gallery: [indica-users] White Smoke from Exhaust after Oil Change and Diesel Pipe Change

Sabtu, 23 Februari 2008

[indica-users] White Smoke from Exhaust after Oil Change and Diesel Pipe Change

Hello. Recently the main diesel pipe (that carries diesel from the filter to the diesel pump)
of my Indica DLE had to be replaced as the rubber part of the diesel pipe started leaking. I
had the pipe replaced (material cost about Rs.130/-) and simultaneously also got an oil
change done. Immediately after that, my engine started to stutter/vibrate, and white
smoke started pouring out of the exhaust.

The changes were done saturday evening, and sunday my mechanic being away, I tried to
figure out what the problem was..From the web, several clues were obtained: (i) when new
oil enters the system of a diesel car, it may emanate white smoke when trying to flush/
dissolve existing crud), (ii) water may have entered the system, (iii) oil might have leaked
into the combustion chamber/diesel supply system, etc etc. But, the additional symptom I
had was the stuttering/vibration of the engine. I suspected diesel was not flowing properly
into the engine and so pumped the diesel pump several times. Immediately after such
pumping, the engine would work fine for a minute, but after that it would again vibrate
and white smoke would emanate. I checked the installation of the new diesel pipe and it
seemed fine, and so I was stumped!

Amateur mechanics at the local pump cum car-wash said this is normal after an oil
change, and advised me to run the car for about 50km so that the oil can flow properly
and things can become alright. One of my acquaintances said the car is too old and I
should get a new one! Fortunately, I did not believe any of them.

Finally on monday, my mechanic fixed the problem in 10 seconds. He checked the rubber
part of the newly installed diesel pipe and found that it had been pressed together (he
claims due to heat and due to it being a duplicate pipe, though the shop which sold it to
me said it was an original). So the fuel flow was getting obstructed. He rotated the diesel
pipe a little so that the rubber part could not press together even when heated up, and
everything was back to normal!

BTW a mechanical engineer friend tells me that white smoke from the exxhaust indicates
that combustion is not happening properly in the engine, and the reasons for this could be
several (e.g. improper fuel injection, air or water or oil or coolant mixed with fuel, other
fuel contamination, etc).

Sharing this story so that if someone else gets into a similar situation, they know what is
going on.

BTW, how frequently does the main diesel pipe in an India give way?

- Sriram