Ok, after doing all the mods that I have done, lately I noticed alot of white smoke. During the day whle changing gears, once I get back into the gass after changing a gear the truck will white smoke for a min. Also at night when a car is behind me w/ the headlights on, no matter how much go peddle I am giving it there is always smoke coming out. I can't see it good during the day, but at night I can see it in the headlights of cars. Also here lately I have noticed a little white smoke or maybe just vapor coming out of the tailpipe at idle. What do yall think is causing all this? I already have a new lift pump, and pmd w/ the relocator kit. Or is this just typical of a hopped up chevy diesel w/ 170,000 miles?

My guess is your head gaskets are leaking, and will need to be replaced soon.

CC

It costs about $110 for a gasket set, $40 for each set of head bolts. Check the compression before you pull the heads, so you know where to look for cracks. Should be ~400 psi on all eight.
The break down and rebuild is easier on an engine stand but most of us have survived doing it in the truck.

I would like to check the compression before tearing into the engine. This might be a dumb question, but how did you turn over the engine w/o it fireing up? Does anybody make a stud kit for the heads? I figured that would be better then putting in new bolts.

Rockauto.com has head bolts for $ 24 and head gaskets for $ 19, each side. However, you can only get std head gaskets. That's $43 plus shipping.

With all the glow plugs removed for a compression test, the engine cannot start as there is no compression. It will blow fuel vapor around the engine compartment as well. I found ~6 cranks or so gave a good reading. Look for ~400 PSI per cylinder. Also watch the coolant level for several day's. If it goes down with no external leaks or drips, chances are your diving into the motor soon after the compression test...

Pull the F sol fuse, then the IP is off and you can crank away. Give it 8 cranks before you call it a reading.

Ray,
Thanks for the heads up. I'm sure I'll be rebuilding another one soon.

Quick check: is your coolant system getting pressurized when cold? Are you getting bubbles up in your coolant tank?

I was getting a lot of the same symptoms and mine turned out to be just the glow plugs.

About 4 years ago, I had a similar problem with a Ford F350 Diesel ambulance for my fire department. Started with a little white vapor and, over time, grew into a white cloud following the vehicle. About the same time, I started noting foamy motor oil and dropping coolant levels. It turned out to be a cracked head.

the smoke ur seein in the cars headlights is normal i would say, i was drivin on a road one day with the sun behind me and it looked like white smoke but it wasnt even visible unless u was seein it through the sun. we had a cracked head a few years ago also, that could be your probelm