D40 issues

[Sarahgreen]

Hi,
I’ve got a 07 Spain stx manual diesel d40.

ive been having a few issues with it. A couple months ago had problem with power and clutch noise. Had to get a new boost solenoid and clutch and flywheel. Had that done and a week later after taking it 4wding for the weekend the exact same symptoms of power issues returned.It’s just slow, doesn’t feel like the turbo kicks in, won’t really accelerate uphill, have to be in a lower gear, blows black smoke upon acceleration. It does drive it’s just very sluggish.

not sure if I will need a new boost solenoid as it fixed the problem perfectly, but only for one week?
And now.
The car has been playing up and won’t start sometimes straight away, turn the key after accessories and it won’t even kick over, the lights don’t flash, just nothing. Leave that a minute try again, and it seems to work.
Is it related problems? Anyone know what’s going on?
Cheers

 

[Old.Tony]

Hi Sarah and welcome to the forum.

I'd first take a good look at the vacuum lines connected to the turbocharger. These are affected by heat, they harden and become easy to move on the connectors and when this happens they happily leak vacuum which means less turbo control.

Inspecting the turbocharger is also valuable, if you're happy to do this yourself it's a two-parter:

1) Remove one end of the air hose between the baffle (top of the engine, vehicle's left hand side) and the intercooler. Wipe your finger on the inside of this hose and examine your fingertip under a bright light. If there's any sign of glittering in the oil on your finger (the oil is supposed to be there!) your turbocharger is wearing out.

2) Pop the hose off the front of the turbocharger and try wiggling the shaft. It shouldn't.

I'd also make sure the battery connections are ok. Clean the terminals (a "soft" wire brush is good for this, I have some that look like toothbrushes with fine bristles). You could try another battery - but I don't suspect this at the moment, because of the delay you're experiencing prior to "normal" function. If you want, you could try another battery: I had mine tested at a battery specialist who pronounced it "good" and it left me on the side of the road just to days later, but I didn't have symptoms like yours, mine would simply not start (it did the clicking thing without turning the engine over).

 

[Sarahgreen]

Hi Sarah and welcome to the forum.

I'd first take a good look at the vacuum lines connected to the turbocharger. These are affected by heat, they harden and become easy to move on the connectors and when this happens they happily leak vacuum which means less turbo control.

Inspecting the turbocharger is also valuable, if you're happy to do this yourself it's a two-parter:

1) Remove one end of the air hose between the baffle (top of the engine, vehicle's left hand side) and the intercooler. Wipe your finger on the inside of this hose and examine your fingertip under a bright light. If there's any sign of glittering in the oil on your finger (the oil is supposed to be there!) your turbocharger is wearing out.

2) Pop the hose off the front of the turbocharger and try wiggling the shaft. It shouldn't.

I'd also make sure the battery connections are ok. Clean the terminals (a "soft" wire brush is good for this, I have some that look like toothbrushes with fine bristles). You could try another battery - but I don't suspect this at the moment, because of the delay you're experiencing prior to "normal" function. If you want, you could try another battery: I had mine tested at a battery specialist who pronounced it "good" and it left me on the side of the road just to days later, but I didn't have symptoms like yours, mine would simply not start (it did the clicking thing without turning the engine over).

hi, thankyou for your reply.

I had the turbo replaced about 6 months ago. And a friend looked at my car and we noticed one of the hoses was in half, I think one from the vacuum pump. He fixed that back together. That did help and bought back some power but I still don’t think it’s at its normal level. I’ve uploaded a video that shows the hose.

not sure if that information changes your suggestions. Thanks

 

[Old.Tony]

Did you repair that hose or replace it? It's just standard 3mm ID vac hose.

A new turbo rules out its failure unless (a) it was a cheap clone or (b) the car's been mistreated.

On that last one - for general information - turbochargers can be easily mistreated by running them hot and just turning off the engine. A haul up a hill to a rest area at the top and just switching the car off - not good, the turbo will still be hot from the climb and oil in the bearings will start to cook. This can get very destructive. In general use, it's ok - around town the turbo won't get hot enough to worry about, and the cooling system does do a good job of keeping its temps down, it's really only on the hard runs with sudden stops that are a concern. One minute of idling after a hard run ought to be enough.

 

[Sarahgreen]

Did you repair that hose or replace it? It's just standard 3mm ID vac hose.

A new turbo rules out its failure unless (a) it was a cheap clone or (b) the car's been mistreated.

