Hey all again,
OK i did whatever told me to do and with no luck. My engine still starts up hard and after i drive it a bit and then turn it off (ut takes a while to turn off) but when I turn it back on it acts like it not getting enough fuel to do. I was thinking maybe my turbo is just not kicking it or something. Also when I start it you should see the white smoke coming out of it. And the engine idles hard. Some say its because its cold but that cant be it. Its been like 80s around here. I wanna know what I should check to get the white smoke to leave me alone. Its bad enough the disel smells but no its the smell is even worst. Im just concered because I drive with a 8month daughter in my car and I dont want her to get sick. So anyone out there who might know where the white smoke is coming from or why its happening please let me know.
Its 1985 300TD

Is this a turbo diesel model? Like a early '80s 300D or 300SD or 300TD?

Is so, a vucuum leak or weak vacuum pump will cause it to be slow to shut off.

White smoke can be caused by low compression, bad glow plugs, or air in the fuel system. Bad glow plugs would be my first guess, as they will cause hard starting until the car is up to operating temp. If it is a 1985 or older diesel, lack of regular valve adjustments can cause hard starting and low compression also.

After owned my car for the last 5yrs Im now trying to learn more things about how to fit it.(had someone who would do it for me) However Im not the brightest when it comes to cars or the terms used when talking about them, so I dont mean to sound dumb but what is valve adjustments ? Where are the valves and which ones are you talking about.

Not a dumb question at all.

Most all Mercedes diesels made prior to 1986(like a 300D/300SD/300TD/240D ect) need to have the valves in the cylinder head adjusted every fifteen thousand miles. This is done by removing the valve cover and using a special wrench to either increase or decrease the clearance between moving parts inside the valve cover. There are two valves per cylinder, a intake valve and a exhause valve. One lets the fuel in and the other lets the fuel out after it has been burned. So on a 300D there would be a total of ten valves to adjust. When this is not done the clearance will sometimes get smaller and cause the engine to lose compression. This service is best left to a shop. They only need a valve cover gasket parts wise, and labor should be around a couple of hours. It MUST be done be someone who has experience with these cars. Without seeing the car, it is hard to diagnose.

I suspect that you may have a bad vacuum pump, when they go bad engine oil can be burned by the engine creating white smoke and the low vacuum will cause the car to be hard to shut off. Because it shuts off with vacuum supplied by the pump.

The vacuum pump can usually be rebuilt instead of being replaced, the diaphram(sp) inside ruptures and allows engine oil to enter the vacuum pump and be burned in the engine. A bad vacuum pump will cause the door locks to work slowly and the brake pedal to need increased effort to stop the car. A vacuum test guage can be connected to the car to see if a sufficient level of vacuum is being produced.

You could have just a simple vacuum leak and the pump could be good, causing the slow shut off, and the valve adjustment could be causing the white smoke. If the car started to smoke all of a sudden I would suspect the vacuum pump more strongly.

Where is this white smoke with a bad odour. If predomently inside the car and visible then your heater core has sprung a leak for example. Really bad odour and should be coming out the vents if that were the case. You might have two separate issues for example. I thought about your complaint and if smelll and smoke was coming out your tailpipe I do not think you would smell it inside while driving. Can you refine your description a little? An air leak in your fuel system could cause the difficulties as well. But why would you be smelling it inside the car? Try to find a good mechanic with quite a bit of experience on your model as people have suggested. Quite a few things could cause your problem. Most are fairly inexpensive. Why not try looking at the approved mechanics and service shops thread to see if anyone is in your area?

Also, and exhaust leak under the hood will cause quite a bit of smell inside the car if the heat/AC is running. Mine would make my eyes water when I first got it, turned out to be a broken flex pipe.