SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

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Sat 26 Jan 2019 14:26

SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning - _Dave_

Hi folks, My car just died on me today. I was coming up a hill on the way home and decided to give it a little extra 'juice' as the road was empty. Got to about 4k revs then I heard a clunk sound, immediate loss of power and smoke bellowing out of the car (seemed to be white/blue colour). There was also a really strong burning smell, so much so, that I thought something had caught fire. I managed to get to the top of the hill the coasted down to the bottom of the road where I pulled over and switched it off. I noticed a red oil pressure warning came on too, that was the only dashboard light I noticed. Car would not start again, so I had to lock it up and walk the rest of the way home. I am thinking engine or turbo.

Any ideas what it might be? All my local mechanics have taken the day off. :(

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Sat 26 Jan 2019 15:07

SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning - elekie&a/c doctor

Doesn't sound promising, I would suggest you check engine oil and coolant levels first, before any thing else.

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Sat 26 Jan 2019 15:19

SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning - _Dave_

Doesn't sound promising, I would suggest you check engine oil and coolant levels first, before any thing else.

It was just serviced last month. It wasn't showing any signs of overheating, I always make sure to check the temp gauge before any hard accelerating and did so today right before it happened.

There was a slight whirling noise for the past few months every time I accelerated. Almost sounded like a dump valve. I asked the mechanic about it and he said he wasn't sure what it was but not to worry about it.

Edited by _Dave_ on 26/01/2019 at 15:20

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Sat 26 Jan 2019 17:40

SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning - Big John

There was a slight whirling noise for the past few months every time I accelerated. Almost sounded like a dump valve. I asked the mechanic about it and he said he wasn't sure what it was but not to worry about it.

I would guess that your turbo has self-destructed and the whirling noise was an early clue and the white/blue smoke probably coming from the turbo oil lubrication (or lack of now!).

I think the turbo and top of the engine needs stripping down to have a look see- do not keep trying to start the engine as further damage could be done. Also double check that you don't have a piston through the block which some of the last 1.9pd's were known to do.(you don’t mention the age of the engine and which one its engine code would be useful (look at the car info sticker in the boot).

Edited by Big John on 26/01/2019 at 17:41

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Sat 26 Jan 2019 21:03

SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning - _Dave_

Thanks for the reply big John. I was thinking turbo myself because of the swirling noise, but also thinking it could be the timing belt snapped. Stupidly, I never bothered doing timing belt and w/pump when i got the car as the seller told me it had been done recently, but alas no receipts to prove it so I had my doubts.

The car is 2009 model, so engine is 10 years old. Cant really get the engine code at the minute, as the car is 10 minutes away and its blowing a storm of wind and rain out there and its pitch black outside. Maybe get that info tomorrow.

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Sun 27 Jan 2019 13:46

SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning - _Dave_

Have heard rumours that there are known problems with some variants of the 1.9d engines, such as throwing conrods through the engine block. Anyone have any experience with this?

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Sun 27 Jan 2019 13:55

SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning - Andrew-T

I was thinking turbo myself because of the swirling noise, but also thinking it could be the timing belt snapped.

Surely if the belt had snapped you would have got nowhere near the top of the hill ? I was wondering if the DMF had given up.

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Sun 27 Jan 2019 19:45

SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning - Big John

Surely if the belt had snapped you would have got nowhere near the top of the hill ? I was wondering if the DMF had given up.

DMF doesn't cause white/blue smoke

If I was a betting person (I'm not) I'd say it was catastrophic failure of the turbo that then caused a major drop in oil pressure which because the car was then driven up the hill with low oil pressure has potentially caused further issues.

Edited by Big John on 27/01/2019 at 20:30

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Tue 29 Jan 2019 22:57

SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning - _Dave_

Hi folks, just thought I would update with diagnosis...

Turbo failed which sucked all the oil out of the engine causing the engine to seize.

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Tue 29 Jan 2019 23:42

SEAT Leon 1.9d - Car not running... Clink noise, smoke & burning - _Dave_

Engine code : BXE

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Sat 2 Feb 2019 20:39