White Exhaust Smoke on warm up

DCS · Post by **DCS** » Fri Jul 19, 2019 3:06 pm

I was wondering if anyone can help me out with my delica. 92 4D56 l300 diesel. Starts up great with no problems. No smoke until after about 5 min of engine running at idle then there is a considerable amount of white smoke out the exhaust, but not anything crazy that would fill the whole block and the next block down. No extra sounds besides a little squeaking from a belt. No fluids leaking from anywhere visible. Rad fluid is full and expansion tank. no toothpaste under the oil filler cap. doesnt seem to be any odd smell from the exhaust. no sweet smell of burning rad fluid. I changed the oil recently as well and didnt find any mixture in the waste oil. I can only assume head gasket but i would call myself amateur at best. The truck has been sitting for a year and i finally got it back on the road and drove it around for about a month until the white smoke.

I am not sure what to check next. any advice would be extremely helpful. Thanks for your time.

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Sat Jul 20, 2019 4:20 pm

Does the white smoke eventually go away as the engine gets hotter?

Apologies for the next question, it's going to sound patronising: You're sure it's smoke and not steam? Smoke drifts away and becomes a foggy haze as it disperses, steam just vanishes and leaves the air clear.

If it's smoke, I'd have the injectors cleaned and inspected. One of them might be sticky when hot. White smoke is diesel that hasn't burned completely. The usual causes are
-Cold engine (it's normal to see puffs of white immediately after startup, goes away after 30 seconds or so)
-Lack of compression (head gasket or piston failure, would usually cause white smoke at all times, not just 5 minutes after startup)
-Faulty injector(s) (Poor spray pattern, sticky injector, opening late/early. Can show up only when the injector is at a certain temperature, which would explain the 5 minute delay)

DCS · Post by **DCS** » Sat Jul 20, 2019 9:01 pm

Is it safe to drive around with the 'injector' problem?

Does there happen to be a step by step for cleaning the injectors?

I have not yet tried to get it too hot as im worried to do any damage to the engine if it is a gasket. Would you suggest i drive it around a little? i would actually love to take a little ride (or a long ride) around in the delica if its safe enough.

Ive attached a link to a video. i hope this helps to diagnose the problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEOjEjN ... e=youtu.be

Thanks GB really appreciate the time.

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Sun Jul 21, 2019 4:19 pm

Kind of hard to tell, but from the way it hangs around it looks like white smoke to me. At 7pm it was, what, 30C/85F? Steam wouldn't hang around like that at those temperatures. Unless it's *really* steaming, in which case driving it a bit isn't going to do any more damage to a cracked head/blown gasket, and you'd probably notice the lost coolant.

I'd take it for a drive and let it get nice and warmed up and see what happens. Just keep an eye on the temperature gauge and listen for gurgling from the expansion tank, and don't go too far from home. When you get back from driving check the oil cap for mayonnaise, and, once it's cooled down overnight, the expansion tank and radiator for coolant loss.

Injectors have to be cleaned and tested at a diesel shop- they're surprisingly delicate, and calibrating them so they open at the right time and flow the correct amount requires test equipment.

DCS · Post by **DCS** » Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:40 pm

Finally took the l300 for a drive. it was a really nice day for it too. i think it might have a bad ending though.

1pm - started her up. went to get gas and oil.
2pm - Took a 30km drive.
3pm - checked oil cap. no toothpaste. no drop in coolant in expansion tank. smoke seemed to be consistent.
4pm - went for the same 30km drive
6pm - checked oil cap. no toothpaste. checked expansion tank. no drop. smoke seemed to let down a little.
630 - checked radiator. seemed to be a drop.
645 - went to take a look underneath and discovered it is leaking coolant. not heavily but small leaking drips. seems to be coming from just above the oil filter.

i attached a video for some visuals and sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5EKNURbm4M

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Fri Aug 02, 2019 5:21 pm

That does look like steam to me. Lots of steam.

Coolant leaks showing up by the alternator are usually from the water pump, either the main seal (new pump needed) or the O-ring on the back of the pump which seals the heater bypass pipe. Neither fault would cause coolant to be in the exhaust though.

It's possible for the head gasket to fail and let water into the cylinders without getting into the oil. A cracked head can also do the same thing. I suspect you're going to end up taking the head off.