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Timing off = white smoke?

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Old Jul 30, 2011 | 12:20 AM
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Timing off = white smoke?

Ok, so I got some jy injectors and a IP that are in considerably better shape than my originals. I timed it by ear, it has a little rattle now when its cold. Sounds really good and truck runs great and getting even better fuel mileage than before. Except now under hard acceleration the smoke is a greyish white. I know for certain this isnt a head gasket or fuel problem. Ive narrowed it down to two suspicions, air intrusion or timing off. Air protrusion ive been told can cause grey smoke, and also now sometimes after sitting it will start, run for about 5 seconds and die. Crank it for about 10 seconds and it fires up runs rough for a seconds and fine. As for timing, i have no first hand experiences troubleshooting, so im here. All i know is the truck runs great, but the smoke should be black, i dont know if im too far advanced, or retarded. If any of you wise gents browsing the forums could shed some light on the subject i would appreciate it.
 
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Old Jul 30, 2011 | 12:24 AM
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sounds like air intrusion to me.... if its starting running a few then dying then cranking (rebuilding fuel pressure when cranking) and running fine.... definantly air intrusion if the timing was off i don't think it would run smoothly or get good mileage of course it may get even better if you have it professionally timed.... or you could have gotten lucky and hit it right on the dot and be perfect who knows lol

and if you got the timing right the smoke could look grey through the light under acceleration cause your not seeing it up close at least you shouldn't be if your in the drivers seat.... you don't want a cloud of black (its just unburnt fuel) you want a light haze at best which sounds like thats what you got i could be wrong there though
 
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Old Jul 30, 2011 | 02:02 AM
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Originally Posted by 1994F2507.3L
and if you got the timing right the smoke could look grey through the light under acceleration cause your not seeing it up close at least you shouldn't be if your in the drivers seat.... you don't want a cloud of black (its just unburnt fuel) you want a light haze at best which sounds like thats what you got i could be wrong there though
Well its a pretty thick haze, especially if you wind it up, to be honest it looks more like a mesquito fogger than a diesel. And with the stacks, seeing the smoke from the drivers seat requires only a small mirror adjustment. As far as the amount of smoke goes, aka turning up the pump, the new one had been rebuilt by a shop so i didnt touch it.

As far as the air intrusion, i agree 100% while its been sitting. Although i dont think thats the issue while its running. Im fairly certain its the return lines as i didnt replace them when i put in the new injectors. Then again it could be from the bottom of the fuel filter that likes to leak sparatically even though ive tried nearly everything to stop it. Though it only leaks while its running.

If i get motivated i may go out and just "play" with it and see how it runs with some minor timing adjustments. I have a nagging suspicion that im too advanced although im not sure why.
 
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Old Jul 30, 2011 | 08:42 AM
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Did you replace your return lines when you did all this? If you used the old caps they may be letting air in.
 
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Old Jul 30, 2011 | 11:57 PM
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Originally Posted by 84-6.9L
Did you replace your return lines when you did all this? If you used the old caps they may be letting air in.
Originally Posted by hairyboxnoogle
. Im fairly certain its the return lines as i didnt replace them when i put in the new injectors. .
New symptom. Same thing my old IP was doing. While holding steady cruising speed at any rpm above 2k it starts running really rough and smoking while driving. As soon as you increase or decrease the throttle any amount it sounds fine and no smoke.

My aunt recently had her diesel furnace replaced with an electric unit, so ive been filling out of the tank in the basement the last few days, I wouldnt have any idea why, but im hoping thats the cause of the new symptom.

The grey smoke under load was and is still a problem, before and after the fuel change. I noticed today its alot less noticeable at say 75* than it is at 95* In case it may help, were around 2600' elevation, and air altitude is usually 3k+
 
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Old Jul 31, 2011 | 11:46 AM
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iirc white smoke may be retared timeing have u advance it any
 
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Old Jul 31, 2011 | 12:43 PM
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Ill try it out joe. I suspected timing and when i installed it i only moved it twice, both times were way too advanced.

Now its really bad, went out last night to check water on the pasture, it is pouring smoke all the time, whether it sounds like its running fine or not, even at idle before and after it warmed up. So im going to see if theres water in the filter.
 
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Old Jul 31, 2011 | 12:53 PM
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did u hook up the fast ideal the smoke may be form a cold motor
 
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Old Jul 31, 2011 | 01:57 PM
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Yes its all hooked up, and hot or cold didnt matter till this morning. I drained the fuel filter, didnt see any water. Started up and smoke smoke smoke but smooth, hit the throttle in neutral and i mean zinged to 2k rpms, amazing throttle response, yet it wouldnt rev over 2k, just sputter and smoke, looked like a grassfire. Dropped back down to idle and it sat there and surged kinda like a blower motor. Haha to be honest sounded kinda cool. Soon as the cold circuit kicked off no smoke, smooth as ever, pulled out to go get a soda and it started smoking being rough when you were just floating the throttle. On another note i pulled some more diesel out of the basement tank and didnt find anything suspicous, no water, algae or dirt.
 
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Old Jul 31, 2011 | 02:50 PM
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just sounds like you traded your horrible injectors for some bad ones.step in the right direction,but if ya can get a set of remans sometime,it would probably do her good.
 
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Old Jul 31, 2011 | 02:56 PM
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Wouldnt suprise me, but the improvement is amazing. With my old stuff i had the pump maxed out on timing before i got any rattle with the cold circuit on, not much power increase, but much smoother and alot better mileage, part that i found weird is with the new stuff it starts harder. But that may just be the timing again, i need to get motivated and go fool with it, but the last couple days havent been feeling so hot, and its very hot outside. But ill get out there soon and let you guys know what i find.
 
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Old Jul 31, 2011 | 03:20 PM
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Originally Posted by FORDF250HDXLT
just sounds like you traded your horrible injectors for some bad ones.step in the right direction,but if ya can get a set of remans sometime,it would probably do her good.
I'm gonna have to agree with this. If your IP is known to be a good rebuilt unit, I'd be looking at injectors and O-rings/return lines. After those are sorted through, look into getting the timing correct. From what your truck is doing, it is obviously not just a timing issue.
 
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Old Jul 31, 2011 | 04:08 PM
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The sputtering and surging sure sounds like air intrusion to me. . . . .
 
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Old Jul 31, 2011 | 05:30 PM
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First, the pump isnt "known" anymore than the injectors, sorry if i mispoke, they came off the same rig, i just noticed the pump had a rebuilder sticker on it, and it had the obvious signs of being rebuilt. I assume they were replaced at the same time. Im not saying that its not air intrusion, but im curious: how does it smoke MORE with even more air added via air leaking? Also, how is air getting into a pressurized system.
 
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Old Jul 31, 2011 | 05:36 PM
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It could be sucking air, i.e. a leak in the line before the pump.
 
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