Former VWDieselParts.com Forum

I picked up an 81 diesel dasher wagon yesterday.

The thing smokes a lot- reduces as it gets hot. It's a sort of white/gray maybe a hint of bluish smoke.

I haven't run it a whole lot yet- Just idling but the temp gauge isn't hooked up so I don't want to run it too long.

It came with a timing gauge so I thought I'd check the timing to see if that could be the smoke, and it's a .95mm.

I suppose I could compression test it, but maybe I'll drain the fuel tank and put in new fuel and see if it clears up.

Any ideas? He says it's a 1.8 motor, but looks just like the 1.6's i'm used to.

If you can test compression, I'd do that, but you can also disregard the dial gauge and just advance the injector pump until you hear marbles on a plate, then back the timing off a bit. Whitish smoke is a sign of poor combustion or air in the fuel lines. Is there clear fuel lines going to and from the injector pump and fuel filter?

I put in some clear line now and there were bubbles going in. I replaced the braided line from the steel line to the filter and no more bubbles going in and no going out of the pump. Ran a lot smoother- and less smoke.

But still quite a bit of smoke...

Retarded timing can cause white/gray/bluish smoke, but there are other factors that can contribute: low compression, mismatched injector break pressure, dirty/worn injectors, etc.

If advancing IP timing clears up the smoke and gets it starting on the first crank, things may be ok and fine tuning (the fun part) is up to you.

If your part of the galaxy gets below freezing in winter, you might want an engine heater.

I advanced the timing without using the dial gauge and it runs better. Less smoke- starts easier.

Still getting some air bubbles from the links between the injectors to the IP banjo- Not sure if this is air just bleeding out from when I replaced the lines today or something else.

Now I've connected the temp sender to the old gauge and it moves- though I'm a tad paranoid about it.

I guess I'll bleed the brakes, clean it up, change the fluids and go from there.

Thanks!

whisker wrote:I advanced the timing without using the dial gauge and it runs better. Less smoke- starts easier.

Still getting some air bubbles from the links between the injectors to the IP banjo- Not sure if this is air just bleeding out from when I replaced the lines today or something else.

Now I've connected the temp sender to the old gauge and it moves- though I'm a tad paranoid about it.

I guess I'll bleed the brakes, clean it up, change the fluids and go from there.

Thanks!

Has the vehicle been stood for a while? Injectors could be sticking a bit.
Running for a while may free them up.

Bubbles forming from the injector barbs can actually be coming from the cylinder, and climbing between the nozzle and the holder and entering the low pressure side of the injector. Faulty heatshield to blame, but may self seal after a while.

Does any air leave the pump and travel back up the supply line seconds after turning off? This can lead to hard/slow starting, and is from front seal behind sprocket leaking. Over tight belt won't help.

If the white greyish smoke goes away after you start it, it's the glow plugs. It happened to me a while ago.

Tom

I decided to compression test it while testing the glow plugs

Cold (just moved the car 30 ft) I got
1- 300 2- 300 3- 320 4-270

with oil

1- 400 2- 390 3- 410 4- 390

I wasn't uniform about how much oil i put in.

So with the injector out I turned the glow plugs on to see if they were heating.
- they looked dim, so I had a box of new ones and put them in.
Only the glow plug on cylinder 1 glows with any vigor. It glows red faster and stronger than any of the others.
I tried a different set and same thing. Would this have anything to do with wiring?

I replaced the previous owner's wire "jumper" that was in place of the fuse link with a proper fuse link. Same results.

Bad glow plugs? or am I just being picky?

My glow plug light only stays on for 1-3 seconds with the motor cold. Seems short, right?

Don't sweat the GPs, particularly if they are Duraterms.

The light is an electronic trick, it doesn't really tell you if the GPs have juice... a 12v led wired into the cabin is a nice indicator. It will also show you how much afterglow the relay is adding and if the relay ever gets stuck (it happens with water leaks).

Compression seems typical for that vintage/milage.

My caddy was about the same. the engine heater is your friend, if you see snow in your area.

Keep the oil full and maybe get another 50K-100K miles before you need rings.

Using the stock glow plug buss?
maybe clean up the contact areas.
Can't see any other reason the farthest one would glow brightest.

Check them out by hooking them direct to the battery. That way you eliminate the circuit in-between the fuse box and the glow-plug. I learned that here, and that help me a lot to chase down the problem.

Hope you find whats wrong,
Tom

I learned my lesson with injectors. I had a couple old used cars getting good mileage smoke pretty good. I tried advancing away the smoke but it just got louder.

Last try was with turbo truck. I think I mixed up a set of injectors I sold and went out on a test drive. I was smoking people out behind me so much I had to back off. New injectors fixed it right up.

Of course verify the timing as well.

It's still smoking a lot... I see a few air bubbles intermittently coming from injector 1 to the banjo fitting on top the pump. If I push on the acel cable it puffs white smoke. Sometimes a few bubbles run in from the fuel filter.

It's still really smoky and needs throttling of gas on startup for a bit to stay running.

Motor doesn't run super evenly, little surges on random.

Wish I could figure it out.

whisker wrote:It's still smoking a lot... I see a few air bubbles intermittently coming from injector 1 to the banjo fitting on top the pump. If I push on the acel cable it puffs white smoke. Sometimes a few bubbles run in from the fuel filter.

It's still really smoky and needs throttling of gas on startup for a bit to stay running.

Motor doesn't run super evenly, little surges on random.

Wish I could figure it out.

So as I see it you have the barb leakoffs set up with #4 as the 'dead end'... That is fine.
The small bubbles are likely the sum total for all the injectors. Not an issue, and will likely clear up over time.

White smoke when trying to accelerate, means incomplete combustion, or rather no combustion for some of the fuel.

Compression figures are sufficient to give complete combustion, so it is your timing that is off. [Unless smoking is puffy with gaps, which could be a rogue injector.]
Are you able to measure the timing with a dial gauge?
If not just slacken pump and advance or retard it.

Use a pencil line across the pump flange as a return reference.
Check either side of the line.

Remember to de-tension the fuel lines when finished.