Issues with Ford CMax 2008 1.8tdci

steviebwoy

Hi all, just wondered if I could grab a bit of advice on an issue we’re having with our 2008 Ford CMAX 1.8 tdci. We’ve had the car over a year and all has been well until recently.

We were greeted a month or so ago with the engine management light appearing on the dashboard. I called Green Flag who ran a roadside diagnosis which returned errors with the turbo and the glowplugs. The guy from Green Flag discarded both messages, then ran another diagnosis which returned only issues with the glowplugs. He did a quick check on them and reported that one of them had gone, and another was on the way out. Fine. No further issues with the turbo were reported when he reran the diagnostics.

Fast forward a couple more weeks and an alert flashed up on the dashboard to report an “engine malfunction” when my partner took a short journey to her parent’s house. When she returned to the car, the light had gone out  however she took the car to her brother who works at a tyre and exhaust place. He hooked the car up to their diagnostics machine and was greeted with an error P0299 which apparently relates to the turbo, he also checked the glow plugs and suggested they were fine (I’m not sure if I trust his judgement to be completely honest).

I took the car to Cornwall this past weekend (a 300 mile round trip) and I think it’s now become apparent that we’re in dire need of help, the yellow engine management returned on Saturday so something is clearly going awry. On the return journey yesterday every time I accelerated over about 2000 rpm a massive plume of grey smoke appeared and it got to the point on the M5 where every increase in speed of around 5mph resulted in another cloud of smoke appearing in the rear view mirror. Even when running through a speed check area at 50mph there was a consistent trail of grey smoke behind us, and when I accelerated away I could barely see the car behind. That said, I didn’t notice a dip in performance particularly, but acceleration seems a bit sluggish and we’ve always had problems with the car stalling in first gear.

At this point I know we’re going to need to take it somewhere to get looked at properly (and urgently), but I wonder what you guys would advise? Does it sound like the glow plugs might be the problem, could the turbo just be gunked up a bit or does it sound like we might have a more severe issue with the turbo? I’m a bit nervous about taking it to our local Ford dealer, but I wonder whether I should just bite the bullet and get it sorted, my only concern is that we’ll be paying a heck of a lot more at Ford than we would elsewhere.

Any help would be much appreciated.

paulyoung666

How many miles has it done , and what history do you have on previous repairs ?

steviebwoy

Hi Paul, it's done around 86k but I don't have much of a repair history sadly.

paulyoung666

I wouldn't go to a main dealer , find a local diesel specialist instead , however it does sound as though an injector is not working correctly which will cause the smoke from the exhaust , when it runs OK does it feel as though it runs as it should ?

Edit -- glowplugs would only make a difference to the cold start up not running ....

steviebwoy

It does feel okay usually, though I'd say it's definitely not as quick and nippy as it used to be. Obviously the smoke is what has really alarmed me now as there's clearly something going horribly wrong.

Would a fuel injector replacement be an expensive fix? I've read online that some people with similar symptoms have had the whole turbo ripped out which has cost them four figures.

steviebwoy

Quick question - would a local diesel specialist have the same diagnostic kit as Ford? I was told by Ford that their machine will tell them exactly what the problem is, and that the diagnosis is far more detailed than what other mechanics would have access to. Is that total nonsense?

redaprilia

You need to take the car to a garage that "a" the diagnostic kt as most do & "b" the staff are clever enough to interpenetrate the results and not just go changing part randomly & "c" have access to parts via a distributor who offers same day service .

Type the name of your area into google maps , then replace that name with garages , Cheletenham diesels ? or ask for recommendations from colleagues etc

paulyoung666

In my experience if they turbo is letting go , you get blue smoke then bang as the oil leaks into the turbo , grey / black is fuel related and needs a specialist to sort it out , it could be as simple as a recalibration of an injector but more likely an injector replacement , and if it's one you have four that have all done the same amount of graft , you need to get it booked in somewhere ....

Edit - a quick Google search suggests ~ £100 an injector for a refurbished one ....

steviebwoy

Thanks Paul, I've booked it into a local Ford specialist on Thursday. They apparently have the same diagnostic kit as Ford. I'll let you know what they come back with.

car-man

Check the turbo pipes for a split, especially the one on top of the engine....failure of the turbo pipes is very common on this model.
You will get lots of black smoke and reduced power.
I can't see a problem with the glow plugs causing this fault.

Check this turbo pipe....http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/uploads/monthly_02_2013/post-40970-0-39899800-1361033398.jpg