Man, I seem to have a lot of questions about diesel smoke lately. Though really - it is good to know that the smoke I do see (greyish, at high rpm or occasionally when upshifting) is within the realm of normalcy. I'll let you guys know how things change (or fail to) once I change out my air filter which should be soon.
So, I have also noticed (but forgotten to mention) something else interesting. I drive to pick my wife up from work in the evenings, and in the course of doing stop, stop (and shut off) the car in front of her office. I probably sit for about a minute, and turn the car back on. When I flip the headlights on a few seconds later I can see smoke (or at least, greyish vapours) wafting through my headlight beams. If I just sit and do nothing, this seems to dissipate after about 10, 15 seconds, and I cannot seem to see it come back. I wonder if I have an exhaust leak someplace... I can certainly detect a faint exhaust-like smell.
I had occasion this evening to see that happen, then drive and park for about an hour. When I came back, I started the car and looked for the same symptoms, and.... nothing. Totally fine startup, no smoke wafting through my headlight beams at all.
Any ideas? I'm happy to investigate and investigate further...
Thanks!