Diesel Smoke on Startup

[akoldnav]

What would cause my truck (88 F250) to smoke and run very rough for up to a minute after a cold startup. Even if the truck is plugged in, It will produce a diesel smoke for a few seconds. I am pretty sure it is diesel smoke mainly because of the unburned diesel smell.

My injectors, injector lines and glow plugs are new.

Thanks in advance.

akoldnav

 

[Exekiel69]

That is a normal IDI . Is the beast inside awakening.

 

[akoldnav]

It may be the beast within, but my other two IDIs don't do that at all. This thing really runs bad for over a minute, and the smoke and smell is an embarrassment.

I don't know how old the injection pump is, but it seems to run OK with a small roughness at idle, even when it has smoothed out and warmed up from the in ital startup. What do you all think, do I need to start looking for a rebuilt injection pump.

I am looking for advice.

akoldnav

 

[Exekiel69]

It may be the beast within, but my other two IDIs don't do that at all. This thing really runs bad for over a minute, and the smoke and smell is an embarrassment.

I don't know how old the injection pump is, but it seems to run OK with a small roughness at idle, even when it has smoothed out and warmed up from the in ital startup. What do you all think, do I need to start looking for a rebuilt injection pump.

I am looking for advice.

akoldnav

What color is the smocke? What brand engine oil do you use (could it be rotella)? Depending on how many miles you have on the pump it may be ready for replacement/rebuild. Do you use fuel additive (stanadyne/power service/marvel/lucas)?

 

[f-two-fiddy]

Your getting air. Thats what the stuttering/smoke is. Did you replace the return lines? Are all the injector copper seals sealing?

 

[akoldnav]

The smoke is a blue/grey. I replaced all return lines and have no seepage around any of them. What makes me think it is unburned diesel is the overwhelming smell. When I replaced the injectors with new manufacture Standeyne ones, two of them were carboned in pretty bad. I cleaned out the holes as good as I could. I suppose that could be a problem. I don't have one of those reamers that I have heard about here.

When the truck is plugged in the start up is immediate, and the initial idle is more smoth, but the smell and smoke are still there. I have a new glow plug harness to install (thing must be made of gold because of the price), and that may help. The old harness has some loose glow plug connectors, and one was completely burned off. I used bullet connectors to repair that connector.

The truck has an electric fuel pump. Wouldn't that help with any air problems? I am kind of stumped, but I will investigate all leads got here and thanks for any help rendered.

akoldnav

 

[82fordtruck]

I wonder how much you deem acceptable. Mine starts better than a lot of people on here, and I get a small amount of smoke at startup.

Right now, I have a bad GP, and when it starts, it fills the whole yard with that smoke. There is a big difference.

 

[akoldnav]

Right now the truck will also fill the whole yard with smoke on startup, and I know my glow plug harness is bad. Maybe I have some bad connections and this will get better when I replace the harness. Maybe I am expecting too much from this truck. It went 3000 miles from Fargo ND to Anchorage and did not use even 1 quart of oil.

Also, somebody asked what type of oil I was using an it is Rotello. Normally I use DELO 15W40, but I had several gallons of this from the trip, so I used that. Can that make a difference?

akoldnav

 

[Exekiel69]

Right now the truck will also fill the whole yard with smoke on startup, and I know my glow plug harness is bad. Maybe I have some bad connections and this will get better when I replace the harness. Maybe I am expecting too much from this truck. It went 3000 miles from Fargo ND to Anchorage and did not use even 1 quart of oil.

Also, somebody asked what type of oil I was using an it is Rotello. Normally I use DELO 15W40, but I had several gallons of this from the trip, so I used that. Can that make a difference?

akoldnav

On the smell Yes, rotella does smell some. Blue smocke is oil but you also said it run 3k and no oil usage. The smocke at startup with bad glow plug I'll say replace the harness and see.

 

[akoldnav]

Changing the harness will be Saturdays chore. Thanks again everybody for the thoughts. I will let everybody know if the wires helped.

akoldnav

 

[akoldnav]

I decided to go ahead and change the harness today. The smoking problem is cured, but the truck still smells like unburned diesel when at idle. Next I will get the truck timed.

akoldnav

 

[LUCKY_LARUE60]

Evaluating Normal Diesel Engine Exhaust Smoke

The following is a description of what is normal and expected exhaust smoke for a vehicle with a diesel engine. Diesel exhaust smoke can be classified into two categories according to the color of the smoke.

NOTE:
Chassis fuel system air leaks may also cause continuous heavy blue-white smoke.

The first category is blue-white smoke.

l Blue-white smoke may be observed at engine start-up whether the engine is up to operating temperatures or not. This start-up smoke will be observed at all ambient temperatures and should last no longer than a minute after the vehicle is driven.

l When ambient temperature is below 10°C (50°F), blue-white smoke can return after the engine warm-up due to extended idling. This is due to the combustion chambers cooling down during periods of extended idling time.

Heavy blue-white smoke will also occur when the engine is operated at wide-open throttle (accelerator pedal to the floor) with the transmission in NEUTRAL or with a lightly loaded vehicle in any transmission gear setting. The smoke is a normal characteristic for a diesel engine with a light min.-max. governor spring in the fuel injection pump. This results in the following characteristics due to the engine operating above its rated speed (3300 rpm) in a no-load or lightly loaded condition:

* Heavy blue-white smoke.

* Fuel injection pump governor hunting resulting in high speed engine rpm surging.

* Engine sputtering or misfiring.

The conditions can be eliminated by operating the engine at or below its maximum full load rated speed of 3000 rpm.

The second category of diesel exhaust smoke is black smoke. Black smoke occurs whenever the engine is working hard. The engine works hard when it is going up a steep grade, pulling a trailer, carrying a heavy load, or during acceleration. More black smoke will be observed when operating the vehicle at higher altitudes. If black smoke is observed while the engine is idling (at low altitude) or under normal driving conditions, the problem should be diagnosed as soon as possible.

 

[akoldnav]

Lucky, the smoke on startup now is a light blue/grey that lasts only a few seconds. I am still worried about the diesel smell that this truck puts out. That seems to be constant. I am thinking I might need a new IP or the timing might be set incorrectly. What do you think?

akoldnav

 

[aaklingler]

I wouldn't worry about the smoke, but the diesel smell sounds like a leak, that you need to find.

 

[akoldnav]

aaklinger, the diesel smell comes from the exhaust pipe. There are no leaks that I can find. The truck doesn't smell at all when not running. It just seems to be only partially burning its fuel. I don't know if timeing or a bad IP would be the most likely cause. Old trucks are fun to puzzle over, aren't they.

akoldnav