Oily inlet mainfold

[sniff petrol]

How much oil should there be in an inlet mainfold on a turbo diesel? I'm replacing the injectors on my 1997 133000 miles BMW 325tds and the mainfold looks like this:





Does this indicate a problem or is this normal for this sort/age of engine? Or could it just mean it's been over-filled with oil in the past? I'm rather suprised cause the car came with a FSH and the previous owner was very keen on the car and spent a fair bit of money keeping her in good health.

[GreenV8S]

There will be crud all over the place, especially if you have any sort of EGR system. By the way, why are you putting spark plugs in your turbo diesel?

[sniff petrol]

GreenV8S said:

There will be crud all over the place, especially if you have any sort of EGR system. By the way, why are you putting spark plugs in your turbo diesel?

No that was just a box I'm using for keep all the nuts and bolts in. Thanks for the reassurance, how much should I clean it up when I put it all back together tomorrow?

[GreenV8S]

Make sure all the sealing faces and threads are perfectly clean. Unless you're going to strip the engine I think you're wasting your time trying to clean inside the ports etc though, and may even end up dislodging something that could cause trouble elsewhere.

[sniff petrol]

Alright Pete, thanks for that. To be honest I don't usually work on cars of this value so I'm a bit apprehensive. If someone more experienced says all's well then that's good enough for me.

[B19GRR]

BTW if you're thinking of fitting a simple chip tuning box (rather than full on remap), now would be the time as they plug in to the wiring that you can only get to with the inlet manifold off. I was happy when I found that out, oh yes, very happy

Oh yes, your manifold looks as oily and nasty as I remember mine being, bleurk!

Cheers,
Rob

Edited by B19GRR on Tuesday 30th October 02:21

[sniff petrol]

B19GRR said:

BTW if you're thinking of fitting a simple chip tuning box (rather than full on remap), now would be the time as they plug in to the wiring that you can only get to with the inlet manifold off. I was happy when I found that out, oh yes, very happy

Oh yes, your manifold looks as oily and nasty as I remember mine being, bleurk!

Cheers,
Rob

Edited by B19GRR on Tuesday 30th October 02:21

Great stuff, I've ordered one but didn't know it went down there - I'd assumed it'd go in the diagnostics port, thanks Rob. I wanted new injectors in there before I put the tunning box in so that it's running fine. Have you had any problems since fitting yours? how long have you had the box on and how many miles has your car covered with and without it? Was it a worthwhile upgrade in your opinion?

[B19GRR]

sniff petrol said:

Great stuff, I've ordered one but didn't know it went down there - I'd assumed it'd go in the diagnostics port, thanks Rob. I wanted new injectors in there before I put the tunning box in so that it's running fine. Have you had any problems since fitting yours? how long have you had the box on and how many miles has your car covered with and without it? Was it a worthwhile upgrade in your opinion?

I don't have my TDS anymore, but I had it for a couple of years and did about 20k in that time. Fitted the chip box after about 1 month and removed 1 week before selling. Never had any problems with it and I can confirm that it definitely improved performance and even economy (slightly) as the last week without it was quite dull in comparison. I had a PSI Powerbox, grabbed it on Ebay for a bargain. You can see the connector it plugged in to in your first pic, between second and third inlet just underneath where that thicker pipe kinks downward, has the ribbed rubber cover on it. The tuning box had OEM fitment male and female plugs on it so it simply spliced in between there, you'll understand why it was impossible to do without removing the manifold! I then just velcro'd the box to the bulkhead out of the way - used heavy duty stuff you can get at Halfrauds and such places, it stayed there without any problem. The PSI box did have an extra lead you could fit a switch to and then to earth which would in effect be an on/off switch but I never bothered messing with that.

Cheers,
Rob

[sniff petrol]

B19GRR said:

I had a PSI Powerbox, grabbed it on Ebay for a bargain. You can see the connector it plugged in to in your first pic, between second and third inlet just underneath where that thicker pipe kinks downward, has the ribbed rubber cover on it. The tuning box had OEM fitment male and female plugs on it so it simply spliced in between there, you'll understand why it was impossible to do without removing the manifold! I then just velcro'd the box to the bulkhead out of the way - used heavy duty stuff you can get at Halfrauds and such places, it stayed there without any problem. The PSI box did have an extra lead you could fit a switch to and then to earth which would in effect be an on/off switch but I never bothered messing with that.

Cheers,
Rob

Thanks for that Rob, I haven't heard of anyone blowing up their engine with one of these but I've been a bit unlucky with cars. I've got one of these on it's way from Ebay:

http://www.tuningbox.com/

£300 ish new, I've paid £161 for a used one - I'm happy with that and like you would take it off before selling.

[B19GRR]

sniff petrol said:

Thanks for that Rob, I haven't heard of anyone blowing up their engine with one of these but I've been a bit unlucky with cars. I've got one of these on it's way from Ebay:

http://www.tuningbox.com/

£300 ish new, I've paid £161 for a used one - I'm happy with that and like you would take it off before selling.

Yeah, that'll do the job. I'd be very surprised if the engine blew because of a chip box, if it did go then it'll be something much more fundamental, they're seriously solid lumps of iron!

