S80 T6 exhaust smoke Topic is solved

beardog · Post by **beardog** » 14 May 2012, 14:38

I bought a 2000 S80 T6 today and had it towed home. It wouldn't start, but did turn over. Looks like someone put a fuse with a broken leg in the ECM location to keep it from running. I replaced the fuse, added 93 octane gas to the tank and Voila, it started. It set up for about a month before I bought it. It starts fine now every time. The only issue now is that it first had excessive "white smoke" out the exhaust and very little from the dip stick at idle. It has reduced considerably on the second time I ran the engine. It is still unnatural of course. On the second run, the smoke from the dip stick is gone, and the exhaust smoke is much less. It does not produce any error codes (yet). Does anyone have any suggestions that I should do / check for this issue? the egnine is pretty smooth and idles smooth. I have not driven it yet because of the smoke, and semi flat tire and it's raining. it has 112k miles and no leaks under it I can see, and no puddles on the driveway. It's a 1600.00 + 55.00 tow project so far. Would appreciate any suggestions, as this is my first experience with a Volvo. Recommendations appreciated.

Post by **jblackburn** » 14 May 2012, 15:38

Let it warm up, then take it out and drive it. Get it up to temperature and open it up on the highway. Some high revs may do good to loosen the engine up after sitting for so long.

Come back, and evaluate if it's still smoking a lot.

Volvos do steam a LOT in cold weather from the exhaust until warmed up.

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 14 May 2012, 16:30

Yeah it might well be residual moisture in the exhaust system. Let it warm up fully and take it for a drive when you can. Unless the smoke smells like glycol\coolant.

beardog · Post by **beardog** » 14 May 2012, 16:59

She's going to kill me for sure.....
I started it up and let it smoke for a few minutes then decided to test it on the road with a short up the road and back trip. I am used to a 5.4L V8, but it didnt have any power in my opinion. The check engine light did come on but it didn't spit any codes. on the way back I punched it to see what happens and it acted like it didn't even know it. Since it is a tinker mobile, I am disconnecting the battery overnight to clear everything and see what happens. Sound familiar to anyone?

Update...
after the test run, I released the coolant resevoir and felt a slight psst.. Not alot, but i felt something. I am now thinking about how long, and how much it will take to replace the had gasket...

Post by **dcarlson12** » 14 May 2012, 18:18

When you say it didn't throw any codes, does that mean you connected a code reader to her to try to read any present?
If CEL is light, I am sure there are codes set...

Was the 'slight psst' sucking or blowing psst? If blowing, I would think that is normal...

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 14 May 2012, 23:21

Cooling system will operate under as much as 15psi in normal conditions. Don't read into the pressure in the expansion tank too much. If you hear a bubbling into the expansion tank after the motor is stopped, that's another matter but otherwise pressure is normal and OK. Monitor the coolant level closely.

Was the light that came on "service" or "check engine"? There's a rake of things that can cause loss of performance, often related to the vacuum pipes or turbo plumbing. Running correctly the T6 wil put something like 280ftlbs down from 1800-5200rpm so it should be comperable to your typical 350, maybe even stronger.

