ide say ya turbo seal is going south and throwing oil into the air manifold and failure is iminent myself..

 

Another vote for the turbo failing I am afraid... Keep an eye to it and the oil level, bad things happen when they go completely, YouTube - BMW X5 Engine Problems

 

Another vote for the turbo failing I am afraid... Keep an eye to it and the oil level, bad things happen when they go completely...:frown

what bad things happen? :frown

 

I forgot to add that I did drive the car for a further 3 miles and pulled into a layby and left the engine running and there was a odd smell coming from the rear of the car like it is burning and a lot of heat from the exhaust.

 

My engine light doesn't light up so I can't tell if there is problem unless I connect a computer to the car. My brothers engine light lights up when you turn the key and it goes off but mine doesn't?

Your engine light should come on when you switch ignition on and then go off once engine is started and no faults have been found. Sounds like someone has snapped the bulb off to conceal a fault.

I had similar symptoms on my saab 9-5 aero and foolishly ignored them - turned out to be a failed oil pump which ended up blowing the engine.

Get a diagnostic check asap :thumbsup

 

Hi Ricky,

Ive suffered the dreaded turbo blow and it seems similar to what happened to me.

Ihad a sudden power loss whilst driving luckily got home,had it towed to a bmw indy and found out the turbo bearing had gone.

I would say i did notice loss of oil before this happened i dont know if you have had any problems with your oil levels?

I hope its not your turbo big job and big money!

I wouldnt drive it anywhere could end up eating the turbo and the end of your engine.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

Cant I disconnect the battery from the boot if that happens?
surely that will protect the engine as well?

Could it also be the EGR valve?

 

It won't
Diesel engines ignite based on compression - so as long as they have something to burn (like oil in the manifold...) then will keep running regardless of how much electricity they have.

It has many of the marks of turbo seals... For how long after start up do you get smoke? Are you seeing the black smoke in your rear view mirror? (I can guarantee if you are then it may seem a little to you but it looks like a shit load more to anyone outside the car!)

I had a saab 9-5 petrol where the turbo seals went. Never got smoke on startup but by god was it bas when I accelerated hard and changed gear!

 

I get the smoke on start up immediately and for the next minute or two. After that I can't see no white/blue smoke but get some black smoke come out when flooring it past 3k revs

 

So its nowhere near as bad as the X5 in the video? If not it could be that the Oil Breather/Separator needs changing, you may still have the old loo roll type in :frown

L16YD L 's Replacing Oil Breather Guide

If you're in any doubt tho get a garage to look at it :thumbsup

 

Best thing to do is see if you can get at the turbo inlet and check if there is any oil residue in it. You may also be able to determine if there is any play in the turbo bearings

If the turbo is the culprit get it sorted sooner really. At this stage it should still be possible to recondition your existing turbo - but it usually means car off the road for a week while it goes in. MUCH cheaper than a new one though and since they replace the bearings and seals when they do it a recon is a damn fine alternative.

BTW, 320D - slightly unrelated but have you dealt with your swirl flaps?

 

Slowtech - Its not bad as the x5 in the video and when throws out smoke I can see through it.

seriousrikk - I will have that checked out this week hopefully. Luckily my brother is on holiday so I have his 320D sport to drive around.
I have dealt with the swirl flaps. Do you think the problem is related?

 

Hopefully it could be oil seperator related - although I think the white smoke on startup makes this a little less likely.

Nothing to do with the flaps - was just going to highlight the issue with them if you weren't aware!

 

Update: I have got a local garage to run a diagnostic on the car and all came out fine and they believe the diesel could be contamined?

I had to drive the car back from Slough today and I got caught up in rush hour and the was idling normally and producing the white/blue-ish smoke and then the traffic cleared I floored it and there was white smoke everywhere and quite think. The car was idling for half an hour in stop start traffic.

 

I would strongly suggest checking the pipe work from turbo to intake manifold (and intercooler if 320 have them think they will?) for oil, a light coating is acceptable but any more turbos leaking.

The fact it smoked alot after idleing points to the turbo leaking as it had time for the oil to slowly leak in the the pipe work then get blown through when you put your foot down.

 

I will also check the oil level tomorrow. The engine is warm now but I did rub my finger on the exhaust and it is not spitting oil out of the back its just black but not wet or sticky

 

I checked the oil level before leaving on cold and it was just under max. This morning the oil level was just below min. Im guessing the oil is being burnt or going somewhere...but where?

 

Into the intercooler then engine I bet! Get it to a garage quick! That's a lot of oil to loose without a external leak:jaw-dropping