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

[ClutchClark]

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.

When you spool up your turbo you are increasing the amount of air its pumping by increasing booost pressure. Right?

[ClutchClark]

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

Filter the holy heck out of it first.

Biggest problem is it always smells like French fries and makes you hungry.

Edit: I meant American Fries. I can't remember if us Americans are still supposed to be angry with France or not.

[ClutchClark]

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........

.

I think you are talking about pre-combustion filters (air & fuel) but I was talking about the DPF which is a downstream "post-combustion" filter. (Note: There are few different types including throw-away and also types that burn the particulate).

Heres a couple of helpful videos to show where it is, what it is, and how restrictive it is to an exhaust system.

Just the first 30 seconds of each will explain alot. The first one has a great soundtrack if you were into 70's funk.

And delete kits that increase torque and HP and there isn't a Thai male alive that doesn't live for this ;-)

Or any red-blooded American male for that matter :

Edited June 15, 2014 by ClutchClark

[ClutchClark]

It's quite simple. It's either worn piston rings and/or a blocked air filter.

Diesel is not abrasive, it's an oil, however there may be some abrasive particulate in it, rather like petrol and that is usually sand.

Dirty/clogged injectors produce a lean burn and a loss of power.

As counter-intuitive as it sounds, diesel fuel has large chemical chains and these chains are actually abrasive to a fuel injector. Fuel that is high in sulfur content is more abrasive. I know it doesn't sound logical, but...

[Paulzed]

You should have seen the poor quality of cars and trucks including their pollution in Thailand 25 years ago !!!

Its a lot better today.

[Baan Buakao]

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!

Your mate might have been having a lend of you about the sump oil. But it's quite doable to run on used cooking. You do a test on the oil that tells you how much caustic soda to add. Stir mechanically for a given period and voila! You have a form of bio deisel on the top to drain off and you're left with lye soap.

[metisdead]

A post in all caps has been removed, please turn off your Caps Lock button when posting.

[bkkjames]

Can someone drive behind me and tell me if I am belching black smoke when I drop my foot down? I suspect I do a little bit but depends if I jump on it from a slow speed vs increasing my speed gradually up through the gears.

I think I am using one of the best fuels here - Caltex, have no mods to my cat converter or dpf.

Maybe I should remap the ECU, Chip it up like Transam, cut off the cat, use the cheaper no name thai brand fuel i can find...

[transam]

A diesel is injected, air does not come in at the same place to mix, as a carb does, so if the engine is not turning fast enough to pull in air you could get black smoke via unburnt diesel. Drag race diesels chuck out huge amounts of unburnt fuel, just the way they set up their engine that produces the times they want. Old engines (warn bores) cannot pull in the air as designed so black smoke will occur at low rpm. Also faulty injectors, but usually crap build up in injectors "reduce" the fuel flow, not increase it, so no black smoke, unless the injector is leaking.

[arnold40844]

This site should be renamed Thai-Mechanics.com as there are so many people on here who really seem to know what they are talking about... lol

Its quite amusing reading how arrogant people are on this site, reading through all the posts that state there is only one reason a new diesel engine could be belching out black smoke and its because of a dusty filter or worn injectors... lol I have been rebuilding diesel engines since I was 10, always had diesels, I have tuned them, repaired them and completed total engine rebuilds. its a relief that this is not a mechanics forum and that someone is actually trying to find a solution to an actual problem, they would have to replace the entire engine. There has even been people stating that un-burnt fuel is white not black, which they obviously have no clue about..

I would say that 95% of the time that you see a car belching out black smoke the guy is driving like he stole it and has had the ECU remapped for maximum power gains. These diesels off the shelf are generally very sluggish and reserved. For the sake a a few quid you can achieve 40%+ power gains, this is done by advancing the timing meaning fuel is squirted in to the cylinders earlier so you get more in there, more fuel equals more power. If you are getting white smoke its usually due to a timing or compression issue i.e fuel is being squirted in to the cylinders at the wrong time and not combusting or the engine is down on compression either way, the vehichle will be running like a bag of (deleted).

