White smoke at acceleration with warm engine?

[jalberring]

I'll start off by saying that the truck was plugged in all night and the temperature this morning is around 10 degrees F.



I was easy on the engine until it got warm. I then cruised on the highway for about ten miles. At this time the temp. guage was showing 190. I had to slow down for traffic (5-10 MPH) and when I started to accelerate again I noticed some white smoke from the tailpipe. I then began paying more attention. Each time I slowed down and sped up the temp. guage moved from around 160 to 190 and the white smoke was produced.



Also, I stopped at a stop sign and then when starting the white smoke was visible until I got some speed. The guage also moved like before. Each time I shifted there was another puff of smoke.



Does the engine cool so quickly in sub freezing temps. that there is some unburnt diesel in the cylinders? It seems strange considering there was only a few seconds between shifts and very minimal time at the stop sign.



There are no mods. yet and the fuel is the same tank as delivered from the dealer.

Thanks, Jason

 

[BIG BOB]

With the temperature being at 10 degrees, it could just be steam from the heat. A lot of times white smoke is a sign of fuel starvation. I would check the lift pump pressure to start with.

 

[jalberring]

Thanks,



Another tech site I've seen says that white smoke is excess fuel that hasn't been burned. Can it be either that or fuel starvation?



This site is where I got the information: http://www.intellidog.com/dieselmann/tech.htm#smoke

The information is for a powerstroke (which i used to have).



Hopefully the lift pump isn't bad since I only have around 300 miles on the odometer!!



Thanks again, Jason

 

[THerman]

jalberring,



How much experience do you have at those temps? And with your truck?



Lots of water vapor produced by these things... and at temps like that or below, the vapor stays visible for a long time... .



At -40F you will leave a cloud you can't see through that is HUGE!! and lasts a LONG time!



Tod

 

[JR2]

Its probably steam... I see it all the time when it is cold, which is all the time

 

[THerman]

JR2,



You are calling Anchorage Cold?? I lived in North Pole for 10yrs... Anchorage was the TROPICS!!



Tod

 

[jalberring]

I don't have any experience with the Cummins engine as the last two trucks I've owned have been powerstrokes. I don't remember them doing this though.



It sounds OK to me and I will gladly put up with some smoke from this engine. I sure don't want the powerstroke back.



I was able to check pump pressure at idle today and it was right at 15 PSI. The hose wasn't long enough to do a driving test though.



Jason

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

jalberring, if you still see what looks like white smoke when you engine is warmed up and the temps are above 30F or so, you definitely have some sort of problem. You could possibly have an injection pump problem. When the temps are around 30 mine only steams for a minute then clears up, but the air is pretty dry here (low dewpoint). Diesel emit very little H20 compared to gassers and do not steam nearly so much on a cold day.



Vaughn

 

[CTRam]

Check your puke bottle, my hose was stuffed too far into mine and when the bottle filled it blocked the vent and caused white smoke only when taking off from a stop.