I live at 3200' in central Arizona. Pretty hot this summer. 105 daytime, 70 at night. My new to me Ram250 runs excellent all the time there. But now, I'm staying up in Flagstaff, at 7100' where its cool (50's) at night. In the morning when I start my truck up here it runs real rough, burbles and pumps out gray smoke. I'm taking off quick so as not to pollute the neighbor's Wheaties. Then once I'm moving for a bit and it warms a little, its back to the normal run-like-a-top mode. Whassup with that? Its not cold, its just cool. What's it going to do when the weather's in the teens?
Combination of altitude and coolness upsetting its tender demeanor????
Your thoughts Gents? Thanx, H.

 

Lift pump? Plugged fuel filter? Air leak?

 

500 miles on the fuel filter.....

 

Only 76K miles on a 15 yr old truck. That's a crime.

Do you have gauges? Are you seeing any boost? EGT's? How quick do they come up?

Try some injector cleaner... Check for fuel leaks... Oil in the intercooler and/or turbo (turbo seals). Intercooler air leaks? That's about all I can think of for now.

Tweak that IP when you get a chance. You'll love the results.

 

N.E.G.: Thanx for the replies. Yes 76k amazed me too. No I do not have guages. That's on the list. The truck only runs rough and smokes very briefly, and just when I start it up on a cool morning. It idles fine, but spews some gray-blue smoke until I get going. Then it clears up and runs just great! I think it just likes living where its hot....
Pardon my ignorance. What is the IP that I need to tweak? I'll admit the acronyms on this site baffle me..... H.

 

M1 , I have the same condition on the 92 stick, and I suspect it is timing related. The pump is turned up a bit and I think the KSB is not working. I have been too lazy to check it out.For me if it gets to 60* or less I can mosquito fog the neighbors and if it doesn't get above 80 in the pm I have the same issue. I t clears up as soon as you go 1/2 a block down the road or bring the cylinder temp up a bit. It can't burn all that fuel fast enough when the engine is cool. Use the sticky for KSB trouble shootin'. I will too.

 

IP = Injection Pump - controls fuel delivery, timing, etc.

1/8" more timing is good! See sticky on how to do it.