Most of the diesels that I see billowing out black smoke are hoofing it, they have big boy exhausts and take off like they are in a drag race. Im convinced that in most cases they have been tuned by what we refer to in the UK as dodgy remaps. It takes less than 30 minutes, i used to do it myself with my Alfa back home, you can plug in a laptop and make you car do all sorts of things, you can buy drag racing maps and the black smoke will be insane. i would always go for a drivability vs economy map and change it for long journeys. Was never much in to street racing. A decent map will be made custom for your car after all modifications, air filter, exhaust, particulate filter removal etc.. the map is then fine tuned to reduce smoke at maximum torque, if you stick a dodgy drag racing map on for max power gains (which i think is what is happening in Thailand) it will result in massive amounts off black smoke. That is a fact and I would put money on this being the case.

Just check out on google Black smoke after remap.

Edited June 16, 2014 by arnold40844

[transam]

This site should be renamed Thai-Mechanics.com as there are so many people on here who really seem to know what they are talking about... lol

Its quite amusing reading how arrogant people are on this site, reading through all the posts that state there is only one reason a new diesel engine could be belching out black smoke and its because of a dusty filter or worn injectors... lol I have been rebuilding diesel engines since I was 10, always had diesels, I have tuned them, repaired them and completed total engine rebuilds. its a relief that this is not a mechanics forum and that someone is actually trying to find a solution to an actual problem, they would have to replace the entire engine. There has even been people stating that un-burnt fuel is white not black, which they obviously have no clue about..

I would say that 95% of the time that you see a car belching out black smoke the guy is driving like he stole it and has had the ECU remapped for maximum power gains. These diesels off the shelf are generally very sluggish and reserved. For the sake a a few quid you can achieve 40%+ power gains, this is done by advancing the timing meaning fuel is squirted in to the cylinders earlier so you get more in there, more fuel equals more power. If you are getting white smoke its usually due to a timing or compression issue i.e fuel is being squirted in to the cylinders at the wrong time and not combusting or the engine is down on compression either way, the vehichle will be running like a bag of (deleted).

Most of the diesels that I see billowing out black smoke are hoofing it, they have big boy exhausts and take off like they are in a drag race. Im convinced that in most cases they have been tuned by what we call in the UK as dodgy remaps. It takes less than 30 minutes, i used to do it myself with my Alfa back home, you can plug in a laptop and make you car do all sorts of things, you can buy drag racing maps and the black smoke will be insane. i would always go for a drivability vs economy map and change it for long journeys. Was never much in to street racing. A decent map will be made custom for your car after all modifications, air filter, exhaust, particulate filter removal etc.. the map is then fine tuned to reduce smoke at maximum torque, if you stick a dodgy drag racing map on for max power gains (which i think is what is happening in Thailand) it will result in massive amounts off black smoke. That is a fact and I would put money on this being the case.

Just check out on google Black smoke after remap.

Am sure we all welcome your input together with the slating............. ............

[arnold40844]

i dont mean to come across as rude, everyone has very strong opinons on this site. One guy was even writing in capitals stating that its either the fuel filter or the air-filter. Glad he is not my mechanic.

Its amazing what you can get out of these these 2.5 diesel lumps http://www.nissan-navara.net/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=9254

The other thing amateur tuners do is buy these stupid ECU piggy back chips off ebay for 25 quid promising 50 BHP, most of them just interfere with the temp sensor so the engine constantly thinks its running cold, can lead to all sorts of issues.

I will be buying a diesel at some point, probably a land cruiser or something, i will be making sure the map is set just right. Can't help but tinker...

This site should be renamed Thai-Mechanics.com as there are so many people on here who really seem to know what they are talking about... lol

Its quite amusing reading how arrogant people are on this site, reading through all the posts that state there is only one reason a new diesel engine could be belching out black smoke and its because of a dusty filter or worn injectors... lol I have been rebuilding diesel engines since I was 10, always had diesels, I have tuned them, repaired them and completed total engine rebuilds. its a relief that this is not a mechanics forum and that someone is actually trying to find a solution to an actual problem, they would have to replace the entire engine. There has even been people stating that un-burnt fuel is white not black, which they obviously have no clue about..

I would say that 95% of the time that you see a car belching out black smoke the guy is driving like he stole it and has had the ECU remapped for maximum power gains. These diesels off the shelf are generally very sluggish and reserved. For the sake a a few quid you can achieve 40%+ power gains, this is done by advancing the timing meaning fuel is squirted in to the cylinders earlier so you get more in there, more fuel equals more power. If you are getting white smoke its usually due to a timing or compression issue i.e fuel is being squirted in to the cylinders at the wrong time and not combusting or the engine is down on compression either way, the vehichle will be running like a bag of (deleted).

Most of the diesels that I see billowing out black smoke are hoofing it, they have big boy exhausts and take off like they are in a drag race. Im convinced that in most cases they have been tuned by what we call in the UK as dodgy remaps. It takes less than 30 minutes, i used to do it myself with my Alfa back home, you can plug in a laptop and make you car do all sorts of things, you can buy drag racing maps and the black smoke will be insane. i would always go for a drivability vs economy map and change it for long journeys. Was never much in to street racing. A decent map will be made custom for your car after all modifications, air filter, exhaust, particulate filter removal etc.. the map is then fine tuned to reduce smoke at maximum torque, if you stick a dodgy drag racing map on for max power gains (which i think is what is happening in Thailand) it will result in massive amounts off black smoke. That is a fact and I would put money on this being the case.

Just check out on google Black smoke after remap.

Am sure we all welcome your input together with the slating............. ............

[Trujillo]

I started a thread called

Terrible Auto Exhaust...

On January 11, 2013 by saying:

I am amazed how many cars that don't seem so very old or in bad shape put out SO much exhaust smoke. The songtaws, of course, are bad, as are the tuktuks, but it seems like every other car or truck is spewing out massive pollution.
I have never seen such a thing ... is there something special or different in the petrol here? Someone told me that people don't "tune" their vehicles, but I can't see these relatively new cars getting so "out of tune" to be putting so much smoke in the air. This is very bad.
What is going on?

You can research this thread (it's archived or something) for other kinds of replies in addition to this thread.

[bkkjames]

I started a thread called Terrible Auto Exhaust...

On January 11, 2013 by saying:

I am amazed how many cars that don't seem so very old or in bad shape put out SO much exhaust smoke. The songtaws, of course, are bad, as are the tuktuks, but it seems like every other car or truck is spewing out massive pollution.

I have never seen such a thing ... is there something special or different in the petrol here? Someone told me that people don't "tune" their vehicles, but I can't see these relatively new cars getting so "out of tune" to be putting so much smoke in the air. This is very bad.

What is going on?

You can research this thread (it's archived or something) for other kinds of replies in addition to this thread.

How about saving us a bunch of time and tell us what conclusion yoy came to in that topic?

Sent from my LG-P970 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[millwall_fan]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

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.

This site should be renamed Thai-Mechanics.com as there are so many people on here who really seem to know what they are talking about... lol

Its quite amusing reading how arrogant people are on this site, reading through all the posts that state there is only one reason a new diesel engine could be belching out black smoke and its because of a dusty filter or worn injectors... lol I have been rebuilding diesel engines since I was 10, always had diesels, I have tuned them, repaired them and completed total engine rebuilds. its a relief that this is not a mechanics forum and that someone is actually trying to find a solution to an actual problem, they would have to replace the entire engine. There has even been people stating that un-burnt fuel is white not black, which they obviously have no clue about..

I would say that 95% of the time that you see a car belching out black smoke the guy is driving like he stole it and has had the ECU remapped for maximum power gains. These diesels off the shelf are generally very sluggish and reserved. For the sake a a few quid you can achieve 40%+ power gains, this is done by advancing the timing meaning fuel is squirted in to the cylinders earlier so you get more in there, more fuel equals more power. If you are getting white smoke its usually due to a timing or compression issue i.e fuel is being squirted in to the cylinders at the wrong time and not combusting or the engine is down on compression either way, the vehichle will be running like a bag of (deleted).

Most of the diesels that I see billowing out black smoke are hoofing it, they have big boy exhausts and take off like they are in a drag race. Im convinced that in most cases they have been tuned by what we refer to in the UK as dodgy remaps. It takes less than 30 minutes, i used to do it myself with my Alfa back home, you can plug in a laptop and make you car do all sorts of things, you can buy drag racing maps and the black smoke will be insane. i would always go for a drivability vs economy map and change it for long journeys. Was never much in to street racing. A decent map will be made custom for your car after all modifications, air filter, exhaust, particulate filter removal etc.. the map is then fine tuned to reduce smoke at maximum torque, if you stick a dodgy drag racing map on for max power gains (which i think is what is happening in Thailand) it will result in massive amounts off black smoke. That is a fact and I would put money on this being the case.

Just check out on google Black smoke after remap.

