Rover 75 diesel strong exhaust smell

rikk · 8th February 2019, 10:28

Hello,

We still have a problem with my dads car.. since about early last year.. and it seems to be getting worse. We have checked all the items mentioned in a previous thread where I asked (PCV, flexi pipe, EGR valve etc).. and have had several people look at it including a diesel injector specialist, but no one can pinpoint the cause. My dad is now thinking of replacing the car, which is a shame as this is the only real issue.. but the engine now stinks and it is becoming intolerable.

It just had it’s MOT .. and passed on the emissions.. the reading for “smoke” being 1.05 (limit is 1.5). My ZT (with the same engine) was 0.76. So I’m not sure if this value is particularly high?

I’m now not certain if the smell is actually coming from the engine or from the tailpipe.. it’s hard to tell as the smoke drifts around.. however the exhaust gas from the tailpipe does smell stronger than on my ZT.
Also there is some black smoke when accelerating (not a huge amount though) and the MPG has dropped (to about 37) – although recently he has only done fairly short journeys in it.

It also takes a lot longer to warm up than my ZT.. but does get up to halfway on the gauge eventually.. we fitted the inline stat mod a few years ago on both cars.

Based on the above could it be that the engine is running too rich? And if so how to check that and diagnose the cause? I have TOAF and it said the "correction factor" on one of the injectors was 4%.

The car now has 120k on it so we were thinking if keeping it for longer then it may be worthwhile to get the injectors reconditioned even if that doesn’t fix this particular issue .. it certainly made my ZT start and run better (the injector specialist said that may fix the smoke issue but he couldn’t be sure).

But we don’t want to spend that much on it if the problem still remains and can’t be fixed.

So anything else we can check before injectors? Note the MAF was already changed.

Any other help or suggestions would be much appreciated.. many thanks

Richard

macafee2 · 8th February 2019, 12:55

what is the smell?

macafee2

Number 6 · 8th February 2019, 14:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by macafee2

what is the smell?

macafee2

I’m now not certain if the smell is actually coming from the engine or from the tailpipe.. it’s hard to tell as the smoke drifts around.. however the exhaust gas from the tailpipe does smell stronger than on my ZT.

The exhaust I think macafee

rikk · 8th February 2019, 18:02

It does smell like exhaust gases, but is very strong.. gets right to the back of your throat.. much worse than what you normally smell from a diesel car ..

markypicks · 8th February 2019, 18:21

could be a blocked or worn cat

Number 6 · 8th February 2019, 19:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by markypicks

could be a blocked or worn cat

I would think a Blocked CAT would show up in poor performance,Worn out CAT

Darcydog · 12th February 2019, 05:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by markypicks

could be a blocked or worn cat

This was my first thought - any odd rattles from the exhaust?

8th February 2019, 10:28	#1
rikk Avid contributor Rover 75 CDTI Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ashby de la Zouch Posts: 104 Thanks: 3 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Rover 75 diesel strong exhaust smell Hello, We still have a problem with my dads car.. since about early last year.. and it seems to be getting worse. We have checked all the items mentioned in a previous thread where I asked (PCV, flexi pipe, EGR valve etc).. and have had several people look at it including a diesel injector specialist, but no one can pinpoint the cause. My dad is now thinking of replacing the car, which is a shame as this is the only real issue.. but the engine now stinks and it is becoming intolerable. It just had it’s MOT .. and passed on the emissions.. the reading for “smoke” being 1.05 (limit is 1.5). My ZT (with the same engine) was 0.76. So I’m not sure if this value is particularly high? I’m now not certain if the smell is actually coming from the engine or from the tailpipe.. it’s hard to tell as the smoke drifts around.. however the exhaust gas from the tailpipe does smell stronger than on my ZT. Also there is some black smoke when accelerating (not a huge amount though) and the MPG has dropped (to about 37) – although recently he has only done fairly short journeys in it. It also takes a lot longer to warm up than my ZT.. but does get up to halfway on the gauge eventually.. we fitted the inline stat mod a few years ago on both cars. Based on the above could it be that the engine is running too rich? And if so how to check that and diagnose the cause? I have TOAF and it said the "correction factor" on one of the injectors was 4%. The car now has 120k on it so we were thinking if keeping it for longer then it may be worthwhile to get the injectors reconditioned even if that doesn’t fix this particular issue .. it certainly made my ZT start and run better (the injector specialist said that may fix the smoke issue but he couldn’t be sure). But we don’t want to spend that much on it if the problem still remains and can’t be fixed. So anything else we can check before injectors? Note the MAF was already changed. Any other help or suggestions would be much appreciated.. many thanks Richard

8th February 2019, 12:55	#2
macafee2 This is my second home Rover 75 Saloon & Tourer Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Lincoln Posts: 14,931 Thanks: 1,630 Thanked 3,032 Times in 2,181 Posts	what is the smell? macafee2

8th February 2019, 18:02	#4
rikk Avid contributor Rover 75 CDTI Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ashby de la Zouch Posts: 104 Thanks: 3 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	It does smell like exhaust gases, but is very strong.. gets right to the back of your throat.. much worse than what you normally smell from a diesel car ..

8th February 2019, 18:21	#5
markypicks Gets stuck in rover 75 saloon cdt club se re map 160 bhp Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: sheffield Posts: 558 Thanks: 227 Thanked 169 Times in 135 Posts	could be a blocked or worn cat