Cold weather problems

[lvfast1]

The problem i am having is with my 1987 300d rough running and smoking on cold startups, i have changed all 6 glow plugs and verified there operation the car starts snappy almost the instant the starter turns over.. it just bucks and shakes and smokes white/blue smoke for about one minute...i dont think it is a compression issue due to it will start even if you for get to wait to glow it will just run rougher longer than a minute...I suspect it could be caused by severely worn nozzles possible original for all i know..i pulled all 6 injectors and cleaned and reassembled.. three of the six had seized pintles that i was able to lube and exercise in diesel till the moved freely re-installed with new shields and the car runs better warm..very smooth hot idle with same nailing it has had since i bought it...but no improvement on cold startups...i guess my real question after my ramblings is.. do you think new nozzles and balanced injectors will resolve the cold start ups issues as well as the nailing..or is there something else i should look at first..
Oh just to add it started a little rough in the summer also just it only lasted 30 secs or so and smoked less..and the smoke smells like raw diesel

Thanks in advance

Arlo

[poptest]

Check engine compression.

Have your injectors checked by any nearby Bosch diesel service.

[Bio300TDTdriver]

Since you've already cleaned the injectors new ones might help some. If it has a smooth warm idle I wouldn't try new injectors first. I would try adding afterglow. I cleared up the same issue in my car.

There are several threads on here regarding afterglow. Search for violet wire, for the poor man's afterglow. That's what I have.

[Brian Carlton]

Please try this procedure when the engine is cold:

1) Turn key to #2 position (glow plugs activated)

2) Wait 30 seconds (pay no attention to glow light).

3) Start engine.

Report back on results of procedural change.

[barry123400]

Brian Carlton has continuiously mentioned these 603 type engines tend to benifit from extended glow plug cycle help. I tend to believe he is right. It might be time well spent to change the glow system to some sort of afterglow system.

It seems to me that once the glow plugs drop out not enough residual heat is there. Certainly not enough to enable reasonable combustion. Some if not all cylinders are struggling to develop enough heat for adaquate combustion for the first minute perhaps. This seems to impact the 603 more than others as the poor initial running in the cold comes up so often with these engines.

Brian are you aware of anyone adding extended glow modifications to this engine? I do not keep up well enough in this area to know.

There might be many ways to enable this starting with an automatic duration timer across the relay points for example. Thats if the newer afterglow glow relay and plugs were too costly.

Yet recovery out of a newer salvage car with this system should do it pretty cheaply. I would try this last route if practical in your area. There are also ways to duplicate the use of an afterglow type setup before chasing parts. With a little imagination that is. Just to verify if it has major benifits or not. I suspect in your case it is worth constructing a test.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by barry123400

Brian are you aware of anyone adding extended glow modifications to this engine? I do not keep up well enough in this area to know.

It's certainly possible to add afterglow and Dave has a complete set of parts to do just that. But, my experience with two of them shows that extended glow time will suffice unless you're objecting to the slight roughness upon initial start. No significant smoke.........just a few light kicks for the first 30 seconds.

[lvfast1]

Thanks for the replies, Unfotunately i have tried waiting longer than light, even till i hear the glow relay disconnect and interior lights brighten....i have even tried multiple complete glow cycles still rough bucking and blue/white smoke cloud from exhaust, so im kinda stumped especially due to i live in las vegas and the lows are only 32 degrees far warmer than east coast folk...im new to diesels but from threads ive read on here about physic of cold starting is it possible injectors are not spraying right, flooding the cylinders when cold or pintles sticking open on startup enough to cool the cylinder and prevent good combustion??i know its far fetched just thinking outloud....keep your thoughts coming i would like to get this resolved....
By the way when i changed the glow plugs only one was bad but i went ahead and replaced all six..

Arlo

[barry123400]

From your updated description if you can do it yourself a compression check may be a good ideal. Plus a systematic tune up. You want the engine timing correct and the amount of existing chain stretch known. That way you can even correct the camshaft if needed. Thats if chain stretch is reasonable as well. This 603 type engine strikes me as being a little more demanding than the earlier engines when it comes to settings.

Yes sending the injectors out for a test is usually a good ideal with a fairly new aquisition. Especially if you have no knowledge if they have ever been checked and there are problems. It is part of the tuneup of an aquisition with so many unknown variables possible. For example your complaint could easily be the result of a number of sub standard conditions contributing a little dysfunction each.

Doing all these things yourself is a good way to bond with your car. The money saved will find a home somewhere usually. I was just thinking it might be prudent to check for the presence of air getting into the system as well.

I do not know how you check for this on a 603 type engine. Also the vast majority of various situations faced are recorded here and there in the extensive archives.

It truly is a goldmine of peoples past experiences and does enable one to work on their own cars much easier thanks to all the generous contributors over the years.