Hey guys, I was just wondering if you could clear something up for me. I noticed out powerstrok ambulance just POURED white smoke out the other day and the other one often smokes blue and white on startup. I was just wondering what the different colors meant. Like is White:water in the fuel, Black:unburned fuel, and Blue I dont know! Just wondering why these smoke so much when you first start them up. They are inside and heated.

 

Here's my input.

White = unburnt fuel, due to lack of heat to properly burn it.
(cold startup, or first startup after sitting for a while)
Mine is like a mosquito fogger in the winter.

Black= unburnt fuel due to not enough air and too much fuel.
(dragstrip or sled pulling trucks with no turbo speed yet)
Hopefully mine will someday contribute a little to global warming.

Blue= always equated that with gassers burning oil.
Not sure what it means on a Diesel, since we're burning oil all the time.



phox

 

Phox hit it pretty much on the head. The blue is from oil, possibly valve guides, rings, thing of that nature. If it smokes white after idling for a while then I would think guides. If it smokes blue all the time then I would be thinking rings. If it has a "sweet" smell it could also be some anti-freze. That would be real expensive to fix.
Tom

 

would it smoke a specific color if there was water in the fuel?

 

Blue-white smoke:

Blue-white smoke may be noticed at engine start-up whether the engine is at normal operating temperature or not. Blue-white smoke can be observed at all ambient temperatures and should not last longer than a minute or two after the vehicle has been driven. Blue-white smoke can return when ambient temperature is below 10 degrees C (50 degrees F), and after the engine is warmed up due to extended idling. This is due to combustion chambers cooling own during periods of extended idling time. Heavy blue-white smoke may also occur if the engine is operated at full throttle with the transmission in neutral or park. If you see continuous Blue-white smoke while driving, then you probably have air being sucked into the fuel system.

White smoke:

White smoke and blue-white smoke share some of the same characteristics. White smoke is fuel not being burned. Extreme white smoke can be caused by the combustion chambers cooling down. One cause of this could be incorrect injection pump timing. Coolant getting into the combustion chamber can cause white smoke also. Possible causes are blown head gaskets, cracked heads cavitation, etc.

Black smoke:

Black smoke is caused by an over rich mixture and normally occurs whenever the engine is working hard. Like going up a steep grade, being loaded heavy or during heavy acceleration. More black smoke can be observed when the vehicle is operated at higher altitudes because the air is thinner. A dirty air filter is also another cause of excessive black smoke. If black smoke is noticed while the engine is idling at low altitude or under normal driving conditions this condition should be diagnosed a.s.a.p. to prevent engine damage.

Blue smoke:

Blue smoke is not normal and you do not want to be driving behind a truck that produces it. Blue smoke occurs when oil is entering the combustion chamber and is burning along with the fuel. Blue smoke usual indicates a condition which should be corrected a.s.a.p. Blue smoke also smells like oil burning. Possible causes include valve seals or cracked piston rings.

from
http://www.freeautoadvice.com/diesel/smoke.html

 

Thanks for all of your help. Glad I got that cleared up

 

I guess my other question would be, what would happen if there was water in the fuel? The water in fuel light comes on and it will die? Or can you have a little water in the fuel and not notice it other than a decrease in power or something?

 

It's my understanding that if the WIF light comes on, you should stop ASAP and drain the filter housing or you will damage the VP44.

Jim