Why does every truck on the road here belch black smoke?

[Jaggg88]

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Wouldn't be surprised if some truckies burn a mix of Mama's used cooking oil with diesel. An old mate in Aus used to run his landcruiser on cooking oil and sump oil ... and he was a diesel mechanic!

Shows how much money a mechanic in your country makes......lol.- alt=laugh.png>

Rudolph Diesel designed the engine to run on vegetable oil not mineral oil. A diesel engine will quite happily run on vegetable oil but the exhaust smells like fry up.

[coma]

Because they are allowed to.

[joshstiles]

uummmmm.....because they are diesels......duh

[hugocnx]

They also do not drive them properly. Trying to run in top gear at 20km/hr does not work too well. When fuel prices spiked a few years ago Thailand bought some cheap high sulphur fuel from Russia if memory serves correct. Wonder what happened to that?

I believe wrong gear is one of the reasons. Gas pedal goes deep and alot of halfburnt diesel leaves the exhaust.

Remember one of my neighbors in his gasoline car. When he gave throttle after the roadbump, his engine would produce that 'pingle' sound.

Wrong gear, but why gear down? Are we lazy or what!?

[arnold40844]

I have noticed this too. It is without a doubt caused by unburnt fuel in the combustion chamber. I had always just assumed they take them to a garage asking for a bit more power and get them remapped by some cowboy tuner.

These engines are not as mechanical as the old landrovers where you could turn a screw to increase fuel pressure (done this myself). With modern diesel engines they have a lot more in the way of electronics, the gains that be achieved in a common rail diesel engine with a good remapping is insane. My last Alfa in the UK was 150BHP as standard, remaped to 215BHP, you can remap for economy, power, drivability, efficiency etc. I would say there must be a few businesses about advertising massive power gains in trucks for a 2000 THB enigine remap..

The other possibility being that 1000s of nearly new trucks have failing fuel systems or engine components... which i doubt.

[thaicatbuyer]

Hello

Most of the black smoke you see is from the catalytic converter or diesel particle filter being taken off ,and sold for good money, 300 - 5000 baht each.

I personally have a 4x4 Toyota Vigo P/U that has the original 2 Catalytic Converters/ Particle Filters still on from the factory, and have driven over 1 million km here in Thailand and have never seen black smoke

come from the exhaust. more than 50% of cars/Trucks here in Thailand have the converter taken off or hollowed out. Big truck Filters are worth up to 30 k baht each used.

[thaicookingchef]

Diesel should be forbidden and will be, everywhere in the world.

[transam]

Diesel should be forbidden and will be, everywhere in the world.

• You better stop getting on an airplane too if you want to talk emissions. Do you get on an airplane.?
• . ,

[MadMac]

Even with an ok cat you get the occasional black smoke when switching gears. That's normal.

The problem with Diesel on the other hand is not the fuel, it's the cars. You can't buy any small diesel car in Thailand. I'd 10 times prefer a small diesel that let's me drive 100km on just 4l compared to any petrol or hybrid fake you can buy here.

[sirchai]

Diesel should be forbidden and will be, everywhere in the world.

And Kerosine for airplanes too. Then they can't suddenly disappear. Makes sense to me.

My Mitsu L 200, 2.8 l, is 15 years old, always a well maintenance and there's no black smoke coming out. Guess why?

It's like to castrate all men. because some rape women, or molest kids.

Or forbid Thai teachers to enter a classroom, because many of them hit kids with a bamboo stick? Need a big beer now.-

[sirchai]

Even with an ok cat you get the occasional black smoke when switching gears. That's normal.

The problem with Diesel on the other hand is not the fuel, it's the cars. You can't buy any small diesel car in Thailand. I'd 10 times prefer a small diesel that let's me drive 100km on just 4l compared to any petrol or hybrid fake you can buy here.

Plus considering the fact that Diesel engines are built much stronger, as they've got a much higher compression. I've got 255,000 km on the clock, engine running smoothly like an electric car.

Had some cab driving friends in Germany who put more than one million km on one Benz engine. It's all about maintaining them.

I'm trying to keep mine alive until 600- 700,000 km.

Many foreigners here don't even shower daily, as they're not doing that at home. There's no black smoke coming out, but some do smell bad.

Edited June 15, 2014 by sirchai

[Spoonman]

It's neither the piston rings, nor did somebody manipulate the Diesel pump.....

Black smoke indicates that the engine doesn't burn all Diesel, which is injected into the cylinders through injectors. There're two different types of Diesel pumps, but both need maintenance.

There're valves, o-rings and other parts inside the pump that have to be renewed, once black smoke comes out of the exhaust system. Then the injectors have to be renewed as well.

No truck owner wants to have black smoke coming out of the exhaust system, and filters wouldn't fix that problem. Some trucks only have that "problem" because the air filter was never cleaned/ changed.This black smoke is money that comes out, unused by the engine........

