Smokey nissan x-trail

[brian_374331089]

HI I own a x-trail 2.2 diesel reg 02 37k when towing it seems to smoke a lot also when driving hard say up a hill,i have tried clearing the exhaust with a good burst of speed but it dosent seem to help.Anyone else got this problem or knows how to cure it

 

[JTQ]

I note its an 02 vehicle so its engine might be "gunged-up" despite the fact it works hard occasionally towing. This is not uncommon and some believe its more common when using Supermarket fuels.

Try using an injector cleaner such as Millers Sport 4. Better still take it to a diesel injection specialist and get the injectors cleaned and reset.

 

[JTQ]

I note its an 02 vehicle so its engine might be "gunged-up" despite the fact it works hard occasionally towing. This is not uncommon and some believe its more common when using Supermarket fuels.

Try using an injector cleaner such as Millers Sport 4. Better still take it to a diesel injection specialist and get the injectors cleaned and reset.

Another thing worth doing is changing the engine air filter, but get an OEM one rather than a cheaper after market one.

 

[lukebfox]

I asked a mate who is a mechanic about the same problem and he said its the injectors try 2or 3 liters of kerosene in the diesel tank to clean them if not get the injectors cleaned, i havnt got around to either yet.I WOULD also get some further advice about tyring the kerosene before doing it as im not sure its safe but im sure somebody on the forum knows. anybody know?

 

[JTQ]

I asked a mate who is a mechanic about the same problem and he said its the injectors try 2or 3 liters of kerosene in the diesel tank to clean them if not get the injectors cleaned, i havnt got around to either yet.I WOULD also get some further advice about tyring the kerosene before doing it as im not sure its safe but im sure somebody on the forum knows. anybody know?

yes; the lubricity properties of kerosene is far too low for modern technology injection systems. Don't do it or you will risk much worse problems that smoke on load.

If ever it was a viable technique those days are long gone.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

I had one of the first XTs new and it smoked very badly

On long trips to Spain etc it was necessary to wear gloves to unhitch

All the cables were covered in "soot" and the front of the van was a mess

On long steep French motorway hills it poured out black smoke

The dealers in UK kept putting off doing anything and I finally had it sorted at a Nissan garage,Interdiesel in Figueras near to Barcelona where they replaced injectors and "the system antipollution" all without speaking English

It would never have passed an M O T

Subsequent XTs have been much better (2 old models & 1 new))

I tried diesel specialists in Uk but they needed the Nisan computer etc

 

[johno1]

Brian, you might try changing the fuel filter as a clogged one will give the symptoms you are expierencing and it's cheaper than injectors. best of luck

 

[Walter_374354699]

Try some Shell V-power - my Xtrail sometimes emits a bit of smoke under load / acceleration - never seems to do this when tank is full of V-power.

It is expensive 5-6p above the normal Shell - get a Shell Mastercard from Citi and you get 3% rebate which takes the sting out of the price hike - get a Shell Drivers card and you get another rebate so the V-power costs you very little extra

 

[seth1]

hello Brian,

some frendly advise,take your car to an mot station and ask for a volentry smoke test,you will get charged.non turbo engine is allowed 2.5%.a turbo charged is allowed 3%.although the homologation level on your engine will be a lot lower.without stateing the obvious black smoke is burnt fuel,but what actually matters is what is in the smoke.the only real way of knowing is a smoke test.

 

[brian_374331089]

Thanks for the advice everyone,have now changed the oil,oil filter,fuel filter,dosed tank with forta diesel conditioner,filled up with shell fuel not supermarket,blasted up the motorway.The smoke cleared for a few days but seems to be starting again,not as bad as before.Does anyone know about ERV valve believe this can cause smoking.

Looking at landcrusers may get shut and buy one of these,any got advice on these are they heavy on fuel/road tax ect

 

[seth1]

hello Brian,

it might of been a good idea to replace the airfilter to,unless it is quite new.pehaps its collapsd.also do you mean EGR valve?

 

[Andrew_5105555]

Hi brian

I bought a 2002 xt 2 years ago from a local nissan dealer,when i collected the car i noticed on the way home that it was badly smoking i took it back to the dealer they tried injector cleaner and told me to drive 500mls and see how it was,this made no difference,we also had black soot all up the front of the van,i then took it back to them and they replaced all the filters(it was ment to have been serviced before i collected it)and told me to try again,this also made no difference,so they fitted new injectors it was better but not acceptable,it was embarrasing when i accelarated hard and the car behind disapeared in a cloud of smoke.

I found some info on the x trial forum about the fuel ecu on some early models being programed wrong and causing over fueling,this is a known fault on early x trails but nissan won,t repair it unless forced to.

Armed with this info the dealer agreed to fit me a new one and the fault went away.

It is now fine and the van is cleaner,i am a service engineer and drive alot for a living,i see lots of early xt with the same fault,its worth getting it sorted because it can cause turbo/intercooler problems hope this helps,

Andrew

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Andrew that sounds so familiar

That is how it went with my 1st XT before the fix in Spain

Its well worth trying all the other "fixes" and I did try most of them but new injectors and "system anti pollution" cured ir but not as good as later models

 

[giovanni_5060838]

Brian.

The egr valve could well be your problem,but theres another one too.

Whatever has caursed this issue,you can be sure that your exhaust,and cat and downpipe are covered in this soot.

The only way is to unbolt the cat and exhaust and use an air pipe to blow out your entire system, as well as using a rubber mallet to tap the said items to loosen the soot further.

Otherwise you may have already fixed the problem but not the result of it, which could be a large build up of soot,everwhere.

 

[brian_374331089]

Brian.

The egr valve could well be your problem,but theres another one too.

Whatever has caursed this issue,you can be sure that your exhaust,and cat and downpipe are covered in this soot.

The only way is to unbolt the cat and exhaust and use an air pipe to blow out your entire system, as well as using a rubber mallet to tap the said items to loosen the soot further.

Otherwise you may have already fixed the problem but not the result of it, which could be a large build up of soot,everwhere.

hi can anyone tell me where the EGR valve is located and can this be stripped down easily,one cure for this i am told is a new ballbearing in the valve?

 

[seth1]

hello Brian,

the egr valve is located on the exhaust manifold,but before the turbo.the idea is to link the exhaust to the inlet and reburn the gases.before you strip it ,check this ,its shaped like a dome,or similar to a mushroom.remove the vac pipe to it ,try sucking on it to check the diaphram in it.what you dont say is ,is the fault new,or allways been there.only a stuck valve would make it black smoke,due to lack of boost pressure,(open position) a split diaphram would cause,anti pollution fault,(egr fault)and/or boost pressure to high for a split second and it would be logged.have you checked all the boost hoses and intercooler for splits?

 

[brian_374331089]

hello Brian,

the egr valve is located on the exhaust manifold,but before the turbo.the idea is to link the exhaust to the inlet and reburn the gases.before you strip it ,check this ,its shaped like a dome,or similar to a mushroom.remove the vac pipe to it ,try sucking on it to check the diaphram in it.what you dont say is ,is the fault new,or allways been there.only a stuck valve would make it black smoke,due to lack of boost pressure,(open position) a split diaphram would cause,anti pollution fault,(egr fault)and/or boost pressure to high for a split second and it would be logged.have you checked all the boost hoses and intercooler for splits?

Hi seth Thanks for info,problem been there for about 2 years but gradualy been getting worse,especally when towing,towed across france last year,had to kept cleaning front or van