My '97 lays down a blanket of smoke under acceleration in gears 3 to 5 any RPM up to 3K. The EGT goes up pretty fast during this. At constant throttle no smoke-steady EGT. The thing is I never really noticed it before but I rarely put my foot into it. I had to put my foot into it yesterday when some guy got on my bumper and would not let go-- I put my foot down in 4th and he was covered in black smoke. Then I started trying it in all the gears-- same thing except for my 1 and 2 are so short I did not see any.

With nothing to lose- I clicked by the star wheel and even moved the AFC from full forward and as expected it had no affect. Pulled all the boots and saw no rips. Ran without an air filter just to check even though it and the fuel filter has only 5 K on them. Like the sound of the turbo spooling up but no change to the heavy smoke. As far as I know it has the stock plate in it. Injectors also rebuilt 6K ago.

How do you check the pop off valve- I never put in a boost gauge so I am blind on that score but it scoots pretty fast so I not lacking boost which I would think prevent the smoke.

Perhaps this is all normal- I never put my foot into it that much and when hauling I never noticed the smoke much even hauling 10K pounds up the mountains.

Any other things I should check if this is not normal.

 

OK- I assume from the lack of replies that either this is such old news that I should know this is a boost leak in my system--- or that laying down smoke under acceleration is normal and no one feels it is worth confirming.

Anyone ???

 

I'm having the same issue...my starwheel was all the way forward, I moved it all the way back. Not as much smoke on moderate acceleration, but still smokin. This after I had it dyno tuned by a well respected shop. I didn't notice it until past month or so, but I don't think I was looking.
Clean air filter and fuel filter, I do have a #11plate but not really other power mods. Going to pull the fuel plate back a little, I have to pass smog.
Then I'm going in for some mods and a power tune, so I"ll see what it looks like after that.
I know some people love the smokin, but mine's too much and I suspect it is just fuel flying out my back end, if you know what I mean...

 

It sounds like you need to install a boost gauge.
You can rig one up and stick it under your wiper blade if you don't want a permanent one for very cheap.
Just buy a 60 lb gauge from the hardware store for under $10 and connect it up with hose and fittings from the auto parts.
I used the gauge off an oxy/acetylene regulator in a pinch once.

Connect to the port below.

 

Could timing be doing this? That truck should have a 215 pump, no? Too much timing maybe, by following the wrong chart?

 

Barn- I know what you mean- I never noticed it before but then again I hardly ever put my foot down since I use the truck very lightly unloaded or I am hauling a big load. Since there is no stop and go traffic up here my last tank hand calc came to 24 mpg--never go over 55 and press lightly on the pedal.

Bill- I going to buy a simple mechanical boost gauge online since the local parts place up here in the mountains do not stock them- the one on my CTS pyro only goes to 15 psi so I never hooked it up


Gorms-- yup it is a 215 pump that has been set at 15 by the last mechanic that owned it.

If heavy smoke with a heavy pedal is not normal and I have no cut boots then I must have a inter cooler leak or my turbo is weak-- but it does go like a demon with the pedal down and blowing smoke.

 

Ok- ordered a boost gauge from Geno's along with a couple of intake horn gaskets . Will go to the plumbing supply tomorrow and pick up a rubber coupling and a PVC cap to install a tire valve and be prepared to do some leak down testing if my boost is low. I will let you know what I find.

 

I have gauges...i don't get a lot of boost...just the normal stuff, rarely get up to 20-21
i do have the 215 pump
i have no idea of the timing, I'm actually getting timing, clutch, 3gsk and #10 end of the month...
I redid all my intercooler hoses etc when I did the kdp and have checked them...
I just figure my boost is normal for a truck like mine thats not hopped up yet...my power does leave me wanting more.
I do get terrible terrible fuel mileage...9-13mpg...not sure if my new 4" exhaust will change that at all.
I don't think my foot is that heavy but???
anyways, hope to see big changes after my next trip to the mechanic.
it was after my last trip where they "dyno'd" that I started to notice the smoking...

 

Question re: the smoking (as in I need to pass smog)

I'm planning new injectors--smx 5x12's (aka stage II, 90hp, 370's?)

1) are those the right thing for my towing setup? I don't want to have to babysit my egt gauge unless I"m towing up a big hill...I can still change my order back to 5x10s...smx reccomended the stage 2
I just hope they are not too aggressive

2) should I install them BEFORE the smog or AFTER?

3) I am planning to smog before my other upgrades...the injectors should be in before they do the clutch, timing etc, right?

 

Barn-

Do you know if you truck smoked heavy on the dyno? Have you talked to you mechanic about the smoke?

 

Who is SMX?

I'd go with the larger injectors. You can always detune the pump a bit. Install them after the smog, incase they are too smoky off the start and you need to do some tuning to cut the smoke. No point in doing the injectors before or after the any of the other mods. I'd do the clutch first, so you can feel the kick when you go WOT first time with the the new injectors. Nothing worse than thinking you're gonna go for a ride and then your clutch slips.

 

MarkT and BarnGal, one thing you might check for is some kind of problem with the wastegate. If that's stuck open, or if it opens too early it'll smoke pretty good.

 

Yes, it did smoke on the dyno. When I picked it up they said
"it might be too much smoke, you might have to dial it back a little"

when I went to get it smogged, the guy did a preliminary look for me and said waay to much smoke. I dropped by the shop, and the owner said (re: starwheel)
"oh, its all the way forward" and dialed it back a LITTLE

then I went to the place they recommended for smog. Guy took one look at my smoke and said "no way"
So I went home and dialed starwheel completely to the back--from almost all the forward to all the way back.
I only drove down the road very briefly, and didn't seem like much smoke on acceleration in gears 3-5, but still smokin when you jump on it from idle. Which is what they do for the smog test.

The shop I'm going to has the best reputation in town, never heard a bad word about 'em. But I'm not happy about this.
If I had more time I'd go right back, but more likely I'll check the fuel plate and move it back a ways.
Then when I go in later this month, I'll make sure to ask them to get it right.

 

Tate,
oops, I meant SDX-Southern Diesel Extreme injectors (grin)

 

Tate, I'm planning to get the clutch, 3gsk, change the fuel plate to #10 and get the timing at the same time (they'll dyno it too)
I wanted to install the injectors myself it will actually save me a couple hundred dollars, plus I'd prefer the sdx rather than the bd

but I'm thinking i want the new injectors in BEFORE the timing, right?

and egts are my biggest concern about the bigger injectors, more than smoke although smoke does matter...i might not be the only one driving the truck and nobody else is gonna be careful with those egts like i am...