7.3 idi white smoke...need advice

Minimallimits

Registered User
Joined
Jul 14, 2019
Posts
15
Reaction score
5
Location
North Carolina
Hello everyone,

New to oilburners, I have a 1990 F250 with a 7.3 idi. I drove the truck from North Carolina to Colorado and it did great until it recently started smoking white smoke upon start up. It smokes heavily until warm and even when warm it would still put out a small amount of white smoke. It’s smells like unburnt diesel. Very irritating to the eyes and lungs. I suspected injectors so I replaced all eight. Upon start up and lengthy idle after the swap the smoke is worse. I wondering if the injection pump is on it’s way out. Should I try advancing the timing? Does anyone have a how to? I’m new the the IDI and don’t have much experience with injection pumps. Any advice would help greatly. I’m in Boulder Colorado if anyone knows a good diesel shop or guru who knows these trucks.
 

IDIBRONCO

IDIBRONCO
Joined
Feb 5, 2010
Posts
12,236
Reaction score
10,925
Location
edmond, ks
I'd try advancing the timing first. If the smoke smells like raw diesel (which you say it does), timing would be my first guess. The color is probably blue, not white, but it can be hard to tell the difference. The colors are fairly close.
 

IDIoit

MachinistFabricator
Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Posts
13,318
Reaction score
3,879
Location
commiefornia
we need more info.
how quick will it fire up on a cold start?
does it sound like its "lugin" when tryng to start it?
did you install a new return line kit?
is it raw diesel or that chalky black overfueled smell?
where did you get the injectors?

first thing I would do, if you are positively sure you have zero leaks is cold start it without the cold advance hooked up and see if it changes the massive white upon start up.
also, check your coolant level. and keep an eye on it.

if its a raw diesel smell, and starts hard, I would suspect air intrusion
 

Minimallimits

Registered User
Joined
Jul 14, 2019
Posts
15
Reaction score
5
Location
North Carolina
I'd try advancing the timing first. If the smoke smells like raw diesel (which you say it does), timing would be my first guess. The color is probably blue, not white, but it can be hard to tell the difference. The colors are fairly close.


Thanks for the input, you are correct about the color of the smoke. It has a blue to light grey tint and under power sometimes its almost black like its getting too much fuel. Ill look into timing advance and see if that helps. Cheers!
 

Minimallimits

Registered User
Joined
Jul 14, 2019
Posts
15
Reaction score
5
Location
North Carolina
we need more info.
how quick will it fire up on a cold start?
does it sound like its "lugin" when tryng to start it?
did you install a new return line kit?
is it raw diesel or that chalky black overfueled smell?
where did you get the injectors?

first thing I would do, if you are positively sure you have zero leaks is cold start it without the cold advance hooked up and see if it changes the massive white upon start up.
also, check your coolant level. and keep an eye on it.

if its a raw diesel smell, and starts hard, I would suspect air intrusion


It starts right up after one cycle of the glow plugs. I just drove it this morning from my buddies house where I did the work back to my place (about 10 miles). The temperature this morning was around 45F, and it put out heavy white to blueish grey smoke until it warmed up a bit. The smoke smells like raw diesel. I did notice some black smoke when on the throttle up some steep hills. Before the new injectors it would idle rough and seem like it was miss firing, after the new injectors it still idles rough but better than before. The injectors are a remanufactured set from Pensacola Diesel out of Florida. I also installed a new return line kit and fuel filter. I did my best to bled the air by cracking the injector lines until fuel was present. The truck fires up right away and idles decent, after about 2000 rpm I notice it lacking power and the smoke is much heavier then if you lug it.
 

IDIoit

MachinistFabricator
Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Posts
13,318
Reaction score
3,879
Location
commiefornia
sounds like you have coolant in the combustion chamber.
 

papadiesel

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2016
Posts
165
Reaction score
79
Location
Indianola, IA
no slam to you, but Pensacola Diesel is beyond a rip off, pop test is not even addressed and when asked did not know what it was, had a set tested they were all over the board, bad parts etc. Sorry but not worth your time
 

Christopher Cline

Full Access Member
Joined
May 15, 2019
Posts
66
Reaction score
11
Location
Washington
I was having that issue for a long time, I ended up messing with the advance/retard arm on the driver side of pump and actually retarded the pump a degree or two. Noticeable difference immediately and a whole lot more pep to her step.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
91,217
Posts
1,128,519
Members
24,045
Latest member
Ramtough01

Members online

No members online now.
Top