L322 4.4TDV8 putting out clouds of white smoke at idle?
Any thoughts? Rehab is for quitters!!!

RR 2007 3.6 TDV8 Java Black *
RR 2007 3.6 TDV8 Zermatt silver *
RR 2000 P38 4.6 Met red *
Mercedes 300TE 4-Matic *
Jaguar 420 (1969) *
Nissan 300Z
Citroen XM 2.5TD X 6
Bentley Continental R
Hydrocon Highlander
Hydrocon Hamilton
Hydrocon Huntly
Am told the ones with a * are to be offered for sale! 😳

Departed
LR 1992 110 2.5TD
RR 2000 Holland & Holland 4.6 LPG
RR 4.2 Supercharged with LPG, Vogue SE 2007 Buckingham Blue
RR 2002 4.4 V8 Zambesi Silver

Is the engine doing anything else that it shouldn't be? Assuming that it's not condensation then it could be unburnt fuel from a faulty injector which should at least make the idle uneven.

From the exhaust or from under the car? The latter is likely the FBH unit. White smoke ( not water vapour) from the exhaust is either unburnt diesel or oil leaking from a turbo exhaust side seal and vaporising in the hot exhaust. Usually happens over only 2500rpm when the 2nd turbo kicks in. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Update.

Nothing in the fault codes that looks relevant. (Battery was flat triggering the usual non-suspects.)

However the oil level is reading high.
That suggests to me two things:-
1. Sticking injector filling the sump with diesel. Am not starting it in case this is the issue.
2. Turbo seal blown, loss of oil, then someone has overfilled it.

Will get the oil drained in a day or two and see what it looks and smells like.
What dipstick thought it was a good idea to do away with dipsticks? 🙄
Do injectors fail open on these?

Any other thoughts?

Is there a website where the car's spec can be downloaded by the VIN no?

Thanks. I'll report back in case anyone else is experiencing similar symptoms.

I'm guessing the car is new to you? Has it got any service and repair history?
Injector failure is rare, sump overfilling possible as is diesel contamination by faulty DPF management and /or poor service and extended oil drain intervals.
Dipsticks are overated - there is a drain tube which attaches to the sump plug which you can extract the oil from using a pump which is way easier than messing about on your back under the car with oil trays.
The workshop manual is downloadable from the WIKI - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byv5LFgQZ...yXSlJt_k7A 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Update 2.

The coolant bottle looks like it's full of oil. Interestingly it's black not creamy.
Sucking the oil out the sump with some difficulty as its cold, it looks like its got a lot of water in there.

I started thinking about the oil cooler as the culprit but surely that wouldn't explain the white smoke out the exhaust? I haven't seen this for myself yet as I won't start it until the oil and filter have been changed so only got the owner's description of it.

Next question, has anyone found a detergent that can go in the cooling system to flush it out?

Thanks again.

That def looks like oil cooler leaking into coolant, mine had that when I bought it. No other symptoms though, so may or may not be related to exhaust smoke…. Garage had to flush coolant 4 times to get oil out. Don’t know with what…

Good luck, should have no long term issues if it’s caught early enough.

 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

I’d check your Intercooler hoses as white smoke is typically not enough air mixing.

I might be wrong, however, oil in the coolant like that does suggest the oil cooler has allowed them to mix. It's odd that it's black oil rather than emulsified. Maybe it didn't run with it in it for that long so it didn't have a chance to emulsify.

If it was any of the air hoses causing the smoke, I'd not expect it to be smoking like that at idle, only when it was on boost.

I guess you need to establish if it's smoke or steam coming from the exhaust. Either way, there shouldn't be oil or water entering the combustion chamber for it to exit the exhaust as smoke or steam.

If it were mine, I'd be pulling the bottom hose off the intercooler to see if there's any oil in there as that could point towards turbo failure allowing oil to be burnt and cause the smoke. If that's clear then I'd do a sniff test on the cooling system to see if there's any combustion gasses in the cooling system.

