Ford Mondeo - 53 plate mondeo tdci smoking heavily & sluggish

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Sat 26 Apr 2014 23:08
Ford Mondeo - 53 plate mondeo tdci smoking heavily & sluggish - mondeo help

I have a 53 plate tdci that has been spewing out thick black smoke whilst cold & although it starts it doesn't always accelerate. Once warm the car drives like a dream. I took it to a garage that specialises in diesels, injectors & pumps. They put it on a machine it said no faults, despite filling the workshop with smoke.

They then took the injectors off & tested them, 2 came back with a fault so they reconditioned them & cleaned the other 2, but this still hasn't fixed the problem& the bill currently stands at £500 plus vat & they don't know what it is but want to run more tests.

Has anybody got any ideas. I begrudge paying £600 when they haven't fixed it.

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Sun 27 Apr 2014 14:54
Ford Mondeo - 53 plate mondeo tdci smoking heavily & sluggish - dieselnut

Black smoke in a Diesel is either too much fuel or not enough air.

As you've had the injectors checked they should be ok. 'Fuel' could also come in the form of engine oil via a leaking turbo seal on the inlet side, but you say it runs fine when hot which seems to rule that out.

Otherwise a blockage in the air inlet from the air filter springs to mind. Also check the EGR valve is closing fully & not clogged up with carbon.

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Sat 24 May 2014 10:01
Ford Mondeo - 53 plate mondeo tdci smoking heavily & sluggish - aylesby

My 54 estate is a 2.2 with 150k miles on the clock does motorway commutes. It started to look like a comedy car when asked to increasethe revs. I had a metal blank fitted in the manifold to neutralise the egr, You may need help as this can causes a warning light to show but use a garage if in doubt.

This part is £4 on Ebay but my Ford garage charged £50 to complete the job.

The car still smokes a bit and fuel has improved to 54mpg. The edge has come off the powe and it is slower to accelerate through the gears but it no longer blasts black smoke out the back.

Edited by aylesby on 24/05/2014 at 10:02

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Sat 24 May 2014 14:19
Ford Mondeo - 53 plate mondeo tdci smoking heavily & sluggish - RobJP

I agree. Most likely to be the EGR valve. Either replace or blank

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Sat 24 May 2014 14:38
Ford Mondeo - 53 plate mondeo tdci smoking heavily & sluggish - Railroad.

My 54 estate is a 2.2 with 150k miles on the clock does motorway commutes. It started to look like a comedy car when asked to increasethe revs. I had a metal blank fitted in the manifold to neutralise the egr, You may need help as this can causes a warning light to show but use a garage if in doubt.

This part is £4 on Ebay but my Ford garage charged £50 to complete the job.

The car still smokes a bit and fuel has improved to 54mpg. The edge has come off the powe and it is slower to accelerate through the gears but it no longer blasts black smoke out the back.

This is because the ECU can no longer detect a reduction in measured airflow when it commands the EGR to open. It takes action by reducing power output to maintain correct NOX emissions. I would suggest you restore the EGR system back as it was, and then give the air intake manifold and EGR system a thorough clean and remove all the sludgy deposits that restrict the air. That should cure the smoke problem.
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