So less air the engine gets, so more un- burned Diesel will come out through the muffler,

Diesel engines do have a high compression, and the mixture will self fire through the high compression. Blue smoke shows that the piston rings are worn out.

Hope that explains your question, not too many people in Thailand can afford an overhaul of their Diesel pump, plus new injectors.

When you see some 30 year old Pick up trucks, with a lot of black smoke coming out, do you think they can spend 3-5,000 baht to get that fixed?

And it's difficult to find the right garage, familiar with that stuff. For those people who live in Sisaket area, Sisaket Diesel does a great job and it's affordable. located at Kantharalk Road.

By the way, this black smoke is pretty much dangerous and can develop cancer for people who inhale that too often.

.

So why does a brand new pickup blow black smoke ?

[MESmith]

My Mitsu L 200, 2.8 l, is 15 years old, always a well maintenance and there's no black smoke coming out. Guess why?

Lucky you. My 13 yr old L200 strada & everyone I know with one 13 to 15 yrs old blew black smoke FROM NEW, when climbing steep hills or accelerating hard. Maybe you never went up a hill? Or never looked in your mirrors... Nothing to do with maintenance with that truck.

[Dogbreath]

High sulphur fuel and poorly maintained diesels make for a smoky exhaust. Even on new trucks, high sulphur will make it smoke like crazy.

[Spoonman]

High sulphur fuel and poorly maintained diesels make for a smoky exhaust. Even on new trucks, high sulphur will make it smoke like crazy.

Can you buy High Sulphur here in Thailand ?

[ggt]

Most likely...the oil has not been changed since it was purchased...just keep adding oil...as the oil is...just as you described...belched into the atmosphere...

[transam]

Most likely...the oil has not been changed since it was purchased...just keep adding oil...as the oil is...just as you described...belched into the atmosphere...

Oil is blue smoke.

[belg]

the black smoke can be caughed up more easely than the ones that use the small particle filter, which goes very deep into your lungs...

thailand is looking out for you

[Dogbreath]

High sulphur diesel fuel and or poor maintenance.

[Spoonman]

High sulphur diesel fuel and or poor maintenance.

So brand new pickups new roll off the lot and they blow black smoke due to High sulphur diesel fuel and or poor maintenance.

Allrighty then, glad we got to the bottom of that mystery.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Spoonman

[rakman]

Driver only knows 2 positions of the throttle: Full on and full off.

Diesels are different than a gas engine, there isn't a throttle plate. The engine speed is regulated by the amount of fuel fed to the engine, the full amount of air always goes in. Too much fuel for the speed or load on the engine and you get black smoke.

[sirchai]

I knew that you'd tune your Pick Up sooner or later. But why did you choose black?

Okay, whatever color you'll choose, you can always look at my Mitsubishi's muffler.-

It's BLUE............ ..........

Thought I saw t\your truck in this video. Hope you don't see pink elephants, trans.

[sirchai]

Driver only knows 2 positions of the throttle: Full on and full off.

Diesels are different than a gas engine, there isn't a throttle plate. The engine speed is regulated by the amount of fuel fed to the engine, the full amount of air always goes in. Too much fuel for the speed or load on the engine and you get black smoke.

I'm happy that you are NOT my mechanic, dude, or mate.-

[finnomick]

' Over-fuelling ' as mentioned several times is one of the causes but I do believe ( and I stand to be corrected ), no-one has mentioned the REAL cause of ' over-fuelling '. Diesel injectors have nozzles which spray the diesel into the combustion chamber. After a while these nozzles wear and the diesel doesn't spray efficiently. Worst case scenario it can actually drip from the injector nozzle. Nett result is less power and more fuel consumed which is un-burnt and comes out of the exhaust in the form of black smoke. The solution to this problem is to have the injectors overhauled and re-sleeved or replace with new. Replacing an injector is a very simple procedure -- undo the fuel pipe and then remove the two nuts that hold the injector collar. The injector can then be removed and checked on a pressure gauge. Nozzles don't necessarily ' go off ' at the same time but it's a false economy to only attend to the particular injector. They should all be done at the same time. Dirty fuel filters and air filter also need attention plus using excessive throttle in the wrong gear will all throw black smoke out of the exhaust.

[ClutchClark]

They also do not drive them properly. Trying to run in top gear at 20km/hr does not work.

I think this is a large part of it.

Almost everyone does this, because everyone else does it.

Thay may think it saves them fuel, but the black smoke coming out of the exhaust is unburnt fuel going to waste.

Unburned fuel is actually a "white smoke".

But you are right that they don't drive them properly...or more specifically, operate them properly. You would see far less black smoke if they left the diesels idling rather than shutting them down to "save" fuel costs. Alot of the black smoke is from running a diesel before it is at optimal operating temps and applying load to the engine. Its a real good way to ruin a diesel.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I think the one at 3:15 has a coal burning steam engine.

