What I know about diesel engine operation is that the 84 300 TD Wagon ("The Panzer") we used to have was a great car. So, I decided to get an old, tired model and learn my way into a healthy car. So far, I've gotten the old and tired part right. I did understand that diesel is not as volatile as gasoline and that the resulting explosion is more powerful than takes place in a gas engine. I did not realize that once the chamber was "hot" that no heat was required from the glow plug. More questions arise... 1.) the white smoke at start-up and during warm up is probably fuel not burned because of dead/inefficient plug(s), but where do I look to cure smoke after warm up? 2.) What are the best courses for addressing lack of power?
I believe, based on what I'm reading on this board, that a valve adjustment is a logical next step after the GP's. The reason for changing out all 5 plugs is that the car is a 79 with mileage unknown and no service records. I will do the resistance check to make sure that the system is functioning properly. How am I doing?

I will say that new glow plugs, or those that even work make a difference.
One note. Those plugs WERE the originals that came with the car...they had the little three pointed star on them. They were NOT Bosch, however. They were Beru. Just wanted to point that out.

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R Talley
88 BMW E32 735i (make it go away)
95 Volvo 960 "Inga" (valve problems)
95 Nissan Maxima (the indestructible)
89 Ford Ranger XLT (ugliest truck in the South)

You should do the valve adjust job first. Do a search for the instructions.

Next do a dry and wet compression test. The dry test is where you do nothing but test the compression "as is". This will give you an overall indication of the operating compression of the engine. The wet test is where you pour heavy oil into the cylinder and then do a compression test on that cylinder. If the rings are bad, you will get a higher wet reading than the dry test. If the valves are bad, the dry and wet compression readings will be about the same. It probably easier to do the test by removing the injectors than the GP. You need a deep 1 1/16 or 27mm socket to remove the injectors. You will need a compression gage that has a 300 pound scale.

Do the above and replace the bad GP and then see how it runs and let us know.

Diesel engines only compress air where as gasoline engines compress fuel mixed with air. The Diesel fuel is injected directly into the pre combustion chamber comparable to the timing of the spark in a gasoline engine. When the Diesel fuel starts burning, it is forced by its expansion thru the nozzles of the pre chamber into the combustion chamber above the piston where if further burns and pushes the piston down thus converting heat energy into mechanical energy.

P E H

How is the Injector timing determined? Cams?

The injection pump (IP) is driven by the timing chain. The timing is set by rotating the IP slightly: similar to rotating a distributor on a gasoline engine to set timing. A drip tube is used to set the timing. Do a search for this procedure. Timing rarely changes on a Diesel. You also have to check the cam timing for wear in the timing chain.

P E H