My wife was following me today , me in the 240D ,4 speed manual shift, and she noticed a puff of smoke when I shiffed gears. Is this normal for a 1982 with 186,000 miles and what does at mean? The car is in excellent condition and runs like new.Thanks for any ideas. BIG RON

Hi Ron.

What was the color of the smoke?
Was it alot?

A little black smoke is normal
Lots of black smoke means(if memory serves) to much fuel.

Blue smoke means oil and can have a few causes.
Piston rings letting oil pass,valve stems leak,head
gasket leak and some more.

White smoke means water and usually is due to
a head gasket leak.

Louis.

When shifting gears, running the car through it's paces, at varying rpm ranges, you are likely to toss some unburnt fuel out the back. That's my take on this.

Btw, what does your wife say when sitting next to you as you run the car at optimum rpm performance level.... say, 45mph in 3rd gear?

Mine always accuses me of driving like a cowboy. Its like she thinks all machines should not sound or behave like machines.

She used to panic over healthy characteristics of the diesel engine. Then her car was at the shop, so she was stuck with driving my 240D - after that she calmed down a bit.

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Last edited by 300SDog; 08-24-2003 at 11:31 PM.

My experience with unburnt fuel was more of a whitish smoke with a strong diesel odor.

If it smells sweet, it might be coolant.

If it smells burnt, it might be oil.

If it smells like raw diesel, it probably is.