As the weather was nice this evening and I haven't driven my bus much (been avoiding salty roads) I thought I'd go for a blast around some of the local country roads. I set off and after about five miles I turned on to the motorway to go down to the next junction where I would venture around the north of Cheshire. On accelerating up to 60 to climb the viaduct I suddenly noticed a cloud of smoke coming from the rear - an immediate heart stopping moment: was it a fire or was it just burning oil from the exhaust / heat exchangers (there is a small leak somewhere). I took my foot off the gas and the smoke subsided. I continued the mile or so to the junction and got off the motorway. Suddenly a cloud of smoke came into the cab through the heater vents. OMG I thought, something is not looking good here. So I returned home, parked up and pondered. Whilst on the drive I gave it a couple of revs and sure enough a huge cloud of smoke came out the back. My engine is a 2ltr Vege which has done 14000 miles since it was installed 8 years ago. There is as I say a leak from somewhere, as yet not identified and said oil has dripped / sprayed onto the heat exchangers, but this doesn't exactly explain the smoke on revving the engine. Oh and I noticed a hole in the silencer where it meets the tailpipe so even more I have the van booked in for a service and tune in a couple of weeks time - guess I should prepare myself for potentially bad news?
what colour smoke? if you have an oil leak it's not unusual for it to find it's way into the cab via the heating system - check the level and run it to discover the colour of the smoke blue is bad white not so, does it smell of burning oil from the exhaust?
I'd say the smoke was pale blueish grey but doesn't have a strong smell that I can notice other than of hot oil.
it will be a leak building up and dropping on your exchangers i guess, check level have a good blast and check, probably built up from sitting..... other fix is to remove all rear view mirrors and block heater vents. james bond bus
The van has sat about for at least the past year having only done about 1000 miles since it's MOT in July.
I am a bit concerned that you saw smoke and you carried on driving I would of had the engine bay open with a fire ex in my hand and not moved untill i know what was the course motorway or not
I know what you mean, I did think s***, I best pull over, but given that the truck driver behind wasn't flashing his lights madly and indeed stayed there when I'd reduced speed and the smoke subsided, led me to think fire wasn't the issue. Food for thought though..
So checked underneath the van this morning and found this: It looks like the oil is leaking (substantially) from the rocker cover suggesting a gasket has gone? I also noticed the heat exchanger isn't properly connected to the riser elbow
Get some GOOD quality rocker gaskets, cheap ones are a false economy. Make sure the rocker covers are being held on nice and tight by the springs, i.e. you shouldn't be able to pull the spring off with your finger, it should take a screwdriver levering it off to shift it. if it is weak, take the spring off and bend it inwards in the middle and then put it back on, this will make it more difficult to put the rocker cover back on, but don't worry, you want it like this so it holds the rocker cover on nice and tight.
Cheers guys I hope that's all it is too I'm gonna give this a go tomorrow - just to be sure I'll check the pushrod tubes too as I remember my old 1600 had a problem with one of the pushrod seals - I had the lot replaced with the telescopic ones. As the van is going to the garage later in the month I'll get them to look at that if required. While I feel fairly confident in replacing the rocker cover gasket - the pushrod tubes are more like internal surgery for me - not sure I'd trust myself to do it right. I think I need to enrol on an aircooled mechanics course
(I think I need to enrol on an aircooled mechanics course) I know of a course being run on 11 May in Manchester If you want details feel free to contact me
Ooh now then - I'll check if I am working - that might be useful... Can't make tekenders unfortunately...
When you change the rocker gaskets make sure you give both mating surfaces a really good clean to get rid of any old gasket. Then use a smear of general grease to stick the gasket into the rocker cover while you fit it. When fitting the rocker covers make sure the rocker cover doesn't move as you lever the clip on. If it moves a bit it looks ok but oil pours out when you start the engine. Ask me how I know!
Cheers. I remember my dad telling me to smear some oil on, which I used to do when I ever changed one on a Ford engine, but I guess grease would be better. Now, real retard question now - should I drain the engine oil prior to commencement of this task or is it going to be lower in the engine so only likely to drop a bit when I take off the covers? (it's all a bit weird working on an upside down engine lol)
