Ok Thanks rick. Just one of my lonely thoughts.

 

Rick, my 97 Cali throws a code for my unplugged EBPV when it is unplugged....but I think it is b/c it is a Cali

 

the smoke is pure diesel not oil , its never used or leaked not 1 drop of oil.

 

What did the inside of the fuel filter housing look like when you changed it last time? Did it look nasty in there or just like fuel?

 

Ok I'll try this again.
Your injection system is run by hydraulics. There are o rings on your injectors that separate high pressure oil and fuel. It is a known FACT that 94 and 95 model injectors were improperly torqued at the factory and also the injector o rings on the 94 to 97 models were inferior to modern replacements.

If your top injector o ring is leaking, then you lose high pressure oil back under the valve cover and it goes back to the sump. If the second one is leaking high pressure oil mixes with fuel. Look at the fuel filter for evidence of that. It will turn black eventually.

Your ICP sensor IS BAD if it is leaking oil into the connector but like I said with the other symptoms you mentioned and the fact that it is smoking bad on startup, hard start requiring ether etc... that is NOT your only problem. A bad ICP causing these symptoms WILL smooth out when you unplug it. That is a fact.

When you have a loss of hydraulic oil pressure to the injectors it will/can cause hard starts, long crank times, no start, severe smoke at startup due to poor fuel atomization and low fuel delivery. This is a fact.

This is why I stated to follow the HPOP diagnostic chart and diagnose it properly before throwing parts at it. SInce you probably don't have the tools or the money to do the chart in it's entirety I offered the advice that your o rings are likely the culprit since they are a known weak area in our engines and winter time is the time they always seem to fail the most.

I said to replace your glow plugs because you said you used ether on it. Don't though if you don't want to. Ether WILL cause the glow plugs to swell making future replacement near impossible without removing the head in some cases. If it were mine and someone did that I'd replace them now before any more carbon builds up on them and they won't come out. That's just me though. It's not like I learned that from personal experience or anything.

http://www.fordtechservice.dealercon...iagnostics.pdf

Here is a newer version I have found with pictures to explain it better than what I learned with.

I don't know anything about these engines though so take my advice for what it's worth. It's not like I have been a Ford, cummins, detroit, perkins, Mack, international, Westerbeke, Gm, case, mechanic for the last 30 years or anything. Not me.

 

I still don't see where he said he used ether to start it.

 

i've never used ether

 

i'll try that, but i've never had to use ether on it. now it seems to have a solid skip sense yesterday and it sounds like i can hear each injector, but still going pretty good i can see what your saying about the o-rings thanks for the info.

 

I thought you said you did. Sorry about that. Look through that diagnostic chart good. It should help.

 

OP - Did you resolve this problem? What did it end up being?

-Joseph