Ford Mondeo - Smoking deisels.... what is normal?

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Mon 8 Aug 2011 23:53
Ford Mondeo - Smoking deisels.... what is normal? - cosmicjazzer

I'm looking to buy a used car for around £1,500 and have just started looking around at what's out there... Today I saw a very decent seeming Mondeo 2..0TDCi 130bhp (2001).

Just one problem... when the seller revved it I noticed some (not a huge amount) black smoke coming from exhaust. This occurred when first starting from cold and then later to the same degree once warm. No smell of deisel btw. This particular car has done 110k and has fsh. It's generally in great condition and drives nicely...

The seller insisted that this amount of smoke was quite normal for a used deisel but I'd always thought that this was a warning sign of something amiss. Could someone in the know (I'm not!) please clarify what is normal and what isn't please?! Many thanks!

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Tue 9 Aug 2011 00:05
Ford Mondeo - Smoking deisels.... what is normal? - unthrottled

I'm convinced that the emissions inspectors look the other way when Ford dyno test their diesels!

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Tue 9 Aug 2011 00:15
Ford Mondeo - Smoking deisels.... what is normal? - cosmicjazzer

I'm convinced that the emissions inspectors look the other way when Ford dyno test their diesels!

... so a smallish amount of black smoke is normal for a Ford?!

Oh and I just realised I spelt diesel wrongly!!

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Tue 9 Aug 2011 00:21
Ford Mondeo - Smoking deisels.... what is normal? - unthrottled

Yes! Ford diesels are notorious for smoking.

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Tue 9 Aug 2011 10:40
Ford Mondeo - Smoking deisels.... what is normal? - jc2

Ford TDCI diesel calibrations give a few seconds of overfuelling on hard accelerations to assist in overtaking.

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Tue 9 Aug 2011 14:44
Ford Mondeo - Smoking deisels.... what is normal? - unthrottled

You make it sound like a virtue jc2?

Everyone else seems to get by without resorting to overfuelling.

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Thu 11 Aug 2011 07:37
Ford Mondeo - Smoking deisels.... what is normal? - lilley

There waa discussion years ago about the power output of 2.0 TDCi engines. They had been tested independently and although the claimed is 130 bhp apparently this was the bottom end and many were churning out 150 bhp. You have to burn diesel to get there. These cars are Euro 3, no DPFs to worry about!

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Thu 11 Aug 2011 10:11
Ford Mondeo - Smoking deisels.... what is normal? - unthrottled

Have you ever noticed that most of the chassis dynos employed by aftermarket companies usually give a baseline higher than quoted stock?! Either evereyone has a better than average car or (more likely) the dyno is incorrectly calibrated or drivetrain losses are over estimated to give a flattering figure.

It's still a slobs' approaach. Ford diesels were never at the forefront of the pack in terms of economy or refinement. Turning the fuelling up past the smoke point is considered antisocial, DPF or not.

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