On that last one - for general information - turbochargers can be easily mistreated by running them hot and just turning off the engine. A haul up a hill to a rest area at the top and just switching the car off - not good, the turbo will still be hot from the climb and oil in the bearings will start to cook. This can get very destructive. In general use, it's ok - around town the turbo won't get hot enough to worry about, and the cooling system does do a good job of keeping its temps down, it's really only on the hard runs with sudden stops that are a concern. One minute of idling after a hard run ought to be enough.

the hose was repaired.
The turbo was from repco, not sure of the exact brand.
Id like to think I haven’t mistreated it but thinking about it there have been times I probably should have left it on to idle before turning it off.
Could the power issues and it having problems starting both relate to the turbo?
or seperate issues? When my turbo did go it didn’t have any of these symptoms. And it’s just odd that replacing the boost solenoid fixed the power issues completely, only for the exact same symptoms to return a week later after 4wding

 

[Sarahgreen]

the hose was repaired.
The turbo was from repco, not sure of the exact brand.
Id like to think I haven’t mistreated it but thinking about it there have been times I probably should have left it on to idle before turning it off.
Could the power issues and it having problems starting both relate to the turbo?
or seperate issues? When my turbo did go it didn’t have any of these symptoms. And it’s just odd that replacing the boost solenoid fixed the power issues completely, only for the exact same symptoms to return a week later after 4wding

this is it trying to turn it on. Today it turned on on the second turn, last nighT it took a few more goes than that

 

[Cozmic191]

Hi, not sure if this will help. I had a similar problem on my 07 d40 with regards to power and blowing black smoke. My mechanic had blocked off my egr valve when i had my head replaced, and did not drill a hole large enough in the plate. at the time I was unaware that the size of the hole could make a difference. (Have since found out thru here that it does) anyway my mechanic put a new egr valve on my and it has been great ever since. Maybe worth checking the egr valve

 

[Old.Tony]

Hi, not sure if this will help. I had a similar problem on my 07 d40 with regards to power and blowing black smoke. My mechanic had blocked off my egr valve when i had my head replaced, and did not drill a hole large enough in the plate. at the time I was unaware that the size of the hole could make a difference. (Have since found out thru here that it does) anyway my mechanic put a new egr valve on my and it has been great ever since. Maybe worth checking the egr valve

The 2007 model car doesn't do flow detection so the hole isn't needed. The introduction of EGR (adding it) will increase the amount of black smoke, so there must have been something else at play there as well.

 

[Old.Tony]

this is it trying to turn it on. Today it turned on on the second turn, last nighT it took a few more goes than that

The turbocharger can't influence the car's starting like that, so I'd suggest you may have two separate issues happening. I'm not sure what the beeping means, my car doesn't do that (and when it does beep, it's not that pitch) but mine's a 2009 model.

Sometimes, when we see two unrelated issues with the car, it actually comes down to an electrical connection problem. Either the ECU earth (on the guard on the vehicle's right hand side) or the battery terminals (and rarely, the fusible links). Usually, cleaning up the contact surfaces fixes the problem. Try this first: it's free and might work (it has for others in the past).

However, the starting issue could be the starter solenoid starting to age poorly. These are usually fairly reliable (mine's seen nearly 370,000km and starts first turn of the key, even if I don't wait for the glows to heat up). You'd need the car on a hoist to check it or just remove it and examine it. This is starting to get into expensive territory. A replacement from a wrecker is a reasonable option because they hardly ever fail and certainly won't be the cause of the car having an accident.

I'd go and grab some 3mm ID vac hose. I bought some from Supercheap some time ago, 3 metres for $15 (that's enough to replace all of it). I have to get some more, but Supercheap only seem to have 2.5mm ID now. Replacing it takes a little time (I would remove one piece, cut the same length, then install it and then move on to the next one so I didn't make a mistake) and it can't hurt the car.

 

[BarneyB]

Regarding the loss of power:
Have you got a snorkel fitted...? (it makes listening to the t/c easier from the passenger seat on some vehicles)
When you're driving it can you hear the t/c whistling and spooling? Every diesel D40 I've ever driven has pretty loud t/c noise - whistle/whine/woosh etc.
You are certainly aware it's there and moving air.
If the t/c is new - and you can hear it at-least trying to spool - then I'd move on to things like fuel supply & filtration or Suction Control Valve, blocked intercooler (although this would slow the t/c down) or another engine sensor.

The t/c performance is a function of combustion, and it's contribution to power is directly correlated to the size of the bang going on during combustion.
By that I mean if you have incomplete or bad fueling, your exhaust gases won't be "driving" the t/c properly.
How many km's on the donk?
Original injectors?
Any codes in the ECU?

Maybe you can post a video up of driving down the road with t/c sound (or lack of?) and RPM response to a big boot...?