Hello to everyone, im looking to buy a truck, and this truck i found and like the seller says it smokes like every normal diesel when you first start it up. im not fimiliar with the diesel so please let me know if its ok for the to smoke at first. Thanks, -Steve

the truck or the occupants?:joke:



a puff of smoke on startup is normal

In the winter, when it's well below freezing I get white smoke for awhile till it starts to warm up. In the summer I may get one short puff of blue smoke on the first start of the day, then nothing.

What kind of smoke you seeing heavy clouds of white this time of year could be a glow problem, which is not normal.

That's the biggy, puff, or clouds, and the color too.

These IDI engines were famed to be just about a smokeless diesel on the original design years ago. A lot has changed since then, but smoking is almost non-exsistant under *almost* all circumstances, except start up and WOT (wide open throttle), and still, that's pretty limited too.

What make and model of truck? What engine? Yes, some smoke a little on startup but anything more than a few seconds is not "normal". We would need more specific info before trying to diagnose the cause.

The truck is a 97' 2500 HD, ext.cab, long bed, a 6.5L TD, and its located in New Mexico. -Steve

I am glad this came up. I am looking at a 96 1/2 ton with 280 000 kms on it (175 000 miles). It did not smoke on start up, or at WOT in 2WD. But, when I put it in 4 High down a muddy back road, it would pour out black smoke at WOT. Is this an indication of worn rings, or just a bunch of half-burned diesel coming out the back?

But, when I put it in 4 High down a muddy back road, it would pour out black smoke at WOT. Is this an indication of worn rings, or just a bunch of half-burned diesel coming out the back?
YES a bunch of half-burned diesel coming out the back

If lots of black smoke from that half-burned Diesel for a extended period (not a good thing High EGT) and a sluggish acceleration, it could also be indicative of waste gate problem, it's normal for some black smoke for short period on acceleration but not heaps of it unless you have maybe done some tweaking to fuel delivery schedule and forgotten to add more boost (air to keep EGT down) also. A good balance of air to fuel is required to keep smoke to a minimum when running, which is why you get lots of white smoke on start up with a defective glow system, tons more fuel than needed , little heat from glows/compression, and little air engine is turning slow, so heavy no-burn raw fuel is what is making the white smoke.

The link to the Banks web site in FAQs is a great place to start comprehending the detailed explanations better of how & why a Diesel works the way it does. Also read up on recently added glow FAQ.

My truck smokes a little when under full throttle, it lets a grey cloud that you can see in other cars headlights. It has done this since new and gets worse when the air filter needs to be replaced.