sensor and fitted it. No problems were encountered during that period.

 

Tempest

[Supercharged 2]

Yep, just unplug the connector near the rear engine mount - if it improves then you've found your problem!

[h100vw 0]

Cheers, that would be really useful.....assuming that it lasts til next tuesday without blowing up or something! is it safe to drive?

I work about 5 miles away from the airport, is there some kind of meet on there or is that just where you work?

Thanks,

Dan

 

I work there Dan. Dinnertime is best for me, my plane will have gone and I have no pressure in the afternoon.

 

If you tape the full throttle switch up, the ECU ignores the probe and is a quick way to prove the probe is good or not.

 

http://www.snstuning.com is good for G60 troubleshooting.

 

Gavin

[h100vw 0]

I hope the SNS guys won't mind me cutting and pasteing for the benefit of others......

 

Car not running right? Here's some common debugging tips!

 

1. Engine running warmed up, unplug the blue coolant temp switch, does anything change? No = bad coolant temp.

Alt: 1000 ohms resistance after normal operating temps

 

2. Air Temp (on intercooler tube) 500 ohms on outer two pins, you have to drill out the cap to get the adjustment.

 

3. O2 sensor, of course, check the wires/harness for any damage. If you haven't replaced this lately, might be time to get the universal and just crimp the wires on. $60 or less.

 

4. The TB -> ecu hose must be plugged in the right place. its closed to the passenger side. Unplug the ecu hose from the ECU , if the car still runs like crap, then its the ecu hose. Don't even attempt to drive the car with the ecu hose off.

 

5. Check your battery voltage, If the battery voltage goes low, the ECU dumps 25% more fuel than normal.

 

6. The ground wires, to the head, and everywhere else. Bad grounds are a common issue with this car, especially the one to the head.

 

7. Distributor cap/rotor, remove, inspect and clean dirt. Sandpaper any "growth/corrosion" on the metal contact points.

 

8. Wires,plugs, you should remove the plugs and inspect for damage, or fouling from being rich.

 

9. If o2 sensor goes bad, it will kill the cat real quick. Remove the cat by lowering exhaust, look inside, if its crumbly, turned sideways, or black, its probably dead.

 

10. Check vacuum through boost gauge (10-15psi of vacuum) or MFA (84-104) at idle. Anything else, you might have a big vacuum leak.

 

11. ISV - if you haven't rerouted it, you may have a leaking ISV.

 

12. Idle screw on throttle body. Make sure its not gone, or about to fall out. Usually results in "hunting" or high rpm idle.

 

13. Have you changed the fuel filter lately? Its by the passenger rear wheel. Easy to change, watch out for gas spraying you in the face!

 

14. Timing. If you don't own a timing light, you can mark the distributor cap and base with some paint/white-out. Unbolt the ~13mm bolt that holds the distributor down.

 

Turning the distributor cap right, will retard timing, Turning left will advance. Advance = more power, quicker off the line, more likely to ping/knock with poor gas. Retard is when you feel

 

pinging or detonation. I'd suggest, on the hottest day possible, advancing a little, driving, and advancing more until you feel knock/detonation or pinging when you first get on the gas. Then back off some.

 

Stock timing is 6-8 degrees, with good 93+octane gas , you should be able to go higher. With poor 91 octane, you are going to have to back off timing a bit with most chips.

 

 

Gavin

[Rustynuts 0]

My car ran really well with the lambda sensor disconnected on my G force chip, on my SNS chip it ran badly below 3000 revs (my SNS chip is old and its not really set up for my car). Now i have changed the sensor it does not run so well with the G force chip and SNS chip is still bad.

 

Only problem with running without the lambda is that it will overfuel.

[Pickard1 0]

Just to keep you all informed,

 

I contacted a place called General Motors in stockport today (from the recomended suppliers section of the forum). They asked about my symptoms and then the mileage and said they didnt want to get involved! Apparently it would be more trouble than it was worth. Brilliant customer service!

They gave me the numebr of another place in Stockport who specialise in emissions / fuel system / electronical problems. Im off there on Monday to see what they can diagnose.

I might try and disconnect the lambda probe tomorrow and see if that makes an improvement.

 

Gavin, Lunchtime would be good for me anytime this week. I'll keep you informed and if I cant anywhere Monday I think it will be time to see a real expert....

 

The only good thing to come of all this is that I've managed to smoke an M3 convertible at the lights......and I mean literaly smoke. The poor guy pulled up behind me at some lights and looked like he could hardly breath as I left my calling card behind!!

 

Dan

[h100vw 0]

I think it will be time to see a real expert....

 

I wouldn't go that far :roll: