Hi,

I replaced my two fuel filters today. Filled the main screw on filter with ATF (type A, 75c variety from the local dollar general). After I started it, I got a faint whitish smoke out of the tailpipe. Is this normal? I am also trying to diagnose a possible headgasket problem, and this was my second known sighting of white smoke (the other time it was very cold, though).

For those who use the clear pre-filter, is it ever actually filled with fuel? I didnt use the hand pump becasue it gushes fuel, and since I filled the main with ATF, I figured it wouldnt be a problem. But there is air in the pre-filter, and In not sure if it ought to be so or not (The other filters Ive had in there were dealer installs and opaque).

Is it normal to see particulates in diesel fuel? I had never done a filter change for the fuel before, and when I removed the screw on filter, I noticed a few odd shaped small black particulates floating around on top. After running the car for a while, I noticed a few of the same inside the prefilter.

Since when is diesel fuel died blue? I thought it was a light yellow-amber color, however, in the interest of saving a few cents, I poured the fuel from the old filter into a clean glass jar to replace in the tank. The fuel was very dark in color, and when I held it up to the light, it seriously was a bluish color (very dark too). I hope this isnt a sign of metal wear in my pump, or means that I just poured everything the old filter had filtered out for the last 12k miles back into the fuel pump...

My car shakes when warm, but only when in neutral, at idle only. If I slightly rev it, to say 1000, it becomes perfectly smooth. Is this a good indication that I need to adjust the bolt on the IP?

Can someone explain the blowby test done by removing the oil filler cap? Every time in any car, new or old that I have opened up the cap, an oil vapor, or some sort of vapor comes out as a whitish smoke. I did it today just for kicks, and a lot of smoke came out. Is this something to worry about, or is this common?

Thanks for the help on any of these questions.

JMH

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Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
2008 ML320 CDI (199k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)