[Help] Smoke coming from the turbo (Vids included)

[MrTrendizzle]

Good morning.  

I just bought a Lexus IS220D which seems to have a smoking issue.  

On the drive home i noticed an excessive amount of smoke from the exhaust which i think i've put down to DPF regen kicking in which was unfortunate as i was in traffic at the time. But i noticed smoke coming from under the bonnet. When i pulled over i noticed the smoke coming from the DPF/Turbo. I noticed the nuts on the back of the turbo have been played with as they're damaged/changed for random nuts of all different sizes.  

Anyway. Today i've gone for a long drive to get the DPF regen to run which seems to have cleared up the exhaust smoke. Just small puffs of smoke when the turbo really starts to kick in. Best i could describe is bluish/grey not steamy white.  

As soon as i got home i had lots of smoke from under the bonnet and managed to get these videos. As you can see it's coming from the back of the turbo and possibly under close to the wastegate.

Does anyone have any ideas? Do i need a new turbo? Has a seal gone that can be replaced etc...?  

All fluids are ok altho oil is a bit black.

EDIT: Sorry for the videos being how they are. Had to send them via FB and download them to the PC which messed with everything. Will upload to Youtube and add a link shortly.

HQ Youtube link -

 

 

[MrTrendizzle]

Update: Had the turbo off today and it has oil at both ends. As you spin the turbo you can see the oil being moved and pushed in to the air inlet and back out the exhaust.

I just hope the burning oil hasn't caused damage to the DPF. Other than the blue smoke there's no other issues so I might be lucky.

[Texas]

“I just bought” was it like that when you bought it?, ie super low price because it has an obvious problem or has it just started happening? 
I do not know much ( apart from 220D is known to be problematic as far as a derv engine goes ) about the possible fix for this but ‘just bought’ would have me going back to seller!

[MrTrendizzle]

3 hours ago, Texas said:

“I just bought” was it like that when you bought it?, ie super low price because it has an obvious problem or has it just started happening? 
I do not know much ( apart from 220D is known to be problematic as far as a derv engine goes ) about the possible fix for this but ‘just bought’ would have me going back to seller!

Hey. Yeah i bought the car yesterday. Everything was absolutely fine when i looked the car over, minus the small dent on the wing and general condition of the car. Engine started first time, no smoke nothing. As i got home it started to smoke. When i contacted the place i bought it they said to get it checked and let them know. This is what i've done today. Had multiple people check the car over and we all agree besides needing a damn good service the car seems pretty solid except the turbo smoking.  

I'm taking it back Monday morning and having them either replace the turbo or giving them the car back and refunding me.  

I really should've done a bit more homework on this car/engine as it seems to be a bit of a money sink. I guess the price was definitely to good to be true.

[Mr Vlad]

Why did you go for the diesel? Asking out of interest. Are you particularly after a Lexus? 

[JamesIS220]

4 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

Why did you go for the diesel? Asking out of interest. Are you particularly after a Lexus? 

I thought that too when I found out about the turbo lag and mis matched gearbox. Scrapped at 187,000 miles as HG went. Should of got an IS 250 Auto instead. Diesel economy was awful 32-36mpg. Like the RX series and LS430. Bought an Auris Hybrid estate. Like it's economy, £0 road tax and reliable. Lexus felt special on build quality/ materials even though my IS 220D Was only an SE. Got £350 for it and 18 months use. Cost £1.474.00 to buy. Shame I fixed the AC and then fitted 4 new Avon ZV7 tyres 2-3 months before I scrapped it! Wish Lexus did another estate.

James.👍  

[MrTrendizzle]

52 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

Why did you go for the diesel? Asking out of interest. Are you particularly after a Lexus? 

It was the price mainly. I was looking for a Lexus and the 220D was just right. I was unaware of the the issues so atleast it's getting fixed Monday. If they can't fix it then a full refund. After reading these forums i'd try and look for a 250 but my price range is at the very low end of those.  

I was desperate for a car before next friday as mine had just failed it's MOT badly when i was expecting it to pass without issue's. Price as again unexpected and the cost of cars in general seem to be through the roof right now. It was just a nightmare situation and this popped up looking to be very promising. Nice luxury, spacious, cheap... To be fair the car seems to be in pretty good shape. No lights on the dash, entire car is rust free, runs and drives perfect (despite turbo smoking) interior spotless etc... Unless i can get a 250 for £1500 with long MOT i'm kinda stuck with this 220D for now if it gets repaired.

[Mr Vlad]

Ok. Hope that the place you got the 220 from can and will fix it as there's not much out there for £1500 that's half decent. 

