Evaluate My Smoke

RBBailey

NAS-ROW Addict
Callsign: KF7KFZ
The timing is not that sensitive... What most people screw up is they get the cam a tooth off.

Yeah. I had the shop do the timing for that reason, before I put the engine in. I fooled with the pump timing, then reset it with the dial. And as stated above, I’m pretty sure I’m >1.54 due to the slightest movement not landing directly on 1.54.
 

MountainD

Technical Excellence Contributor
Now I back out all four of the glow plugs and then use a mini breaker bar on a 6pt socket. Much better

I just used a full length breaker bar--the added length really helped with the accuracy. I nailed the accuracy at the dial gauge, no sweat. When I turned it around 2 rev (the crank) and it landed at 1.75, I looked underneath and the slot was dead center. I left it for now. I need to return Mike's pump and I know he has several 200's. I am worried I may be too far advanced, but it runs pretty damn well--so I really just want an experienced ear to hear it. I am an admitted neophyte on 200's but learning quickly. Slowly going through everything on the engine so I know exactly how/why everything works in case I need to diagnose in the field. I have the puff on start up. I have some blue smoke at idle. But once warm, all that goes away.
 

Napalm00

Technical Excellence Contributor
Symptoms of too far advanced are skybhigh Egts , clackly engine . If it's running fine don't sweat it
 

terryjm1

Well-known member
FWIW, I have a rebuilt 300TDI with less than 3000 miles. It lives between 8000 and 9000 feet. No smoke like that there or at all other elevations down to sea level. Rebuilt injection pump installed. I did not use a dial gauge. Cold starts only produce a puff of black exhaust. I’m relatively new to diesels in general so I don’t know what is normal.

Initially I had an old turbo I tried to use after the rebuild. I got a lot of smoke (blue and white) until I installed the new turbo. The smoke lessened after warm up. I’m not saying the turbo has anything to do with your smoke. Just sharing my newbie experience.
 
Last edited:

RBBailey

NAS-ROW Addict
Callsign: KF7KFZ
Interesting. I was in the mountains at 4-6k over the weekend, and even once fully warmed, I get the smoke when in gear, on the gas, coming down hill (low range). I suspect that a worn, even if good condition, engine will smoke, but a new one won't? Slight compression values make the difference?

Well, I was moderately loaded down for the trip, and I stayed between 50 and 60 mph on the passes. In fact, the vehicles ahead of me often had more to do with weather I needed to shift down to 4th or could stay at 55-60. Only once did I need to shift down to stop the EGTs from going past 1250. That said, a friend of mine with a heavier 110 300Tdi did the same thing, and still gets 24 mpg, which I cannot come close to.
 

terryjm1

Well-known member
Only time I get smoke is when I am excessively hard on the accelerator or it gets bogged down by being in too low of a gear. However, it is kind of helpful for tailgaters... some just don’t understand I just cant go any faster uphill. So, I try and they get smoked. It works like a charm in reducing tailgating.

I haven’t had enough time to really conclusively pin down MPG, but my early estimate is 20 to 22 in all around driving.

As a side note, my rebuild now includes a rebuilt IP, new injectors, and a new turbo. The injectors were sourced from Robert Davis with his strong warning about “trash” getting in the injectors. Since I didn’t want any injector problems, I also replaced the steel lines between the IP and injectors. Previous owner ran veggie oil and it sat for too long before I got it running. The turbo was just plain bad due to wear. I didn’t expect to need an IP and injectors.

All that being said about smoke, I will admit, I suppose it is possible I have a little smoke but it is not something I can see in the rear view mirror or side mirrors. My wife has driven behind me a good number of times and she can’t recall smoke except when I have been exceptionally hard on the accelerator, like from a dead stop on a hill. She doesn’t tail gate... ;-)
 
Last edited:
Top