Fuel filter?

[Blue2actual]

Got a video from my friend in Colorado Springs where my truck is parked. I just drove it 1500 miles with 0 issues from GA to Colorado. It has sat for 3 days and he needed to move it onto the street. It's billowing thick white smoke when the engine is under load. Being that I'm 1500 miles away, it's hard to diagnose a problem over the phone. I'm assuming it's a clogged fuel filter. He drove it around the neighborhood and said the engine stopped stumbling and had plenty of power. I told him to let it sit for a few hours and sure enough, it smoked again when he started it up and gave it gas. He drove it around the neighborhood and it went away. I'm guessing maybe fuel pressure was enough to push through the clogged filter? The truck has never had any issues starting/running and ran fine in the altitude-6,000+ feet for over 200 miles. What do Y'all think? I know it's probably hard to tell just by viewing a video...
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myMPlUPZqcE&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/media]

 

[cpf240]

Isn't white smoke an indication of unburned fuel? Maybe there is a stuck / leaking injector?

Just a guess though... I haven't had mine long enough to be any sort of judge on these things!

 

[ilovemyblazer]

Isn't white smoke an indication of unburned fuel? Maybe there is a stuck / leaking injector?

Just a guess though... I haven't had mine long enough to be any sort of judge on these things!

Im no diesel expert either but I was sure that unburnt fuel is the black smoke diesel engines produce. I usually associate white/light smoke with burning oil. Just my

 

[caliber1]

Have him drain the filters a little and see if that helps, might be some water in there, sounds like to me anyways.

 

[sandcobra164]

Travis, you have a glow plug or two or three that have said, "See ya later". When mine were fried in my truck, it would do the same thing. Make sure it's had the Doghead bypass done before you install new ones. I've got AC 60Gs' and they work fine. The reason for the white smoke is unburned fuel in a cold motor. It clears up and once the heads heat up a little, those cylinders have good combustion and the problem goes away.

 

[Skinny]

I do not consider myself a diesel expert but I am pretty sure on a NA diesel:

black smoke is unburnt fuel

blue is burning oil

white is from cold combustion (malfunctioning glow plug or intake heater grid or just really freakin' cold), incorrect pump timing, or headgasket issue

I think a plugged filter would just net you loss of power without smoke issues.

 

[engineman2]

I would have to agree with the guys flagging the gp's as the problem. I had two bad plugs on my passenger side bank and boy did I know it on a cold start. Of course, given time to warm up, it was fine. TM's are a good source of info when diagnosing gp issues. However, plug replacement, after the doghead bypass, is prolly the way to go.

 

[Blue2actual]

I'll check the plugs when I get out there in 2 weeks. The truck is already converted to 12v and the plugs were just replaced in February. I might as well go ahead and put a spin on filter while I'm at. I'm not sure when the last time the filter was changed. I'll grab the voltmeter and test the plugs upon arrival and will let y'all know what I find. So y'all think that even in 60 degree weather, it would still smoke like that as a "cold" engine?

 

[Skinny]

My M1031 had two good glow plugs and wouldn't start without ether unless it was 70f or warmer out. I never had a smoke issue though.

Forget checking them. Have a box of new AC60's for $60 ready to install. Whatever GPs come out in good shape, keep them as spares. If it doesn't solve your problem, on to the next thing. Atleast you will be sure the GPs are new...as long as your controller and relay work fine.

 

[Terracoma]

Have your friend see if the glow plug relay is cycling properly after a cold start, that'd be easy enough to explain and diagnose long-distance.

Could be that the plugs are fine, but that the system isn't functioning properly.

 

[Skinny]

Shorted glow plugs will cause the controller to cycle very fast and not work well at all.

 

[Blue2actual]

The plugs are on a push button switch. Bypassed the relays

 

[mistaken1]

The plugs are on a push button switch. Bypassed the relays

At approximately 70A to 80A current draw for a set of glow plugs I hope they put in a heavy duty switch rated for the load.

 

[Blue2actual]

Well I made back to Colorado from Georgia an I got out to get my truck today. All of the GP's tested good. The truck starts/idles fine. When I put it under load it starts to stumble and smoke just above idle. If I keep giving it gas, it will shift into second and it smoothes out. If I don't give it gas and let it return to idle, it will continue stumbling until I accelerate out of first and the rpms build/shifting into the next gears. Then the problem goes away. Once rough running/stumbling stops, I still have plenty of power and the truck seems to be running fine. I'm kind of at a loss. I am going to replace the fuel filter on Wednesday and see if that helps. I had a couple of drips of diesel come out of the filter drain hose in the wheel well when I first started it up after it had sat for 2 weeks (even after sitting for 2 weeks, it started right up). Anyone else have any opinions?