[Texas]

I would deffo go for a refund as this ‘cheap’ car may cost you a lot in the future just to keep it doing what it should! An extra £1000 spent on a 250 now will pay dividends ( just my opinion but check out the number of posts in the ‘Engine, Transmission Section’ that relate to the 220!)

[MrTrendizzle]

2 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

Ok. Hope that the place you got the 220 from can and will fix it as there's not much out there for £1500 that's half decent. 

After figuring out exactly what the issue is the place i got it said to return Monday and they will get their mechanic to take a look and repair or if they can't repair give me a full refund which is good. Altho i did hear in the background someone say "They will go to the scrapyard to find the part" which dosn't exactly fill me with confidence. I might just return the car and ask them to refund me. I've been looking to see how much damage a blown turbo could cause from leaking oil in to the exhaust and inlet. So far it seems internal engine damage from abrasion could be likely altho this engine dosn't seem to show any other signs of damage.
There is a ton of oil soaking the entire bottom of the engine, subframe, oil pan which i foudn was a small hose under the inlet that had come off and it looks like it has thrown a ton of oil all over the inlet side of the engine and dripped down. Oil is very black which is concerning. Altho a good service is what i plan for any car i buy regardless of when it was last serviced or whats on the paperwork.

1 hour ago, Texas said:

I would deffo go for a refund as this ‘cheap’ car may cost you a lot in the future just to keep it doing what it should! An extra £1000 spent on a 250 now will pay dividends ( just my opinion but check out the number of posts in the ‘Engine, Transmission Section’ that relate to the 220!)

While trying to figure out what was wrong with this car i did see an ungodly amount of posts about the engine and expensive repairs etc... which is not very good to read. I'm definitly thinking of taking the car back on Monday and asking them for a full refund even if it's while they repair the car. Unsure how much damage the turbo could've caused the engine but other than that it seem like a solid car.
If i really stretch my budget i could push to £1600 unless they accept card payments where my CC could be used (I really hope to avoid that tho) unfortunately i desperately need a car asap with mot for work. I did look for anything cheap to run around in but it seems the price of car's have gone through the roof so even a Ford KA costs £1200+ with mot where as 4 years ago i could pick those up for £100 with 12 months mot... Terrible timing to have an MOT failure really and the stress really is causing me issues.

[Bluemarlin]

I'm not sure I'd trust any repairs now and, even they do fix it to a reasonable standard,  who knows what damage has been caused that could come back to bite you later. I can understand the temptation to buy a car with a known fault, simply because it seems a good price but, unless you're able to source parts and fix it yourself, it can often end up being more expensive than buying a decent one in the first place. I'm with Paul, and would go for a refund.

As a matter of interest,  how catastrophic was the MOT failure? Would it not be cost effective to get your old car through the MOT to get you out of your short term dilemma?

[MrTrendizzle]

1 hour ago, Bluemarlin said:

I'm not sure I'd trust any repairs now and, even they do fix it to a reasonable standard,  who knows what damage has been caused that could come back to bite you later. I can understand the temptation to buy a car with a known fault, simply because it seems a good price but, unless you're able to source parts and fix it yourself, it can often end up being more expensive than buying a decent one in the first place. I'm with Paul, and would go for a refund.

As a matter of interest,  how catastrophic was the MOT failure? Would it not be cost effective to get your old car through the MOT to get you out of your short term dilemma?

The MOT failure was subframe needs welding or replacing as there's a hole rusted through it, cat is failing emissions, rear passenger spring has sheered off the absolute tip of the spring less than 1cm missing so it's not sitting flush, control arm has excessive play.
What has ****** me off the most is the last MOT required the bushes which i replaced and have been absolutely perfect since, spring i replaced at the last MOT so god knows how that has broke and the subframe never got picked up in previous MOT's so was a surprise.

I am tempted to repair the old car just to get it through an MOT and sell on but that's going to take some time which i'm really out of.
When i looked at and bought the IS220D it was sold to me with "no issues" so atleast i have the right to repair/refund I did just check their website and they have a Vauxhall Insignia 1.8 for the same price but MOT check is showing a TON of advisories from the last MOT which is not going to be fun or cheap to fix next time round. I've been sat on Autotrader for the last few hours and so far come back with about 6 cars out of the 20+ pages i've scrolled through. Best one is a Toyota Avensis 2.0 D-4D T3-S 5dr.

[MrTrendizzle]

Unsure if i'm allowed or not but as a warning i took this car back and managed to get a full refund after being held up for over an hour and half for the guy to actually turn up at the location. I guess he wanted me to just go away.  

