Hi, I just bought a N/A VL Berlina from the auctions... everything's in fair-good nick, engine bay looks clean and tidy, so i fired it up and am getting quite a bit of black smoke from the exhaust when i give it a bit. I'm gonna do an oil and filter change tomorrow - any ideas of what causes the smoke? Also, when i rev it quickly, there's a real loud squeal (i've been told it's probably the fan belt) from the engine bay. Please help! Bozza Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Black Smoke would indicate burnt Fuel, which is probably because the engine is running rich... :?

Smoke: Airflow meter connections ?? Squeel: Loose fan belt.

If its an auto check the pipe that connects to the inlet manifold from the auto hasnt got oil in it, it could have a stuffed vacum modulator,

if the modulator is dead youll probably be more likely to get whiter smoke , but check it anyway.

OK - sorry about the late reply... Since my first post, I've done an oil change (Valvoline Oil Filter, Castrol GTX2) and have added "Wynns Stop Smoke" to the engine oil... so i've fired it up, and on closer inspection, I noticed that when it starts, a big cloud of blue smoke puffs out of the exhaust. Then, give it about 1500 revs, and the exhaust starts spitting black water/petrol all over the ground... Give it even more revs, and the smoke dies down, until you drop off the accelerator, and a nice puff of blue/black smoke comes out again. Then when I switch it off, a fine, white smoke comes slowly comes through the exhaust. I'm just wondering, before I go checking airflow pipes and modulators, are these symptoms of a certain problem or possibly a combination of problems? PS> It's an auto, and the gearbox seems fine.

now where have i seen your photo before ............... hmmmmmmm????????????

Do a leak down test and a compression check, also it might be valve stem seals?

I have had that problem and leaky injectors and a bad AFM caused it. Another thing which caused it to blow bluish smoke is corroded connectors on the CAS,it also fouled the plugs up,a bad coil caused it to stall under load (in traffic) and blow black smoke one started. Check also that the fuel pressure regulator hasn't split its diaphragm causing fuel to spew into the manifold via the vacuum reference port. Check for a plugged PCV valve which can make it do that also. Lastly if the motor is running like a dog,check to see if is using any oil,if so it sounds like the engine lacks compression (shot rings).