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Hi All, I Have a 2.1 12v td 406 v reg, the problem is i was coming back from holiday on sunday and while on the motorway doing 70ish i could hear a very faint tinkle noise a bit like a wind chime. i slowed down and it disapered so i drove on at 55mph and 20 mile later a loss of power followed by a burts of power which i had no control over, i engaged the clutch and the engine continued to rev at 3000rmp this went on for 5 sec, i pulled over on the hard shoulde and got out thats when i noticed a trail of white/grey smoke i had left behind which i could still see and it smelt relly funny like oil and diesel both burning together. only living about 6 miles from where i was an haveing no breakdown cove no one to ring and the fact that it was raining heavy i checked the oil which was at halfway and decided to try and statr it. Well to my suprise it did start and ran fine, i was nearly home and at the bottom of my street there was a bit of clatering and loads of that white/grey smoke and it cut out, i tried to start it once again but this time it turned really slow and did not start. i rolled it back and bump started it and got it back on my drive and left it over night. the next day i went out and poped the bonet to see if anything i could see was damaged bit it all lokked fine a part from oil splatter around the back of the engine buy the vacume pump, i onec again checked the oil which was now no registeringon the dip stick. i filled it back up and started it it started first time tick over was fine but would not rev past 1500rpm without loads of smoke and a few rattles. i then noticed smoke coming from the engine bay so went to look and it was coming from back of the engine and out the dipstick hole this white/grey smoke, my mate who is no machanic but knows a little said it was my turbo that was nacked and if i disconected the big black hose that went to the plastick inlet manifold it might work, well i did it and it did rev higher but with more noise and loads of smoke coming now from out the plastic manifold pipe. the question i want to now te answer to is could it be just the turbo that has broken creating all the symptons or is it more drastic.

sorry for the long story but i wanted you to get the full picture any advoice would be greatfull

ps the car runs on tick over without any smaoke or noises

regards
Ryan

sounds like summat catastrophic i'm thinking timing belt slippage or something like that

Could be the turbo, although all the oil at the back of the engine is a bit odd (unless it blew up)

Where'd you pick up the extra 4 valves?

Sounds to me like the engine is FCUK'd.

The easiest idea to come up with is that the turbo has blown which would explain the smoke out the back and the engines appitite for oil. I know that BMW have a big problem with some 320d turbo's which do the above, eat all the oil and then destroy the engine. Sounds like your turbo has eaten oil and then the engine has been driven with no oil in it which has caused it to partially seize, or the back pressure from the knackered turbo is stopping it from reving.

Maybe thye oil in the engine bay is where the engine got so hot that some of it vapourised and had to find a way out???

Good luck but i think it may be a new engine

I am going to take wild guess that you actually have a 110 HDi and not a 2.1 16v TD (they where 12 valve). The HDi is actaully 8 valve, but they didn't do the 16v 136bhp or the 2.1 TD on a 99v.

Sounds like turbo to me, possibly oil seals/bearings. meaning ifs leak most of the oil from the engine out of the turbo (at rear of engine) and its now not spinning freely causing the the engine not to get enough air and white smoke from the unburnt fuel.

I'd be looking at the turbo for obvious signs of oil leaks (its normally for a small oil leak on the KKK turbo, welly has a pic of his somewhere). Turbo is on the rear of the engine towards driver side. Jack it up, take the under engine cover off, the plastic pipe (air supply from turbo to intercooler) running between engine and gearbox, is there any oil on this? (Oil will normally run down the pipe from the turbo)

Failing that take the driver side wheel of, remove the wheel arch liner shine a light in at the turbo. (Hopefully welly will come along and post the pic of his turbo so you know what to look for)

steve_earwig wrote:Could be the turbo, although all the oil at the back of the engine is a bit odd (unless it blew up)

Where'd you pick up the extra 4 valves?

My mistake its a 2.1td 12v i`ve now edited the tex discription above

thanks for all the replys and help you inputed, i brought a working turbo off a runner in the breakers and set about the task of changing it i have changed turbos on deisel motors before but never one as stresfull as this . to cut a long story short i spent 3 days on it and in the end after not being able to get the turbo out, i finaly saw red and resorted to the trusty lump hammer did some sumo positions and proceided to reshape the bodywork like a episode of cut and shut the neighbours came out and the look of shock on there faces as i procieded to reshape the front end of a v plate 406 with a hammer was priceless. Anyway i spent 2 days stripping bits off it which i am going to list in the for sale section over the next few days.