White smoke diesel engine startup

What could make a diesel engine produce white smoke? Can bad diesel cause white smoke? Why does diesel engine produce black smoke on start-up? What makes a diesel blow blue or white smoke?

The white smoke is due to unburnt fuel caused by improper heating. One reason for white smoke is very common and completely harmless. In very cold temperatures, the heated exhaust can freeze into minute fuel droplets when exiting the exhaust and produce a more prolonged emission of white smoke for a very short period of driving time. But mostly, it is the incorrect injector timing in the cylinders. This typically occurs due to the engine being too cool to burn the fuel , often resulting from low compression in one cylinder, problems with the fuel injection timing or a defective fuel injector.

Blowing white smoke is a red flag for your diesel engine , yet we see this happen all the time to our customers. In many cases, white smoke emanating from the tailpipe (often at idle once the engine reached operating temperature ) typically means a worn out injector. Normally, it would happen at startup in cold weather with lower compression engines and retarded timing. Diesel Smoke tells YOU a Story. I wondered about an oil leak into the engine , but the oil tank remains full.

The other possible is that I have been sold some crappy. This is because the two stroke engine have back up oil which normally enters the fuel chamber to lubricate the piston. When the engine is cold or has cooled back down I get a lot of white smoke at startup.

This is a case where you’ll probably want to call in the diesel pros, but here’s a diagnostic tip: While the engine is smoking, hold your hand over the exhaust outlet for seconds or so. The commonest cause of white smoke is likely injector pump timing. In order to function properly, a diesel engine needs precise timing of the injector pump and high pressure.

So, any decrease in the pressure or delay in the fuel delivery to the combustion chamber will result in incomplete combustion, leading to white smoke. Usually, white smoke indicates that the diesel fuel is not burning correctly. Unburned diesel fuel will make its way through the exhaust completely unused. Be careful of white smoke as it will irritate your eyes and skin.

If white smoke occurs during a startup in freezing temperatures, then goes away, it usually indicates frozen deposits of soot which expanded around the rings then burned away once the engine warmed up. Since this is a boat and marine diesel forum, an white smoke seems to come with the territory, I’ll first start by giving you about twenty years of personal experience with white smoke. Regardless of engine type, worn valve stem seals tend to cause smoke at start-up and at idle.

White smoke on start up. Constant blue smoke on a turbocharged diesel is unlikely to be caused by worn valve stem seals. It should be taken as an indication that there is a problem existing (or developing), that will potentially shorten the engine life, or result in unnecessary costs. Basically, smoke from a diesel engine indicates that something is not right. An engine burning coolant can be easily determined.

First question, do you have to regularly add coolant? Continuous smoke -filled white clouds while driving could also be a sign that fouling deposits are developing around the piston rings. Hopefully a longtime diesel guy will chime in with a particular product.

This occurred for three days then ran fine without any idle problems. On day five, I cranked the engine over and immediately started blowing white smoke and was obviously not operating smoothly on six cylinders. Does it each time I start it now.

Other things to note: - it does fire right up no cranking necessary. As a general rule, the first cause of a diesel that’s blowing white smoke will be related to the injector pump timing. Any reduction in the cylinder pressures or fuel delivery will result in an incomplete combustion process. One cause of white smoke from the exhaust might be the engine leaking coolant.

If the engine leaks coolant, it will be burned by the heat of the engine and then come out as smoke from the exhaust. A problem with antifreeze might also be causing white smoke to come from the exhaust.