White smoke...

[lindsaym]

I've seen a few threads but can't find one directly related to my situation. In live in Alaska and recently the temprature has really plummeted. This morning when I left for work it was -16. Since it's started to get so cold, my truck has started pumping out a lot of white smoke. I see plenty of others cars and trucks doing it too, I just want to make sure that it's not indicitive of a larger problem. By the time I get to work, about a twenty mile trip, it's lightened up considereably. I've read it's normal for old deisels to smoke like that in extreme cold. There's no crazy idling or loss of power either. Thanks!

 

[dmetalmiki]

Thats fine..just condensation. (as) one gallon of fuel (burnt) produce one gallon of Water.

 

[Triple C]

Are we talking about a standard 6.2? Running any fuel additives? I have a two 6.5's one considerably older than the other. The old one puts out white smoke on starting but clears up quickly. Some additives will put out a light white smoke if you exceed recommended levels but it sounds to me like water vapor. Un burnt diesel at speed is normally black. As long as your coolant level isn't changing and you don't have a power loss, I would say you are good. That's my 2 cents worth.

 

[lindsaym]

It's a 6.2. I'm adding a standard diesel additive specially for cold weather. I'm monitoring my coolant level, too. So far so good. Towards the end of today (I'd driven about 80 miles altogether) the smoke had diminished considerably, down to about what I saw from other truck and even some cars.

 

[MTMUDRUNNER]

Your engine might not be up to normal operating temp about 190 if it is that cold out, you might check into a cold front of some sort to block the cold air. I have used a piece of cardboard before paint it black and it blends in pretty well. If you don't have a temp gauge then it will be hard to tell.

 

[Triple C]

Doesn't sound to me like you have a problem. If there is an acrid smell to the smoke then you aren't burning all your fuel - something that is common on a cold motor. That should stop as the motor warms up though. As was suggested, you might not be getting to operating temp at all if it is really cold out. These old motors all get a personality so some of it is just learning the peculiarities of that particular vehicle. One thing I would add that isn't specific to your question but is to a cold 6.2 or 6.5, I would monitor your oil. When these motors are cold they will sometimes wipe un burnt fuel into the oil. If you pull your oil dipstick and smell it for diesel you can tell. If you start smelling diesel on the dipstick, change the oil. Back to you issue though. It sounds to me like a combination of a cold motor, a bit of un burnt fuel (white due to additives - that is what my freightliner did when I used them and it smoked) and water vapor. Don't think I would worry about it unless you start losing coolant but a winter front on the grille will bring the motor temp up and probably fix it altogether. That's my guess.

 

[quickfarms]

Sounds normal. Keep an eye on the temp gauge and fluids. Do you gave a block heater? A winter front is in order but keep a close eye in the temperature gauge.

My truck has a cooling system that was designed for the desert and we cover half the radiator in the yard to warm it up during the southern CA winter.