Smoke at idle? Bad injectors?

[_Hyde]

Been away for a while but just got back on the wagon since I think I'm having truck trouble. I'm thinking I have injector issues after a little bit of research here and on DTR. A month or 2 ago I notice my exhaust odor has become much stronger, almost to the point that it burns my eyes and causes a headache. Maybe I'm just getting older but it's not the diesel exhaust smell I've come to know and love over the years. Another thing that may be purely psychological is that I 'think' I'm a little sluggish taking off from a dead stop but have plenty of power afterwards and all throughout the RPM range. I do see a little more smoke than I used to at times but it's not consistent and I idle quite a bit so I theorized that it was getting blown out of the muffler after a long idle. Mileage may have drooped a little but not dramatically, again I idle a lot and the slip in mileage has been noticed this summer when I idle more than in cooler months when I can shut down and still be comfortable. The biggest indicator is a haze at idle. It's not the easiest to see. Most noticeable during daylight when the truck is between the sun and me. Can also be seen a little stopped in traffic with a tailwind and the sun to my RH side.



I have an Edge EZ and boost elbow on the truck. No other performance mods. I don't think I'm making oil, pulled a change last Saturday and will be checking level again this morning to be sure. I don't have the 9012 tool for the return test but have some spare banjos laying around and will attempt the return test later this morning.



I think my disturbingly verbose post has set the stage for what I have as well as what I need to do yet to verify. Has anyone had similar symptoms to mine and what has the culprit been?



If I'm heading down the injector path what do I do about it? I've already had sticker shock from OEM injectors being in the $360 each range. So I start looking at performance injectors which are all over the place price wise. I recall from my 2nd Gen 24 valve days that Diesel Dynamics were the hot thing so I go to their page earlier in the week and see some around $800. Still not easy to swallow but not feeling like I need to put a kidney on eBay. Now it seems DD has been acquired by Edge and now only has nozzle tips. Should I check into having them rebuilt or getting rebuilt/reman from a pump shop? I now feel more confused than when I started. Please help!



Thanks,



Hyde

 

[OT-OF-HERE!!]

Bad injectors

The typical "Bad Injector" gives off a lot of White Smoke on startup and it's worse the longer you let the truck sit b-4 startup (like letting it sit over the weekend, for example). Usually it will clear up after a few minutes. Also if just idling in gear when they get worse you'll get a rough idle and a chugging affect.

 

[nineback]

Try putting some injector cleaner in and "drive it like you stole it. " This cleared up my problem. I tend to baby my truck and I found out this can cause the injectors to carbon up. I am now driving my truck "harder" than I use to and the problem has not reoccurred.



I also changed the fuel filter.