While sitting there the engine became very unhappy and barely started as we pulled it in to their yard.  

The number plate is AK56 ALU. So be warned. If you go to buy this car check for the blue paint on the turbo (3 spots) and pull the intake pipe off the turbo and check for the puddle of oil. You might want to avoid it if possible if not then atleast know there's a bunch of oil that's be thrown through the intake of that car.  

I've taken everyone's advice and i'm looking at a IS250 right now. There's a lovely blue one with grey full leather interior which shows on the MOT checker that it's never failed an MOT ever with zero advisories every year. It's a little out of my price range but i'm going to butter up the wife and see if we can dip in to our credit cards, as i think it might be a safe investment.  

Thank you all for the help. I'll be back shortly with a love story rather than horror.

[Texas]

“You know ( now, or very soon ) it makes sense” to opt for a slightly more expensive 250 over a cheaper 220 as the 220 may cost you dearly in the long term and the 250….very unlikely to👍

[JamesIS220]

1 hour ago, MrTrendizzle said:

Unsure if i'm allowed or not but as a warning i took this car back and managed to get a full refund after being held up for over an hour and half for the guy to actually turn up at the location. I guess he wanted me to just go away.  

While sitting there the engine became very unhappy and barely started as we pulled it in to their yard.  

The number plate is AK56 ALU. So be warned. If you go to buy this car check for the blue paint on the turbo (3 spots) and pull the intake pipe off the turbo and check for the puddle of oil. You might want to avoid it if possible if not then atleast know there's a bunch of oil that's be thrown through the intake of that car.  

I've taken everyone's advice and i'm looking at a IS250 right now. There's a lovely blue one with grey full leather interior which shows on the MOT checker that it's never failed an MOT ever with zero advisories every year. It's a little out of my price range but i'm going to butter up the wife and see if we can dip in to our credit cards, as i think it might be a safe investment.  

Thank you all for the help. I'll be back shortly with a love story rather than horror.

At least you got your money back, so that's good. Looking forward to your update.

James👍

[MrTrendizzle]

4 hours ago, Texas said:

“You know ( now, or very soon ) it makes sense” to opt for a slightly more expensive 250 over a cheaper 220 as the 220 may cost you dearly in the long term and the 250….very unlikely to👍

The reviews of the 250 are mind blowing. One of the top rated reliable cars and from what i understand the engine is over-engineered and very under-stressed allowing it to be so reliable.
I'm actually shocked at every IS250 i've done an MOT check has never failed on anything big. Seems to be brake discs and pads or tyre's. Never rust or other issues. Either every Lexus owner is very proud and on top of their repairs or this car is a golden goose.

[Mr Vlad]

Yes m8 we love our is250 cars. You'll love yours when you get one. Look on here for a thread what to look out for. Also that the car has the original key fob.

[MrTrendizzle]

5 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

Yes m8 we love our is250 cars. You'll love yours when you get one. Look on here for a thread what to look out for. Also that the car has the original key fob.

I've litterally just got online to check that exact thing. Also to find the average mpg. I'm used to 10mpg - 50mpg but averaging at 28mpg - 34mpg Do you think that is doable for village>town commutes? roughly 14-20 miles a day? If it's anything like the IS220D the average i got on that for the single day i used it was about 38MPG but that also had a turbo issue so....

[Mr Vlad]

In the is250 on your kind of journey you should be in the mid to high 20's mpg. My journey is only 3.5 miles and I'm on low 20's which I'm happy with. 

[MrTrendizzle]

1 hour ago, Mr Vlad said:

In the is250 on your kind of journey you should be in the mid to high 20's mpg. My journey is only 3.5 miles and I'm on low 20's which I'm happy with. 

That's perfect. Like i said i'm used to low MPG but on average high 20's will be just normal for me. Previous cars were IS200 and an RX8 both cars that made me smile and both giving me very low mpg so that's my everyday cost of owning a car. My little Punto which i used as a run around gave me decent mpg which was nice but i just felt depressed driving it and feeling like my soul was being rattled from my body due to the hard suspension.  
Just gave the guy a call and to my surprise he's just informed me it has a wheel speed sensor issue throwing the EML and ABS lights on the dash but offered to do a deal on the price. I've just priced up the parts and i'm looking at £150 for both ABS sensors and a cheap OBD cable with techstream disc... plus an extra £50 of my time to replace them. Shouldn't be to hard from what i've seen. 

I do have a small BT OBD2 reader which i might just clear the codes and see if it comes back while driving home but either way i'll get that replaced just to be on the safeside unless you recommend waiting for the techstream software and cable to see if there's any further issues.