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why does my truck smoke so much?

colbystephens

colbystephens

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when i turn it on since about 1 week ago it smokes a ton on start up, it clears up when it's got a load on it after a few seconds, but then if i'm in gear and i let off the fuel pedal it smokes again. i ajusted my injection pump timing a while back, which fixed this issue, but it's back again for some reason. fwiw, i was at high altitude last weekend, and this started once i got back to normal elevation. what else could cause the issue? when i start, it's white smoke so that would be a fuel issue, but when i let off the fuel in gear it's a bit more blue (oil). why would this be? once the engine heats up, this is not an issue at all. until last week i only had to use the gp's in the morning, and then it was good all day, now i have to use them even during the day and when it starts up it's got a rough idle. what's the deal?
 
fuel itself maybe?...

Maybe you got some stale fuel somewhere when you filled up?..or water in the fuel?..also,if a few glow plugs are not working,those cylinders will load up with unburned fuel..

My truck smokes pretty bad upon start up too,and the fact one glow plug is dead, and stuck in the head isn't helping any--it often takes several minutes to get that cylinder to clear out and start firing normally again..my smoke is whitish,not blue,and it does not use oil,or coolant..the fuel in my tank is well over a year old too,the truck is now sitting with expired plates and inspection sticker..:(

My 6.2 seems to be a lot "louder" than my friends 87 GMC's..his sounds as quiet as a gas engine,mine sounds like a Mack!..the timing mark on the pump is lined up right too..:confused:

I see a pretty good smoke screen coming out of both tailpipes under hard acceleration also--but that might be due to my disconnecting the EGR valve,and lord knows how my injector pump and injectors are--I suspect they both could use replacing,but as long as it runs,I'm leaving it as is..I can hardly afford fuel,never mind anything else!..:crazy:
 
colbystephens said:
when i turn it on since about 1 week ago it smokes a ton on start up, it clears up when it's got a load on it after a few seconds, but then if i'm in gear and i let off the fuel pedal it smokes again. i ajusted my injection pump timing a while back, which fixed this issue, but it's back again for some reason. fwiw, i was at high altitude last weekend, and this started once i got back to normal elevation. what else could cause the issue? when i start, it's white smoke so that would be a fuel issue, but when i let off the fuel in gear it's a bit more blue (oil). why would this be? once the engine heats up, this is not an issue at all. until last week i only had to use the gp's in the morning, and then it was good all day, now i have to use them even during the day and when it starts up it's got a rough idle. what's the deal?
Click to expand...

I'd start by checking all the GP's, it sounds like one or two are dead. I'd also do a compression check just to put your mind at ease...

Rene
 
i'll check my gp's, tho they're only a few months old. i've asked this before, but how do i check the water-in-fuel filter? when i open the stop-cock, do i let it drain till there's nothing coming out of it, or do i need to watch it and check for diesel to come out?
 
If you have a Racor you should be able to just open the petcock on the bottom. Water will come out first since diesel floats on water. When you see diesel coming out close the petcock. If the truck has sat overnight and you have water in the fuel you should be able to see water beneath the fuel in the clear bowl on the underside.

If you don't have a Racor... :dunno:

Rene
 
Take a quick look at your air filter. If it's stopped up, you won't be getting as much air as you could. Also, were you doing any pulling or working the motor really heavy at high elevation? Could you have burned up a piston due to egt's?
 
i'll check the air filter - it's probably quite dirty. i would really doubt if i burned up a piston, i wasn't working it hard and it's only got 3800 miles on it. also, fwiw, my wife made me remember that i did disconnect a wire on the a/c box (passenger side of engine) about the same time that this smoking started again. i'm going to try rehooking that, maybe it had something to do with emissions, but i can't imagine that it did or that it will do anything b/c my egr is disconnected/removed.
 
Hate to say it ...but it sounds like a head crapped out on you ...fuel problems are blue or black ....and a filter would be black smoke...also the glow plugs coming on could be low water level which means a leak somewhere ????Air or egr have nothing to with either problem
 
unburnt fuel is white. ;) i'm pretty sure it's a glow issue. if it were one of the issues you listed, the issue would not resolve itself after the engine is under a load for the first 20-40 seconds after a cold start up.
 
tRustyK5 said:
More of a grey/blue from what I've seen.

Rene
Click to expand...
hmmmm, that explains alot, which is good. also, i think part of my problem is my starter. it's been acting funny - sometimes it will spin slow and then the engine fires up, other times it acts differently. i was thinking that if it's not getting enough cranking power, it wouldn't fire easily in all cylinders at immediate start-up. is this possible? today the starter died all together, but when i dropped the clutch to get it started, it fired up sooooooooo nice w/ no smoke like it has been doing since the starter started sucking.

now i'm trying to decide if it's the starter or the solenoid. i put a new solenoid on the starter 6 months ago. it's a nice cheap fix, but how do i know if it was the starter or the solenoid? it wouldn't click or anything this evening, so i assume theres at least something wrong w/ the solenoid. is there any way to know if the starter's bad too?
 
I'd get a new starter, they have a pretty tough job cranking over a 6.2 and without good cranking speed it'll always be hard to start. I got a Bosch reman about 2 1/2 years ago and man did it make a difference!! I used to have to cycle the gp's even when it was warm with the old gear reduction starter I had. Once the new one went in I was amazed at how fast it spun over and how easy it started after that.

Definitely get the gear reduction starter too...otherwise known as the 28MT.

Rene
 
cool. so if i go in, what are the chances i can just ask for this style of starter? do i need to know an application? i don't remember seeing what they were originally used for.
 
You're better off shopping for the 28MT on ebay. They are pricey in stores "special order", let alone i couldn't get a single shop in town to look for it. I got mine for like $120. Also, when you do get your new starter, upgrade your battery cables. I just did it to my truck with 0/2g heavy duty welding cable and crimped all the ends........ MAN, WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN STARTING!
 
colbystephens said:
cool. so if i go in, what are the chances i can just ask for this style of starter? do i need to know an application? i don't remember seeing what they were originally used for.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure they were the standard starter for '89 and newer. You could just tell them it's a early 90's 6.5TD truck too. I'll second eBay though...mine ran over $300 from a parts place here...:doah:

It does have a 5 year replacement warranty though.

Rene
 
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