Hi all,

I have a 94 Isuzu Bighorn 3.1L turbo diesel. I have a good knowledge of petrol engine but this is my first diesel so not so sure of the exact workings. The symptoms are as follows:
Occasional white smoke from exhaust
A fair amount of oil in the intake before the turbo
Ticking sound like incorrect valve clearances but could also be diesel fuel knock
What to me seems an excessive amount of blowby, an almost continuous stream of whitish smoke from the crankcase vent tube if disconnected from the intake hose.
A whining noise similar to a loose fanbelt around 2000-2500rpm (all belts have been replaced tho)

Any ideas on the cause(s) of the problems and how to fix would be appreciated. I suspect if the valve clearances are indeed out this could cause many of the problems, but im guessing the injector pump timing may also be out. How is the injection timing adjusted on a diesel?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Clive, New Zealand, May 2005

Hi my isuzu fsr 6bd1 blows white smoke and losing power when it starts how will I know the problem

lau, March 2016

A c190? isuzu diesel engine installed on a tamaraw i just bought..the problem is when i started the engine and popped up the hood black smoke coming out of the uncapped radiator (cap is missing, typical here in the far east lol) is this a sign of a blow by? or something with the head gasket?..it doesnt emit white smoke just the normal belching lol...please help, thanks.

George, September 2009

Turbo Buggered or Number 4 piston has a broken ring its common fault

shane Tauranga, September 2009

My Isuzu FVZ1400 truck also blows white smoke on start up (the colder the worse). I changed valve stem seals, checked compression OK, checked pump timing 16 Deg B4 TDC, adj valves to 16thou. It uses a lot of fuel and I am also not sure where to go from here meybe pump Overhaul?

Andyroo1970, August 2009

YOU MUST CHANGE THE FUEL INJECTORS AND THIS SMOKE MUST STOP
I HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE FEW TIME

vYGANTAS, November 2007

hi,

i also have japanese big horn 92. i have no problem on the first year, on the second year i noticed lot of black smoke when accelerating, have it calibrated, smoke is gone but they also disable the egr because it is not functioning properly. whenever i connect it it will emit black smoke what they did to disable it is by blocking the vacuum hose.

now another problem comes up my brake indicator is always lit. can't find the problem. inspected hoses andthey are all intact, but doubted if the last mechanic correctly connected them. does not lose brake fluid, no leaks.

reuel ricardo, January 2007

White smoke means burning oil. Black smoke means unburned diesel. If its oil check out radiator water for signs of oil meaning you have damage gasket (top overhaul). another thing remove the oil filler cap and if slight smoke appears, you have piston ring problem. If it is unburned diesel, clean or replace injector nozzle (only diesel calibration specialist have the equipment to do this) or calibrate the injection pump. Another possible scenario is when loud whining sound from turbo occurs and white smoke appears on high rev probably the bearingm and oil rings of the turbo charger is worn.

Isuzu diesel mechanic.

max the mechanic, November 2005

Hi, I have a 93 model Lotus edition from Japan and it has a similar problem, excessive smoke alternating black and white smoke, with white smoke (or steam) coming from the intercooler hood vent. After much elimination, my friendly neighborhood mechanic pointed the problem to be the mechanism beside the engine itself with two vacuum hoses, this is shaped like two eggs put side by side, silver gray. Its on the right side of the engine, same side as the oil measuring stick, opposite the side of the battery. I don't know the exact name but it seems to act as air flow regulator going to the engine. Inside the mecahnism are valves that open and close. I noted that when one of the pair of valves get stuck, the engine produces a loud clicking sound -takatakatak- then the hefty amount of smoke comes out, much like a squid squirting black ink, much to the dismay of the cars behind me. Upon spraying loads of thin lubricants into the mechanism, it loosens up for a while then the problem goes away. But it returns quickly after a day or two of use. I am seeking a more permanent soultion, maybe some mechanical intervention. Try and check yours.

piolo, July 2005

first thing to try is fule filter, and fule lines they could be blocked, also try your air filter, both could cause white smoke, be warned, dont play with your pump timeing just yet, if you try the filters first it could save you a very costly bill later, oil in breather befour turbo is likely to be piston blow by only on engens that have maid it to the moon and back? 250,000, like! so it could be low on compreshion witch is the most comon cause for white smoke ,my big horn blows white smoke when first started, its not smoke its steem!!! and they all do this, its a big engen to warm up and it takes time, the pump is the last thing to have chequed, but not by you, you cant realy do it as it needs to go on a computer to have this done right, expencive, thats why you dont move it around, are you right in calling this smoke white, could it be steem? have you sniffted it??
smoke will durn your knows, steem wont burn? like iv sead my big horn pumps out steem on first start up and it gos on for a long time till it clears at least five milles
and clears when the moter warms up, best of luck mike thorpe

michael thorpe, May 2005