Nissan X-Trail - Smoke, Steam and loss of power !

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Fri 23 Oct 2015 18:45
Nissan X-Trail - Smoke, Steam and loss of power ! - mooseman1450

Nissan x trail 2006. 130,000 miles

Help! Driving home a few days ago up a gradient when i noticed a sudden loss of power followed by clouds of white smoke coming from exhaust. Pulled over, turned off engine, steam from under bonnet then radiator 'exploded'. Engine did eventually stop.

Recoverd back home by breakdown. Dipped the sump but no oil on dipstick.

I have just removed sump plug and drained remainder of oil (mobil 3000 syn) and recovered about 1 1/2 litres. Was told maybe common rail has gone but no smell of diesel from sump oil. Could it be turbo seals ?

Purchased car 5 months ago from a garage who supplied (via 3rd party) a years warranty up to £250 ! for drive train.

Mike

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Fri 23 Oct 2015 22:07
Nissan X-Trail - Smoke, Steam and loss of power ! - Ethan Edwards

Sounds like a head gasket to me.

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Sat 24 Oct 2015 09:38
Nissan X-Trail - Smoke, Steam and loss of power ! - Oli rag

When you say that the engine "eventually stopped", it does sound like it was running on its own engine oil. I understand this happens when turbo oil seals fail.

Sadly i would suspect it's a none cost effective repair given the age and mileage of the car.

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Sat 24 Oct 2015 09:57
Nissan X-Trail - Smoke, Steam and loss of power ! - gordonbennet

''Engine did eventually stop''

Thats the punch line, as Oli Rag i think its consumed its own engine oil and ran till it seized, or ran out of oil, these cars do have form for turbo issues.

Whether its worth the time stripping the engine down to examine it is questionable, DIY probably yes, mian dealer definately not, good indy maybe, but a used known engine complete with turbocharger might be the cheapest and quickest fix.

If the rads gone (obviously a new one needed, unless it was steam coming out the pressure cap?) then it might be worth pressurising the heater pipes to check the heater radiator before you go ahead with another engine, if its blown the heater rad fitting a new one of those on many cars is a massive job (whole dash out, often the front seats and centre console too), might take as long as fixing the rest of the problem.

Edited by gordonbennet on 24/10/2015 at 10:05

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Sat 24 Oct 2015 11:33
Nissan X-Trail - Smoke, Steam and loss of power ! - mooseman1450

Morning guys, many thanks for advice.. Before i drained oil, i did turn over engine in gear (push) then went for start which it did and ran ok before i turned off (2-3 secs)

The radiator actually ruptured along the top which would indicate a sudden rise in temp/pressure ? Head Gasket ?

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