what does big cloud o white smoke mean? 96 6.5 td. uses 1 qt oil ever 1000 miles. no smoke at all after a few seconds of run time. no smoke on hot start. only drive it every few weeks. i want to convert 2 run on waste veg oil but don't want to do that until i fix whatever makes it smoke on a cold start. i'm told i should trade in on a mid 90's pre-powerstroke ford for veg oil conversion? any opinions? thanks all.

glow plugs shot. just a guess

What Edzzed said.

Here is some bathroom literature on the great glow plug (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39182).

ps. add your year and info about your truck to your signuature line so we know what you got.... ;)

I think my truck has bad glow plugs too. I bought my truck in the middle of the summer, so never noticed the problem until now, with the cooler weather arriving. When starting cold now, it is a bit hard to start (sounds just like a flooded gasser), and it lets out a huge cloud of white smoke now (never did in the summer) for the first few seconds after it catches, then it smooths out and clears right up. I'm noticing this with cold starts below 65 degrees ambient temp, and its been getting worse now that we're down in the 50's. Once warmed up, it fires right back up when its still warm.

My questions are:

- If I had fully functioning glows, would there not be much smoke and it turns over right away, even when cold 50 degrees? Or is this normal cold starting for a diesel even with fully working glow plugs?

- Let's say I do have some bad glow plugs (I know some of them are working as I can see the voltage drop during the wait to start). Is there any harm in just leaving it like this? I could care less about the smoke cloud (I like smogging out my neighbors, and it reminds me of an L-1011 on startup :ro) ). Will my truck be too difficult to start as the temps drop down into the 20's and below in the winter, if I'm having some trouble now in the 50's? It does always start, it just takes more cranking than it did in the summer (maybe 5 to 10 seconds).

Thanks!

you wont be able to start it when it gets in the 20's believe me when i had my 6.5 i had to keep her at home a few days cause of no starts. trust me the smoke is cool until you crank on her for like 3 minutes and no start. then it sucks. go get some glow plugs before its too late.

so it's not really smoke at all (as in something's burning) but more like a cloud in the sky ... except with atomized raw diesel ? that would also start to explain my poor fuel economy. i'll get started with the glow plug tests as soon as i finish my nissan veg oil conversion.

Hi all,
Don't mean to hijack the the thread at all, but woud it be worth changing the injectors at the same time as the glowplugs? I'm getting ready to change the glowplugs to the Kennedy Quickheats ($80ish) and am thinking the injectors at the same time might be good to do.
Also, I thougt somebody posted injectors sold on Ebay that were made by disabled people that worked very well. (or was it glowplugs) My 'net skills suck and I was reading up on both at the same time.

Also, I thougt somebody posted injectors sold on Ebay that were made by disabled people that worked very well. (or was it glowplugs) My 'net skills suck and I was reading up on both at the same time.

Glowplugs

if you put the horse before the cart, would you have a diesel pusher?

if you actually did put on your shoes and socks, would your socks wear out a lot faster?

:)sorry bout that:)

you wont be able to start it when it gets in the 20's believe me when i had my 6.5 i had to keep her at home a few days cause of no starts. trust me the smoke is cool until you crank on her for like 3 minutes and no start. then it sucks. go get some glow plugs before its too late.

OK, thanks for the advice. I just ordered new glow plugs from SS along with new electrical connectors.

I was thinking of replacing the injectors at the same time, but I don't know if they really need to be replaced or not. I heard they only last 100k or so, but my truck runs good so I don't think I need to replace them. I have no idea if the previous owner ever replaced them - I don't think so.

I will replace the turbo downpipe while I'm doing the glows. I have a nice Flowmaster downpipe sitting in a box waiting to be installed - just haven't gotten around to it. It sounds like removing the downpipe makes it easier to get to some of the glows, and since I'm gonna remove the inner fender liner anyway, those two projects sound like they will be perfect to do together. Just gotta hope I don't run into any rusted bolt horror shows like I did when I replaced the crossover pipe. But it sounds like the turbo downpipe comes off easier than the crossover.

Man, despite the excellent cosmetic and maintenance condition of this truck, it had a lot more mechanical issues with it than I thought it would.
:eek: So far, I've replaced: lift pump (died), PMD (dying), brake lines (funky), crossover pipe (rusted out and leaking), stereo (bulbs burnt out and locked-my fault), shocks (worn out), tail light bulb (died), and sway bar end links (broken off and missing on left side). That's just in 3 months and 2.5k of ownership. And I still have to do: glowplugs, downpipe, oil cooler lines (leaking), and front brake rotors (warped).