beardog · Post by **beardog** » 15 May 2012, 12:21

While lying in bed last night, I made a mental list....Vacuum lines and plugs first, while I await an intake gasket to arrive to check out the PCV canister, reading up on the turbo system to know if they are even good or not. Regardless, I decided that if It needs to have the engine refreshed, which I doubt with only 112K, I will do it. I am ancy to get out of the office early today and inspect the spark plugs and see what they tell me. The pssst was pressure, not vacuume and no bubbles while running. I removed the oil fill cap and was totally shocked to see that it was not gummed up, no water or moisture in the valve cover, and the lobes on the cam that I could see were not scarred at all. I think I got a great deal for $1600.00. Since I will do all of the work myself, it won't be a money pit. The code scanner I am using is an actron 9125 OBDII that I have used on a lot of Ford Explorers that I have had / resold running awesome. after my last post last night, I got my shopping list for hoses together so I can get everything i need today to replace them all. I peeked at the timing belt and wasn't surprised to see that It didnt have any cracks and looked like a 10K mile timing belt. The timing pulley's were clean enough to eat off of. Fingers crossed. The serpentine is brand new, and the writing is so ledgible it almost confirms that. Back to the lack of error codes, When I pulled it back in the driveway, the CEL went off. I am used to seeing codes that are eroneous, since they can clear themselves with time cycles and intermittant sensor readings. Still puzzled about the smoke. Hoping it is only seals in the turbo at the worst condition. I disconnected the battery last night to let it set overnight in hopes of clearing and resetting all of the previous owner characteristics. If anyone wants video or pics as I process this car, I will be happy to do it diary style...P.S.. smoke doesnt smell like any coolant I have ever smelled, good sign....

beardog · Post by **beardog** » 15 May 2012, 19:36

I had some time to get into the engine compartment tonight and look at some things I considered important. First off, I wanted to see the Spark plugs in her. I was very pleased with what i saw. If it lets me post the pics, I will. need replacing, yes, oil soaked, No. Normal for any car. Now for the turbo experts, Drivers side turbo has an oil line running out of the turbo. Pic also if allowed...Comments and suggestions please if you have time and opinion

: Pics of the plugs and Turbo "plumbing"

beardog · Post by **beardog** » 15 May 2012, 20:47

If anyone is reading this....blog, I seem to be creating. I have a copy and paste from another volvo site that is interesting as it is very similar to my dilemma.. Read below:

My car has been running fine....It's a 2000 S70 GLT with 71,000 miles. Last night, my wife drove the car and complained that it was running poorly. This morning, I fired it up and have the following issues:

1. Rough Idle, takes longer to start up.
2. puffing white exhaust
3. the smell almost reminds me of Gunk engine degreaser coming out of the tailpipe...

Oil looks good, coolant level is full. I don't have any bubbling in the coolant reservoir at idle. CEL is now lit. She had to drive it about 15 miles last night and the coolant temp. was normal the whole time.

Do I have a bad turbo?

Thanks for your help,

{this guy decided to seek a dealer and his response to his issue:}

Good news!

They found a bad injector!!!!!!!

They are also recommending that the fuel filter be changed (60k service)? I told them go ahead.

They also found a torn or cracked motor mount.....is this common?

Thanks,

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 16 May 2012, 11:58

Well the good news is that the oil you are seeing in that turbo pipe is on the "vacuum" or intake side of the second turbo. The oil is most likely from the PCV system, not the turbo. If you look at where the PCV pipe enters the plastic piping on top of the engine it will all make sense. So your turbos look good from that perspective. To be honest, the turbos rarely give trouble in these cars, but its always good to have confirmation that everything is OK right?

For spark plugs either go basic cheap copper, gapped to .028" or go Volvo OEM. No palladium, platiunum, splifir, vgap, surface dischare or any other malarky. Keep it simple and the car will like you for it.
Until you have the peformance issues figured out, I would advise throw a set of coppers in there for now. NGK have been very good to me on the road and track, but really put in whatever you are personally comfortable with. NGK, Champion, Bosch, Denso, Whatever! The gap is of .026" - .028" (.66 - .71mm) is CRUCIAL with these turbocharged cars. Make sure you gap them!

Did you manage to pull any OBD codes yet? How are the fuel trims looking? Also, if you group the old plugs together by OBD "bank", ie 1-3 (Bank1) and 4-6 (Bank2) do you notice any trends in their appearance? Ie does one bank seem to be running richer than the other? Even though its in inline 6, the T6 has two banks fuel banks, with 4 O2 sensors and two cat converters. It only has one turbo control solenoid (and subequently one wastegate actuator line split into two) for both turbos however. Go figure.