I have an '82 300D turbo that has run quite nicely (for the year I've owned it). A bit (or more) of Grayish smoke here and there, but nothing too embarrassing or out of the ordinary.. until yesterday.

Got in the car and went for a 200 mile trip. Right away, and ALL day, the car belched white smoke on starts from a light, turning corners; while accelerating @ low RPM. This is not the kind of smoke that a Diesel owner sees when looking hard in the rear view at night, this is the kind that provokes serious response (like the finger) from other drivers. Damn.

I have read a lot about various kinds of smoke on this board. I've seen mention of: Blow Head Gasket, Glow Plugs, Vacuum diaphragm failure, injection issues..

My question is, could this be bad fuel? I had just (on the previous drive) filled up at a Sunoco and the car and run fine before that, no problems. Also had a tune up and timing adjustment about 3 moths ago...

Last clues: I did run out of fuel about 5 weeks ago and was told to get a new primer pump Haven’t done that yet, but the car, had been running fine since then, no issues.

Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated.

Joe A
300D Turbo 155K