hilux 2.8 (3L diesel) wouldnt start cold and is smokey

[ClintzLux]

ok guys heres the story i stayed overnight in warbuton on the weekend and when i went to start up in the morning i had to drain my battery then get a jumpstart to get going. it was very cold (5Deg) and the same thing happenend last winter on some very cold mornings.
i know its not my battery so i came home and replaced my glow plugs which was relativly easy and cheap to do ($80)

does this sound like the right solution???????



Then secondly ive owned it for about 18months now and the whole time its been very smokey and ok i know (duh its a diesel) but this seems more excessive than other diesels that i see on the road even that would have the same engine as mine. BY THE WAY IT DOESNT BURN OIL and its non turbo.
any way the final straw is after noticing the black haze constanly in the rear vision mirror and copping shit from mates about the lux with the smoke screen and then test driving a forerunner for a mate the other day that had the same engine and it blew no smoke and felt like it pulled better.

so its got a 2.5 inch exhaust
the fuel economy is about 12l/100km
it breaths easy through a snorkel


what do you think???????

[Luxo]

Sounds like the glow plugs was a good place to start.

As for the black smoke it is obviously running too rich or the pump timing is out. I suggest getting it serviced/tuned by a reputable diesel mechanic

It could also be your injectors, which could give both bad starting from cold and black smoke when driving...

[ClintzLux]

ok mate thanks for that so ill lookinto getting it tuned and or new injectors.


any1 no a good diesel mechanic on the north side of melbourne

[plowy]

start with a full service and also get the tappets adjusted before you do anything major
if it still is smokey then advance to the fuel pump / injectors

[Yumsylux]

good start with your glow plugs. Injectors would be a good idea too BUT before you start spending that kind of money have it compression tested because a diesel with good compression and fuel delivery wouldn't really need to worry about using the glow plugs. How old is your motor and does it make any rattles? I had one that went kaput without burning oil and all that kind of stuff. Your motor could be a bit tired.

[Sic Lux]

Yeah all the above. What amount of K's are on it

[Deleted User]

Sounds like the glow plugs was a good place to start.

( Not being a smart arse ) But I dont understand why new Glow Plugs would make a difference ???

I live in a cold, wet area and have the same problem. I have had the injectors done, timing done, pump adjusted a few times, - all that does is make me lose power .

I have new glow plugs sitting in my shed. How can that make a difference ?


.

[trains]

Has the fuel pump been adjusted for max throttle, or over fueling??

check these first, as most people tweak them to get some more performance.
After that, get the injectors looked at.
Re your glow plugs, well its like this.

Diesels rely on compressing alot of air into a very small area, thus creating heat, and the heat is what ignites the diesel that is injected into the cyld.
When cold, the first few cranks dont create enough heat to ignite the fuel, so with glow plugs, they heat up, and when the fuel hits them, it ignites them.
Therefor the engine starts.
Once the engine has run for a short while, enough heat is created to continue the cycly without them.
Ive had some hit and miss with glow plug life, some have lasted ages, others failed within weeks.
Tell tale of not enough heat in the combutsion chamber upon start up is white smoke, black is usually over fueling, blue as we all know is oil.

Upon start up, if it puffs white smoke, its glowies, if its still clouds of black, look at filters, fuel and air, and fuel condition.

I have had really bad black smoke when useing CALTEX diesel , its terrible,

switch to BP, and it smooths out, and the black smoke is noticably reduced to the point of being hard to see.

Glow plugs can be ok, but not working, are they getting power from the relay??
if there fine, then all go, it could be further upstream from them.
when you got to prewarm the plugs, can you hear the relay cut in??

Let us know how you get on.

check the easy stuff first, then take it to the mechs and pay for it.

Trains

[Luxo]

Sounds like the glow plugs was a good place to start.

( Not being a smart arse ) But I dont understand why new Glow Plugs would make a difference ???

I live in a cold, wet area and have the same problem. I have had the injectors done, timing done, pump adjusted a few times, - all that does is make me lose power .

I have new glow plugs sitting in my shed. How can that make a difference ?


.

Thats cool man, Glow plugs will only make a difference if it is hard to start when the engine is cold. As said in the above post, they are used to heat the fuel at startup, after that the compression will do this and keep the engine running. This is the reason you are supposed to wait until the glow light goes out before starting a cold diesel engine. Once its warm, just hit the key

[jeep97tj]

Does the engine sound rattley?? a bit low on power?? if so while the engine is running crack one injector line and listen to see if the rattle goes away. If it does u will more that likely have a bad injector. Re tighten the line and do the same to the other injectors one at a time. A old or dirty injector will not spray the fine mist of diesel reguired for a clean burn inturn giving u black smoke and a rattle.
My 5L diesel hilux blows no smoke at all, even very very little when flat to the boards.

[ClintzLux]

thanks heaps for all the tips

to start with its clocked 243 000ks
and also ive owned it for about 35000 of them and the bloke before me about 10000k so i know for about 45000k the injectors havent been touched and it was this smokey when he got it.

ive spoken to someone who suggestes geoff at rankin diesel out bayswater way can help me out.

also because its an imported ssr and when i got it it had a 2.5 inch exhaust from extractors back (maybe a bit too big) its possible that a previos owner has had a turbo on it and oneday it blew a seal so they just put the standared manifold back on but never turned the pump down. thus pumping too much fuel. (this is my exhaust mechanics theory??)


also theres no noticeable rattles.

thanks heaps for your ideas.

so does any1 know a good diesel mechanic out my way? (nth subs melb)

[brentz]

smoke wat r u tlkin bout clint?
ive never seen ne only paris has but hey im alwayz in the passenger seat wen i hear him givin u crap bout it!!
hope ya get it all sorted out its a great car!!
cya tonite

by the way the exaust is fine cause i no wen ure comin lol

[jeep97tj]

You could put a diesel/lpg system on it, that will clear up your black smoke.