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chris williamson
12th May 2009, 20:26
Should I be worried about any of this?

Two things have occurred today, may be no connection but 1st thing was this morning, as I slowed down in my diesel van I noticed the engine speed didnt drop for maybe 4 - 6 seconds, on one occassion while waiting at lights it stayed partly racing all the time. I tried blipping the accelerator pedal but no change. It didnt happen every time, just randomly.

2nd was on the way home, in traffic I noticed white wisps coming from under the bonnet. The temp gauge was sitting between 1/4 and 1/2 so it wasnt water. At home I opened the bonnet and a white mist was coming out the vent on the engine breather PCV valve. I puulled off the filler cap and a column of white vapour came out like smoke out a chimney!
The oil level is OK as is the water, there is no sign of mayonaise,there was a build up of oil in the filter box and the outside of the filler tube was wet with oil mist from the valve outlet.
I did change the oil and filter on Saturday, I replaced the sensor for the auto advance yesterday, prior to my ownership last week it was clocking up 600 - 800 miles a week for a month or so, so there should be no condensation issue, and this evening I have removed and inspected every breather pipe I can see and all are clear so I am at a loss as to what is going on.
I trust someone has experienced this and can say its nothing to worry about and will clear soon - - please!!

E_T_V
12th May 2009, 22:44
Is it a turbo or a non turbo diesel?

If you overfilled the oil when changing it then the engine will force oil out of the breathers into the air intake and then the engine will run on said oil mist, hence the revs not dying down properly. In extreme cases the engine will rev with no limit until the oil is consumed!

If it is a turbo model then it could be the turbo oil seals failing leading to similar engine reving symptoms, however this is rare for the prima and with the other oil mist observed I'm betting you overfilled it when you changed the oil.

Is it above max on the dipstick?

chris williamson
13th May 2009, 08:55
Hi E-T-V,

Just been and looked at the dipstick, it is slightly above full, seems to tie in with what you suggest. It is the non turbo engine too. It certainly didnt happen prior to the oil change so I'll keep an eye on the level of oil and smoke, hopefully both will reduce!:thumbup: