poohbear Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Hi, I have been running a 1987 2.5TD 90 for the last few weeks and am a little concerned about the amount/colour of smoke that I make on start up. The truck has covered little over 1000miles in the last year or so and is now my daily driver - I'd put the heavy smoking down to lack of use, but after three weeks it hasn't cleared up. This is the situation: Once the engine is warm its starts fine and their is little smoke as it starts or whilst running. When starting from cold it takes a while turning over before firing (yes I am using the glow-plugs!) and when it goes there is an almighty cloud of whitish-bluey smoke. If I blip the engine a couple of times this clears and the engine runs relatively clean. If I just let the engine go straight to idle there is a constant chug of whitish smoke. Over the last week or so I have noticed an increas in the amount of black smoke appearing on start up. I'm guessing that at least some of this must be down to fuel not being burnt - the smoke has a diesel smell to it rather than oil. would I be right in thinking that the injector pump timing could be out or is this just a sympton of a 19J with 135K on the clock? Any insights would be greatly received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike4444244 Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Hi Are the glowplugs working? you can check resistance across them as per the book of lies. a bit of smoke is ok but it shouldnt be making a smoke screen... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrfarmer Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Are the glowplugs working? the other way to check them is take each one out and use a set of jump leads connect them to the battery thay should glow a nice pinky red on the bottom 5-8mm. mind your fingers thay will be hot after (if there working). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat_pending Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 From your description of the symptoms i would suggest some or all of your glow plugs are not working. If the glow plugs are not working then there will be unburnt diesel in the cylinders and exhaust due to continual cranking when trying to start it from cold. When it does fire this unburnt fuel will give you WHITE smoke. BLACK smoke is an excess of burnt fuel, could be caused by a lack of air (blocked air cleaner) or over advanced pump timing, faulty pump or injectors. Also, glow plugs can get hot but still not work properly, (they don't get hot enough). Any good diesel specialists should have the kit to test them, (check the current draw) but they're not that expensive and it's probably worth just sticking new ones in anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Sounds to me like your timing is retarded. What engine is this on? Edit: Just re-read your post. No idea how to adjust timing on a TD...but this is still my best bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poohbear Posted May 9, 2008 Author Share Posted May 9, 2008 First stop will be a set of new plugs and check the wiring, I'll worry about fuel problems if this doesn't work! Muchos thanks again guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantd5 Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 Change plugs and engine oil... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadey Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 I have an 86 td 90, which does exactly the same thing , once warm is fine untill coasting downhill in 2nd gear throttling on and off very gently then it chugs out a fair amount of blue, normal running dont notice a thing, a mate of mine reckons valve stem seals nead a polish out?? but hoping timing may help or glow plugs , let me know how you get on visa versa!!! cheers Wade Hi,I have been running a 1987 2.5TD 90 for the last few weeks and am a little concerned about the amount/colour of smoke that I make on start up. The truck has covered little over 1000miles in the last year or so and is now my daily driver - I'd put the heavy smoking down to lack of use, but after three weeks it hasn't cleared up. This is the situation: Once the engine is warm its starts fine and their is little smoke as it starts or whilst running. When starting from cold it takes a while turning over before firing (yes I am using the glow-plugs!) and when it goes there is an almighty cloud of whitish-bluey smoke. If I blip the engine a couple of times this clears and the engine runs relatively clean. If I just let the engine go straight to idle there is a constant chug of whitish smoke. Over the last week or so I have noticed an increas in the amount of black smoke appearing on start up. I'm guessing that at least some of this must be down to fuel not being burnt - the smoke has a diesel smell to it rather than oil. would I be right in thinking that the injector pump timing could be out or is this just a sympton of a 19J with 135K on the clock? Any insights would be greatly received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poohbear Posted May 24, 2008 Author Share Posted May 24, 2008 Well, all four glowplugs replaced - new oil and filter and tried adjusting the fuel injection pump timing! Absolutely no change Still smokes heavily when started from cold with a slight misfire which can be seen as a puff of white smoke each time it missess. misfire clears within first few minutes. Would this valve steam seals? - that would explain the smoke on start up first thing in the morning, but it does the same when cold starting throughout the day. The valve stem seals would need to be pretty knackered to allow this much oil through during the day. If the engine is warm it is clean! Is it worth replacing the injectors next or is this just a sympton of a well worn 19J? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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