Loud motor knocking/clacking, No power

[Toxophilite]

2005 smart forto cabriolet .149,000 km.

ON way out to pick up some firewood( I live at teh bottom of a long and windy road, half of it uphill) my car started making a loud sharp knocking noise in time with the engine revs. Managed to get it to the garbage area for my community and then tried to  limp back home(mostly downhill)  there was some shaking with the knocking and it seemed like zero power as I couldn't get up the slightest hill, like there was no connection with the tranny. My brief attempts to get up this slight incline resulted in much weird smelling black smoke so I turned it off and managed to roll back to a small pull off. Happily the Smart is small.  Heat seems normal, 3 bars, plenty of oil of the right colour(might be too much actually, might've slightly overfilled it earlier this year). Plenty of diesel, I know a fuel delivery problem can sound very dramatic but I don't remember it making a loud sharp knocking noise.

 

Any ideas? I saw somewher ethat this could be the clutch compression plate rivets going/new clutch? Time to get a new car? Thanks! If I fixed it I would be doing it myself.

[LooseLugNuts]

the black smoke makes me think of a seized turbo...but that doesnt explain the knock to me (i dont have much diesel experience though)

 

id only suspect clutch if it had the weird clutch/burning brakes kind of smell and the engine was revving without the car moving

[MikeT]

I think it sounds terminal - a rod bearing or two may be blown.

[Toxophilite]

Quote

Engine was revving without the car moving and there was an odd brakes burning smell. The smoke was dark brownish actually. I could rev the engine to try and get up the very slight hill but I was not moving on the incline, barely on the flat. Here's the compression plate reference. no affiliation. Not trying to sell the theory but it seems to fit the situation.

 

 

 

Edited June 19 by Toxophilite

[LooseLugNuts]

did the weird smelling smoke smell like burned brakes?

[LooseLugNuts]

did you get in there yet and find the problem?

[Toxophilite]

Not yet. I was in the middle of a yearly summer move so I had it towed to where I was moving,borrowed a vehicle, moved ,and am looking at it now some.

Battery was low. cleaned a post and started it. hard to start and runs rough. The clack is regular(in neutral) and goes with the engine but doesn't seem to be as fast as the engine (like it was happening half or a third as fast but regular)

I do have one injector that's wet. Can you upload video here?

Edited July 2 by Toxophilite

[MikeT]

Could be camshaft or valve-related if it's half engine speed.

[Toxophilite]

MY brother was having a listen with me. He said the engine sounds like it's trying to run on 1 or 2 cylinders and thought the knock/clack sounded nasty.

[MikeT]

Get a replacement engine. Should be some in wreckers.

[Willys]

Yank all glow plugs and see if the compression is the same, I had to make a adapter to to get a cheaper compression tester to fit down in the glow plug location. Also check injectors for see if one is clogged or damaged? All free things to check even if you just do a dirty field test for the compression and guess if it has any or not compared to the other two....?
Does the alt. spin freely? 

[Toxophilite]

Thanks. Sounds like good practical steps before any big purchases. Do you think this compression tester would work? No affiliation. I can buy this or drive across town (about 1.5hrs round trip) where I might have something I used to use with a Mercedes 300D which might have a a fitting or might not..

https://www.amazon.ca/YUAN-Diesel-Compression-Automotive-Compressor/dp/B07FLTBH6C/ref=asc_df_B07FLTBH6C?mcid=de1a99f5156b33ab84daa18d321f218a&tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=706745692960&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15068972057754370917&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001527&hvtargid=pla-608173066955&psc=1&hvocijid=15068972057754370917-B07FLTBH6C-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

[Toxophilite]

clackita clackita clackita

 

Edited July 5 by Toxophilite

[MikeT]

Uh oh, Jumanji is about to start!

 

It's not a hard metallic knock which could be partial good news.

[Toxophilite]

It's a bit more of a clack in person actually and maybe sadly. Is Jumanji a movie?  I'm deliberately free of much pop culture.

Lots of black smoke when it runs for a bit(had my sister keeping the gas on). Have a big black ring on the ground under the exhaust

Edited July 5 by Toxophilite

[Toxophilite]

So many things it could be. I'm going to check the fuel filter but I also heard it could be the timing chain slapping. Bad timing could produce the other poor running symptons..ugh! Ah well start with the easy stuff

[MikeT]

At this point the engine needs to be removed and rebuilt/repaired, or a new engine substituted. Starting and listening is not going to make the problem go away, but could make it worse.

 

For the timing chain, take the filler cap off and see if the cam sprocket has slack. If so, it's likely the culprit, but there can be serious internal collateral damage.

[Willys]

That is the compression tester I bought and modified to work.

A bad injector will cause all sorts of sounds and cause black smoke.....start there imho

 

[Toxophilite]

THanks Willys. My father the mechanical engineer used to say. 'Start with the easy things'. Which makes a lot of sense. The engine could need replacing but why assume that and go to the biggest hassle right away when a bit of checking of simple things might save you a lot of needless time and money. 

[Toxophilite]

Hey Willys what do you have to modify with that compression kit. I'm not that setup for welding or machining

 

Wanted to take the injectors out to test their resistance etc. Hilariously they seem to be stuck in the engine. like many parts that have been mated for years. The evilution site says they're just held in by the clamp. I can test theur resistance in situ with a bit of a workaround but I really want to check out their function

[LooseLugNuts]

12 hours ago, Toxophilite said:

what do you have to modify with that compression kit

 

find a kit with a gauge that goes high enough for a diesel (0-500 or 0-400 should be good enough)

 

then knock the guts out of an old glow plug and weld up whatever you need to connect the empty glow plug housing to the kit hose 

[Toxophilite]

oh heck, no welding facilities, no old glow plugs

[Toxophilite]

Managed to get one injector out(it was looser, the others are determined to never part with the engine! Does any one know diesel smart injectors should measure. This one seems to measure about .8 ohms

[Willys]

Do a deep search on injectors and servicing them here, I'm sure all this has been asked and answered already, yes I'm trying to not have to look it up myself....lol.   Too tired and lazy, just ripped out our main bathroom to redo it...sorry.

I have posted a pic or the injector tool I had up to add to a slide hammer which works very well to solve the siezed injector issue. Yes it also requires some welding to make it.....lol.