I've never worked on a 4.4 TDV8 so don't take these as gospel. If nothing else, it would allow you to start ruling things out though.

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

That looks like a very bad case of oil cooler failure. Mainly oil gets in the coolant as oil pressure is higher than water pressure but if left long enough water gets into the oil which is very bad for the engine. Black oil coating of the header is typical and most just replace it as it’s impossible to clean. Plenty of info on here and YouTube of how to change the oil cooler - I’d do this before putting in fresh oil or starting it. If it’s been run for any length of time with water in the oil be prepared for the worst. I’d cut the ends off the old oil filter and expand the pleats and carefully check for metallic debris. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Update 3.

Removed 1.8 litres of oil which brought the level down to normal.
No obvious sign or smell of coolant or diesel in the oil. That was a surprise as I expected it to be full of coolant and/or diesel.

The oil in the coolant bottle is black whereas I would have expected it to be emulsified.

So I need to work out how the oil got into the coolant tank? Possibly through the oil cooler but where did the coolant go?

What's causing the white smoke.
Still not seen it running for myself yet so got that to look forward to. 🙄

I also want to see how much coolant it takes to fill the system.

I'll report back once I've seen it running and figure out how much coolant it's lost. Holy moly, living life on the edge.

Do failing injectors throw up fault codes?

Thanks for all the thoughts to date. Rehab is for quitters!!!

RR 2007 3.6 TDV8 Java Black *
RR 2007 3.6 TDV8 Zermatt silver *
RR 2000 P38 4.6 Met red *
Mercedes 300TE 4-Matic *
Jaguar 420 (1969) *
Nissan 300Z
Citroen XM 2.5TD X 6
Bentley Continental R
Hydrocon Highlander
Hydrocon Hamilton
Hydrocon Huntly
Am told the ones with a * are to be offered for sale! 😳

Departed
LR 1992 110 2.5TD
RR 2000 Holland & Holland 4.6 LPG
RR 4.2 Supercharged with LPG, Vogue SE 2007 Buckingham Blue
RR 2002 4.4 V8 Zambesi Silver

Ahhh, takes me back…. All down the back of the engine too 🤣

A faulty injector should normally be detected because firing that cylinder would either under or over accelerate the crankshaft, but sometimes not everything follows the rules.

Hypothesis 1.

Allow me to please speculate so I can have your thoughts before I start dismantling or just shoot me down.

I'm reasonably confident that the oil cooler is leaking and responsible for the oil in the coolant.
I've also been told that the oil cooler could leak coolant into the V where it would evaporate with the engine heat.

Anyone agree or disagree so far?

Assuming the above is correct that could explain the oil in the header tank and possibly the loss of coolant.

However there is I think a second option for the loss of coolant and that's at the EGR valve.

The million dollar question is about explaining or understanding the cause of the white smoke.

If there is a coolant leak at the EGR valve, could that coolant find its way into the cylinders and cause the white smoke out the exhaust?

I'm going to try pressure testing but am looking for confirmation that I could be onto a rational explanation rather than howling at the moon?

Again thanks for all your thoughts.

PS Am going to do a sniffer test and pray it's not a head gasket. Rehab is for quitters!!!

RR 2007 3.6 TDV8 Java Black *
RR 2007 3.6 TDV8 Zermatt silver *
RR 2000 P38 4.6 Met red *
Mercedes 300TE 4-Matic *
Jaguar 420 (1969) *
Nissan 300Z
Citroen XM 2.5TD X 6
Bentley Continental R
Hydrocon Highlander
Hydrocon Hamilton
Hydrocon Huntly
Am told the ones with a * are to be offered for sale! 😳

Departed
LR 1992 110 2.5TD
RR 2000 Holland & Holland 4.6 LPG
RR 4.2 Supercharged with LPG, Vogue SE 2007 Buckingham Blue
RR 2002 4.4 V8 Zambesi Silver

Your first few thinkings are definitely the oil cooler. It can leak that much in to the V that it goes down the back of the engine, see one of my pics. That much will never evaporate.

As to rest of it, no idea…..

 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport