I have a 96 Dodge/Cummins with 165K miles that today puffed alot of white smoke when I started it up . This is the first time its happened and only when I stepped on the accelerator. A buddy told me its most likely the turbo going south and to look for another at a salvage yard. Does this theory hold water or could he be full of crap?

 

Was the engine hot or cold when it did this?

 

it was cold...didn't do it last night, and don't think it smoked this morning when I got off work. It smoked less and less as it warmed up though. The oil was changed about 3 weeks ago too with Rotella T.

 

we have an old freigtliner in our fleet that has an old cummins that they dont make anymore as the casting is so thick it takes 15 minutes to stop making white smoke even on summer days. Its incredibly bad in winter up here in British Columbia. This i believe is due to incomplete combustion until the engine gets up to operating temperature. <br> We also have a number of volvo generators that are low compression engines that smoke unbelieveably when they are cold, it looks like the wicked witch of the west is coming when you fire these suckers up. And they say these are low emission engines!

 

Mudbug <br> Since the truck only just started to smoke I would look at the smoke to see what it was like. Did it smell like excess fuel or did it smell like oil burning? If it was a fuel smell I would look at the overflow valve. It is on the pump by the engine and under the banjo bolt for the reurn line. It may be sticking. If it is an oil smell then you could look at the turbo. Take the intake hose off and look for oil in it. If it was on oil problem you should have no problem seeing oil all over the vanes. Try to wiggle the shaft up and down and side to side. If you can move the shaft any then you have a turbo problem. Look for any place that the wheel has been rubbing the housing. Again, if you see this you have a problem. My suggestion woud be to call either Piers or Al at Piers Diesel Research and discuss it with them. They have a couple of dedicated lines for tech help. (604) 888-0057 or (604) 888-0143 website www.piersdiesel.com<br>Tom

 

My vote is for &quot;crap!&quot;<br><br>This time of the year you will be running winterized fuel, and it is more volatile than regular #2 diesel. What happens is that the engine does not make full compression when it is cold, the pistons are ground to expand into the bores as the engine warms to operating temperature; and the cold fuel vaporizes from the combustion chamber without fully burning. Hence, white smoke when cold.<br><br>If you make white smoke when at full operating temperature, then it is time to get excited about something causing low compression. If someone has low compression, 9 times out of 10 it is a blown headgasket and you will see a corresponding loss of coolant, or a propensity for the engine to overheat.<br><br>A bum turbo will make black smoke as it fails to provide enough oxygen to completely combust the fuel, and you then create a lot of carbon.<br>

 

My 94 Ram has always smoked white when very cold at the startup... I have seen this with other diesel engines also and is just a condition of cold temperature.