smoking on start up - ford fiesta | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Tue 24 Feb 2004 17:25

smoking on start up - ford fiesta - shaunthesheep

hi,

having not owned a diesel engined car before, is it suppose to smoke from when you first start it up??
when i say smoke the back of the car dissappers in a nice grey cloud

i do know that diesels smoke as normal & rattle, but this one sounds like the tappets need doing, again do diesel engines have tappets??

shaunthesheep
ford fiesta. 1.8d. j reg. 91\'.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 24 Feb 2004 20:24

smoking on start up - ford fiesta - Andrew Moorey (Tune-Up)

Hello STS, me again! You may have a problem with one or more glowplugs. These engines always sound like a bucket of nuts and bolts until warm. Rather than the tappets getting noisy they tend to go quiet and tight until they start idling on three cylinders. Might be worth taking to a diesel specialist to get the pump timing checked, if it is over advanced it will make the engine 'bark' on acceleration.
Andrew

Simplicate and add lightness!!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 24 Feb 2004 22:15

smoking on start up - ford fiesta - David Horn

Get used to it! My Xsara (1.9 Turbo XUD) always blasts out a cloud of whitish-grey smoke when I start it, along with much clattering and spluttering. I suspect that one or more glowplugs need changing, but since it always starts first time (usually in less than a second) and the intercooler has to come off to change the plugs, I'm going to leave it until it doesn't start first time.

So does my dad's Range Poser and my brother's Rover 100, and, come to think of it, so do our tractors! (Both diesels...)

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 29 Feb 2004 10:59

smoking on start up - ford fiesta - jc

If it starts OK, you have no problem with glowplugs;if the smoke clears after a few seconds,there is no problem and,yes,diesels do have tappets.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 29 Feb 2004 21:58

smoking on start up - ford fiesta - dieselhead

My 306 turbodiesel always produced much grey smoke accompanied by miss-firing on start up despite changing glow plugs. What has cured the problem totally is advancing the injection timing very slightly. Quite easy to do scribe a line between pump and block as a reference, slacken 4 nuts, lever pump 'towards engine' a whisker then tighten up.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 29 Feb 2004 15:19

smoking on start up - ford fiesta - samsdodgybloke

Set of glowplugs will cost you around £20. Easy to replace, except the one behind pump!! Just make sure you clean contacts before putting back on new plugs. Should take about 20 minutes to do

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 29 Feb 2004 17:07

smoking on start up - ford fiesta - shaunthesheep

all,

ive replaced the glow pugs now, ive noticed a drop in smoke screen!!

i'm gonna add some diesel redex injector cleaner, as i dont know when/if the injectors have ever been cleaned, i will let you know what happens.

shaun the sheep
--
ford fiesta. 1.8d. j reg. 91'.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 16 Mar 2004 22:04

white smoke - ford fiesta - shaunthesheep

hi,

ive notice a few times then when i start up my diesel ford fiesta, that it disappers in a cloud of white smoke.
ive checked the head gasket, via a compression test, thats ok as far as i can tell.
im not losing any water, ive got no water in the oil & vice versa.
it doesn't smoke at other times, ive changed the glow plugs & air filter & had an oil & filter change.

has anyone got any ideas on what it could be, ive heard people say that it could be air in the fuel, if it is air in the fuel how did it get in? can anyone confirm this?

shaunthesheep
--
shaun the sheep
ford fiesta. 1.8d. j reg. 91'.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Ask Honest John

Sell Your Car

Real MPG

Fuel Calculator