If the white smoke is being caused by an Injector or Injectors would doing a "Purge" help or not?

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Sounds like a weak GP or not so perfect injectors.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

If you have 200,000 miles on the origional Injectors and they have never been checked within the last 100,000 I would say they should be pulled and checked as the Nozzles should be close to the end of their life.

However, I do not know if they are the cause of the White smoke as described in the first post of the Thread.

Some Member have done a chemical "Purge" that cleans the Injectors on the Engine but this is not a cure for worn out Nozzles on your Injectors.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Yep, its a good idea to have the injectors yanked and tested every 100k miles. Replace nozzels as needed.

Think of it as a 100k mile tune up for diesels.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Are you driving or letting the car just idle in the driveway during the afterglow period? To me the fact that it is running well during afterglow rules out injectors.

If you are just idling, IMHO the engine is still pretty cold after the afterglow quits. My suggestion is to just drive gently starting almost immediately after starting, so the engine will start to get some heat in it by the time the afterglow quits and be warmed up enough to support stable combustion.

15F is quite cold. Use your block heater also, even though the engine starts fine, it is easier on things if the engine is warmer, oil is warmer, etc.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 276K

I am sure it is not a weak GP. I recently tested them all. 3 new ones and the other 3 tested perfectly. I'm sure it is the injectors. 200k and probably never done. Thanks for all the advice. And Chris, it sputters after the after glow turns off and that's when the white smoke kicks in. Happens either idling in driveway or if I drive off very gingerly while cold. The part I don't fully understand is that if the injector nozzels are bad, why does the car run perfectly fine once it heats up or if I had the block heater in the night before?

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Mike Mass
Freehold, NJ

1999 E300 TD 178,000 miles
2007 E320 Bluetec - Sold

1998 E300 TD - R.I.P.

Probably because when it's warm, even poorly atomized fuel will burn but it has a much harder time when it's cold and especially when the GP goes out.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Either marginal compression or poor spray can cause the symptoms you describe. The only way to pinpoint which is to either remove the injectors for testing or do a compression test (or both). What is happening is the heat from the GPs is burning the fuel while they stay on so once they cycle off and they cool down the marginal cylinder is misfiring. You might be able to pinpoint it to which cylinder by cracking open the hard lines one at a time right after the GPs shut off and see if there is one hole which has a greater effect on the condition than the others...that way you will know where to start looking. You might even have bad DV seals on the IP which are causing poor injection due to air being sucked in. I have seen that cause the symptoms you are describing too.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

I still think that your injectors are ok - as you have said that it runs fine when it's warmed up and during the glow/afterglow period. My car has 276K on original injectors and it runs great. Unfortunately this is no added help to you, I know. I'm just surprised that it's not warmed up enough to start to run smooth when afterglow quits.

BTW, I just did glow plugs, (or should I say had them done) afaik they were original. Fortunately for me the shop had no difficulty extracting them. I had one go south at the beginning of the summer and just lived with it, and then in early fall another went, so starting cold started to be a smoky, noisy affair. It was quite easy to hear the cylinder with the bad plug start to fire after a few seconds, and feel it as well. When two were out it was very rough until those cylinders started firing.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D

All great advice. I know I will get to the bottom of this thanks to all the good help from everyone here. How do I do a compression test? Is that a job for the pros only with special equipment? Will keep all updated on my progress.

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Mike Mass
Freehold, NJ

1999 E300 TD 178,000 miles
2007 E320 Bluetec - Sold

1998 E300 TD - R.I.P.

I have a similar problem. My 99 E300D 160K does not like to run smooth when cold. Before the cold set in, it started and ran beautifully. Now it will only do that if I use the block heater. Yesterday, (cold out) I unplugged the heater for 4hrs. and tried to start the car. It started but would only rev up slightly above idle, ran very rough and smoked up the entire neighborhood, (well, maybe not that bad). I kept it running this way until the engine temp went up and then it smoothed out and ran normal again. I disconnected the glow plug wiring harness and put a volt meter on each of the contacts. The circuit closed each time to 12.5 volts +/- and stayed on for about 30 seconds after the glow plug light went out. This was with the engine warm from the block heater. Any suggestions on where to start with diagnosing this problem? And what it might be?

Thanks,
Mike-in-Sky

M-I-S - Sounds like a GP issue. Go to dieselgiant and follow the testing procedure for the W123. Same principals; slightly different looking parts.

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Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)