Oh well - good thing I like this truck, and I like working on it when I have the time (except for the crossover pipe - that totally sucked).

How long does your truck smoke at cold start?Mine smokes lots at start-up.I have new fast heats from SS diesel(awsome).also new heads on my truck.Its down to either low compression or injectors.

Mine smokes for a few seconds after startup, then clears right up. It is a ton of smoke though. If I start it cold in the garage at work, the security practically calls the fire department because of all the smoke.

When it starts, it doesn't just crank and crank and turn right over. It kind of cranks, almost catches, cranks some more, almost catches, then finally fires and runs rough for a second like its flooded with fuel, clears its throat, blows a big cloud of white/grey/blue smoke, then settles down to a nice idle with no smoke.

I'll have to see if this improves with the new glows. I'm almost positive its the glows, because when the weather was warm, the truck started right up with hardly any smoke.

Mine smokes for a few seconds after startup, then clears right up. It is a ton of smoke though. If I start it cold in the garage at work, the security practically calls the fire department because of all the smoke.

When it starts, it doesn't just crank and crank and turn right over. It kind of cranks, almost catches, cranks some more, almost catches, then finally fires and runs rough for a second like its flooded with fuel, clears its throat, blows a big cloud of white/grey/blue smoke, then settles down to a nice idle with no smoke.

I LOVE this description because it describes exactly what happens when I start up. Mine runs crappy for about 30 seconds and then smooths out.

My glow plugs are all about 1 year old (Bosch, I think) and I haven't checked to see if they were all working, just made sure they were hooked up. Amp gauge drops when they kick on, so I assume they are working.

If I replace them again with "fast heats", I will do injectors at the same time. Anybody had any experience with these??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-6-5-L-INJECTORS-CHEVROLET-AND-GMC_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33554QQitemZ8008219 569QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

I have no clue how many miles are on my existing injectors or if they were ever replaced before bought the truck. I was also told that a leaking injector can cause that cloud of smoke on startup.

Any thoughts?


- Shawn

mine is the same way so i just changed my plugs yesterday and little diffrence not a huge one but it does help -- my next thing will be manual relay to extend the time started on that tonight

mine is the same way so i just changed my plugs yesterday and little diffrence not a huge one but it does help -- my next thing will be manual relay to extend the time started on that tonight

Which plugs did you use?

Unpluging the CTS sensor or wiring a switch to open the circuit will do the trick on extending the glow time. Low opening pressure on old injectors will make the engine "chug" when first started but you should get the ACB modifier code for the weak cylinder.

I made sure I had good plugs and tight connections on the GP leads when the weather turned cool but had the code for imbalance in #1 cylinder and white smoke for an extended period. I have to get a good plug in there and see how starting is effected.

I was also told that a leaking injector can cause that cloud of smoke on startup.


I would think a leaking injector would cause smoke on startup year 'round, not just during cold weather, whereas bad glowplugs would only be really noticeable during cold weather, but not so much during the summer. Is this true?

Sounds about right.

CTS sensor? Where is that located and what is it? If you unplug it will it set a code and how long "extra" will it leave the glow plugs cook?

the quick glow from ssdiesel

CTS - coolant temperature sensor

It is located on the coolant crossover pipe just to the left of the thermostat and behind the heater quick-connect fitting.

If you unplug it it *should* set a code 15.

Not sure how much longer the glows will stay on, but with the CTS not working, the engine stays in 'warm up' mode which means the engine idles around 900 RPM, and OD does not kick in at all.

So unplugging the CTS isn't a very good "fix" for easier starting. I like the idea of a higher idle but not the code or the OD issue. Is there a cheap way to make the glows stay on longer or extending the time they stay on without codes?

You can install a manual glow plug over-ride and manually hold them on longer. Just make sure you have a self-regulating glow plug first. 9G's would be very bad to do this with.

Low opening pressure on old injectors will make the engine "chug" when first started but you should get the ACB modifier code for the weak cylinder.

How would one check for this code, and would it identify the specific cylinder? I have no SES light and don't "think" I have any codes.