I got my box for about £100 and sold it for £200 so just call me Mr. Smug! Just make sure you keep the packaging and any instructions so you can really sell the ad when you come to move it on. The guy I bought it off didn't have a clue and couldn't even confirm if it was the right one for my engine despite the visible serial number in a picture and 30 seconds on the PSI website to check, his loss

I've just remembered I had to have my oil cooler replaced as the fittings on it corroded so that the o-rings couldn't seal properly, so if you notice a small oil leak at the front dripping of the bottom radiator cross member I'd suggest looking there first. The only other problem I had was a cold start issue which turned out to be a leak in the fuel supply hose which caused the fuel to flow back to the tank when left for a while, it always started eventually, was just a matter of getting fuel pressure back up, another quick fix once diagnosed.

Cheers,
Rob

[sniff petrol]

B19GRR said:

The only other problem I had was a cold start issue which turned out to be a leak in the fuel supply hose which caused the fuel to flow back to the tank when left for a while, it always started eventually, was just a matter of getting fuel pressure back up, another quick fix once diagnosed.

Cheers,
Rob

Mine must be letting air in as even with the new injectors and glow plugs fitted today it still doesn't start that great, a lot better but it still takes several turns before it catches and fires up. Where did you get the fuel hoses from Rob? Did you do the job yourself? how much did it cost?
Sorry for all the questions but I really like the car and want to get everything running perfectly so I can enjoy the car as it should be.

[That Daddy]

sniff petrol said:

B19GRR said:

The only other problem I had was a cold start issue which turned out to be a leak in the fuel supply hose which caused the fuel to flow back to the tank when left for a while, it always started eventually, was just a matter of getting fuel pressure back up, another quick fix once diagnosed.

Cheers,
Rob

Mine must be letting air in as even with the new injectors and glow plugs fitted today it still doesn't start that great, a lot better but it still takes several turns before it catches and fires up. Where did you get the fuel hoses from Rob? Did you do the job yourself? how much did it cost?
Sorry for all the questions but I really like the car and want to get everything running perfectly so I can enjoy the car as it should be.

Glow plugs?have you checked em,they look a bit rusty on the threads certainly look like they have been in there a whileas said already if you have perished fuel hose/s you can get air in the pipes while left standing(and while cranking,causes vacuum as it lifts the diesel from the lines)this will give you starting issues.

Edited by That Daddy on Tuesday 30th October 21:33

[sniff petrol]

That Daddy said:

sniff petrol said:

B19GRR said:

The only other problem I had was a cold start issue which turned out to be a leak in the fuel supply hose which caused the fuel to flow back to the tank when left for a while, it always started eventually, was just a matter of getting fuel pressure back up, another quick fix once diagnosed.

Cheers,
Rob

Mine must be letting air in as even with the new injectors and glow plugs fitted today it still doesn't start that great, a lot better but it still takes several turns before it catches and fires up. Where did you get the fuel hoses from Rob? Did you do the job yourself? how much did it cost?
Sorry for all the questions but I really like the car and want to get everything running perfectly so I can enjoy the car as it should be.

Glow plugs?have you checked em,they look a bit rusty on the threads certainly look like they have been in there a whileas said already if you have perished fuel hose/s you can get air in the pipes while left standing(and while cranking,causes vacuum as it lifts the diesel from the lines)this will give you starting issues.

Edited by That Daddy on Tuesday 30th October 21:33

Yep, got 6 nice new Beru ones in there today, was strange that 2 NGKs and 4 Berus came out of it though.

[That Daddy]

Always a bad economy to change just odd glow plugs,you may find thats all your problem was,keep it posted.

[cptsideways]

I've had a few of these, I'd highly recommend to clean all the inlet tracts out, clean the temp sensor on the inlet too clean the turbo outlets & even the intercooler out as that'll be full of oil too. I think they even have a drain plug so wee what comes out first.

Most of this gunk comes from the turbo, they always blow a little oil though just keep on going. Also it will probably be worth blanking off the EGR valve while your there, will aid economy too. (I'm sure the TDS has one)

Good old engines, very basic but go on for ever if looked after, though not especially frugal or fast.

[Mr2Mike]

It's the EGR that causes the black crud to build up. You always get a bit of oil through a turbo, but that just makes the inside of the manifolds and ports a bit oily, they don't get hot enough to bake the oil into the black crud without the EGR.

[GreenV8S]

Mr2Mike said:

It's the EGR that causes the black crud to build up. You always get a bit of oil through a turbo, but that just makes the inside of the manifolds and ports a bit oily, they don't get hot enough to bake the oil into the black crud without the EGR.

And yet, the intake of my RV8 gets liberally coated with hard baked-on black crud - and I'm quite sure it isn't caused by EGR! Exhaust gas reversal at low RPM carries muck from the cylinders all the way back to the throttle (and even past it, sometimes). It gets washed off where the injectors spray, but elsewhere it is left to build up.

[B19GRR]

sniff petrol said:

Where did you get the fuel hoses from Rob? Did you do the job yourself? how much did it cost?
Sorry for all the questions but I really like the car and want to get everything running perfectly so I can enjoy the car as it should be.

Sorry, I can't remember as it was a while ago. I had an indie do the work and don't remember having a heart attack when presented with the bill.

Cheers,
Rob