One of the joys of glancing every now and then back at the Chiang Mai forum, from my new base in Bangkok, is the sheer weight of the collective knowledge of Chiang Mai TV members! Bangkok foreigners have the money,. Chiang Mai foreigners have the brains!!!

[biplanebluey]

The black smoke comes from inadequate combustion in the engine. Full combustion usually burns the carbon into a lighter invisible gas which is expelled from the engine nevertheless.

Inadequate combustion comes from dirty engines and dirty filters and combustion adjustments that are wrong for the fuel used. In sum, poor maintenance.

Really......

I could get my brand new Ranger to belch black smoke easily, are you saying it was sold new with a dirty engine and filters and poor maintenance ?

I would suggest you take it back and get the "mechanic" to set it up properly or change your diesel to a better grade--- ie-change your supply garage

[Spoonman]

The black smoke comes from inadequate combustion in the engine. Full combustion usually burns the carbon into a lighter invisible gas which is expelled from the engine nevertheless.

Inadequate combustion comes from dirty engines and dirty filters and combustion adjustments that are wrong for the fuel used. In sum, poor maintenance.

Really......

I could get my brand new Ranger to belch black smoke easily, are you saying it was sold new with a dirty engine and filters and poor maintenance ?

I would suggest you take it back and get the "mechanic" to set it up properly or change your diesel to a better grade--- ie-change your supply garage

Send it back to the Ford production line ?

What grade diesel should I use ? I only fill at PTT. should I move over to Green Lemon ?

[MadMac]

What's wrong with some unburned Diesel going through the pipe if you leave the rest of the bunch behind you at the traffic light?

[Dellboy218]

The black smoke comes from inadequate combustion in the engine. Full combustion usually burns the carbon into a lighter invisible gas which is expelled from the engine nevertheless.

Inadequate combustion comes from dirty engines and dirty filters and combustion adjustments that are wrong for the fuel used. In sum, poor maintenance.

Really......

I could get my brand new Ranger to belch black smoke easily, are you saying it was sold new with a dirty engine and filters and poor maintenance ?

I would suggest you take it back and get the "mechanic" to set it up properly or change your diesel to a better grade--- ie-change your supply garage

Send it back to the Ford production line ?

What grade diesel should I use ? I only fill at PTT. should I move over to Green Lemon ?

Try Shell Vpower. Yes it costs a bit more but it is supposedly the cleanest burning diesel and again supposedly cleans the deposits out of your engine. Might be worth trying every now and again.

[MadMac]

Try Shell Vpower. Yes it costs a bit more but it is supposedly the cleanest burning diesel and again supposedly cleans the deposits out of your engine. Might be worth trying every now and again.

Tried that at the last fill up. It's a scam I think

[transam]

Try Shell Vpower. Yes it costs a bit more but it is supposedly the cleanest burning diesel and again supposedly cleans the deposits out of your engine. Might be worth trying every now and again.

Tried that at the last fill up. It's a scam I think

Not so, you must run a few tank fulls through it to tidy internal stuff up. Though my truck has a chip it runs much smoother with it, whether other manufacturers have now caught up with the stuff l don't know, am sure member IMHO will have the gen on that....

[MadMac]

Ok, fair enough for cleaning, but it doesn't save anything on consumption. Oil is oil.

[transam]

Ok, fair enough for cleaning, but it doesn't save anything on consumption. Oil is oil.

Oil is oil yes, detonation of different oil brands (additives etc) may well be different power wise. For instance, my truck does not chuck out smoke when I floor it with VP, which tells me all has been ignited, BUT, the Vigo has no turbo lag which also helps. A motor with turbo lag probably will dump fuel out the back, smoke.

[MadMac]

Modern engines may help too. I think there is a huge difference between an old Nissan or Isuzu, most driven cars, and a new Ford/Mazda or Isuzu/Chevy. We had this discussion before. Vigo is somewhere in between, actually an old Diesel. But that's for pickups.

Would love if I could buy a small Skoda here for a reasonable price

[ableguy]

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

Ah the hub of crack downs fails again, tut tut,

[masuk]

I can see why at least one large city in China only allows LNG for buses, trucks and pickups, and motorbikes are electric.

It makes a huge difference to the pollution levels, and their BiB do not look the other way.

You need a mask in some of Chiang Mai city's narrow, busy roads.

[moe666]

I ride around on my scooter daily in Chiang Mai have noticed some trucks smoking but not to the extend the Op is carrying on about