I recall the police and the BMTA having a 'crackdown' on such vehicles which as ever lasted all of a week....

It's highly annoying when they check though. If I see it coming in time I rev the engine real high before (producing some black smoke) but after that it's clean enough to pass the test.

[Torrens54]

With any degree of luck, the Military Government will fix this problem too.

They have done so well so far, in cleaning up a lot of corruption, making the cities safer etc., as far as my wife is concerned,(as a foreigner, I do NOT comment on Thai Politics) the Military is doing a brilliant job and should continue for as long as it takes, to make Thailand the country it ought to be.

[carerra]

This is a complex problem. Black smoke is as said by many unburned diesel oil and money out the pipe. Is this from an old car, worn injectors and dieselpump may be the answer. Clogged air filter and/or diesel filter can also be part of the problem. Lastly wrongly adjusted system can be the cause. This can be caused by some person who try to do something "smart" or people who do not know what they are doing. The engine producers has to stick to the rules for exhaust emission so an engine , newer model, will normally not produce black smoke when properly maintained. Remember that some vehicles drive up to 100 000km a year , and not all are on a strict and correct maintenance plan.

Blue smoke from the pipe is the sign of an engine burning the engine oil. The reason for this is almost always worn out piston rings. There are to types of piston rings. One that shall take care of the compression so the combustion gets good. The other type of rings are the ones that shall scrape excessive oil from the cylinder walls to prevent high consumption of engine oil. Worn out compression rings lead to bad combustion ,black smoke and high diesel consumption. Worn out oil rings leads to blue smoke, after a while clogged injectors which again leads to bad combustion and more smoke this time black. Then you will have a mix of blue and black smoke, really very bad.

When it comes to the quality of the diesel it is normally not the problem today. Those of us who are old enough to remember the situation on the roads 10-15 years ago can easily see that there has been much, much better today. It is also my opinion that the average age of cars in Thailand is much lower now than 10 years ago. This helps. One more factor is the driver and the way he drives. Choosing the right gear at the right time is also important to get an invisible exhaust. The drivers use of gasspedal is also of importance.

With good maintenance and good drivers a transport company ca easily reduce their diesel consumption with 20%. If you then have a fleet of vehicles going between 50 and 100 000km a year you will save something between 60 and 120 000Bth a year pr vehicle. Big companies with f.ex 100 vehicles this will be 6-12 million Bth a year. This argument is good and company owners listen if they not already know this.

As an extra bonus if a company takes good care of these factors, will be reduced number of accidents which further will increase money at the bottom line for the owner and the society will benefit. For you and me this will give a more safe traffic, I like to get that as well as you do I think.

Lastly this also is valid when you and I is out driving. More care in traffic benefits all of us.

Carerra

[Doc46]

Wouldn't be surprised if some truckies burn a mix of Mama's used cooking oil with diesel. An old mate in Aus used to run his landcruiser on cooking oil and sump oil ... and he was a diesel mechanic!

A diesel mechanic by name only 55 55 55 Not one normal mechanic in his right mind would put cooking oil and carbon loaded sump oil in a decent cruiser ,,,it will bring the engine to an early dead;; Ggrrrr

[poweratradio]

One primary difference is that many diesel trucks in Thailand do not have a (PM) or Particulate Matter Filter.

This is how trucks operated in the Us until a couple decades ago.

Every process on a vehicle is a compromise of several factors. Example, an improvement in emissions results in a loss of something else--typically fuel economy and performance. An obstruction to a vehicle exhaust cuts down on Maximum engine performance (HP & Torque). PM Filters are located in the exhaust system.

Well, truckers want Torque so they remove all the obstructions to their exhaust.

Note: The older trucks did not have these filters to begin with.

Thats also why engines sound louder than back in the US. We have noise ordinances that must be met so our trucks have big mufflers. Big mufflers create an obstruction in the exhaust so in Thailand and other countries with lax regulations or enforcement, they remove these noise dampening mufflers and replace them with minimal equipment.

Although the exhaust of a diesel was always full of visible black soot, it was much lower in the carbon monoxide produced as a byproduct in gasoline engines so diesels "looked" worse for the environment but it was gas engines that had the invisible deadly gasses in abundance.

Now diesel fuel has even been modified to burn cleaner by the removal of sulfur from the fuel--called Low Sulfur diesel fuel in the US. For every action there is a reaction, though, and sulfur was a lubricant so LSD does not contribute to long engine life.

Thank you for taking the time to explain that. Makes perfect sense.

Do they simply not sell the PM Filters on new trucks here, or does the owner have them remove it?

The simple answer is in the above quote. The drivers are also to blame here by being in the wrong gear and putting their foot into it and the fuel is way to rich and the lugging from to high a gear causes the black smoke IE: half burnt