Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Flatlander Question - Startup Smoke

[Mike Ellis]

Last week I had occasion to camp overnight in the Rockies at Clear Creek campground in the Rio Grande National Forest. Altitude unknown, but it was "purty high" compared to my normal DFW digs.



Overnight it got down to 28 degrees, when I started up in the morning the truck started fine but was belching a lot of grey smoke for a minute or so. During similarly cold weather in DFW area I have not really noticed such smoke, so I was worried I might have spanked a ring or valve. It cleared up when the truck was warm, engine seemed to run fine and no smoke on the road during trip back to Texas. Truck was not hot at shutdown or acting weird or anything prior to the smoke episode.



Do you folks in the higher / colder parts have startup smoke like that? If so how do you distinguish between "uh oh burning oil that leaked into cylinder" and "cold startup smoke"?

 

[Blakers]

That was very common with my 12 valve on cold startups - it's just that the cylinders are too cold to support good combustion until they warm up. Give it some throttle in nuetral and it will prabably belch a huge cloud of white smoke. Once you get a little load on it and it warms a bit, it will clear right up. Higher altitudes with thinner air makes it worse.

 

[zack_76401]

Hey man Im from stephenville texas... ... . just about an hour and a half south west of you DFW folks... . anyways my truck does the same thing when im up her ein utah but down south in texas it doesnt do it..... Thinner air + too much go juice + cold engine = nasty smoke..... not quiet black not quiet white... ... . it clears after a minute or two of idleing though... ... . write back and tell me if this is what you have goin on or if i am the only one.....

 

[Dennis Garrett]

It's most likely the alitude, but if it's something mechanical, I'd lean toward something simple, like one of the heater grid selinoids maybe not working. Both grids working will clear up the start up smoke quickly. Mine always farts out a cloud of black smoke on a hot start if I put just a little pedal to it. (It's always fun to imagine what the '03, guys think when they hear me hit the starter. Just bump it, & when a piston comes up on compression, it's running. The '03's crank several revolutions like a Powerstroke, before they fire. ) 185k & still fells like a new one.

 

[zack_76401]

I turned up my idle a litl bit and now it starts like what your describing your s doing... ... . as sooon as i hit the key its runnin..... but it doesnt smoke when im in texas only at high altitudes like when im in utah... ... . thats what i was trying to tell flatlander was it is prolly only altitude change... ... ... ... . nothin i lose sleep over... . but then again i dont lose sleep over too much of anything. .

 

[Mike Ellis]

Zack,



Mine did just about the same thing you describe, guess it was just the altitude and cold weather. Had me worried something might be spanked, good to know it is a normal sort of thing.