My '95 turbo diesel produces clouds of white smoke and a bit of mis firing on start up but settles down nicely after about half a minute or so.
I am sure there is a lot of air in the system after an overnight rest because when I pump the rubber priming pump it is very soft to start with but only gets moderately harder after a few squeezes. If I leave it a minute, the rubber bulb goes soft again. Does that mean the priming pump needs replacing?
Is there a non-return valve in the pump?
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They're always a bit soft on the first couple of pumps. Blowing white smoke on start up is not a symptom of an air leak anyway - a leak will just make it hard to start. You can eliminate air leaks by pumping the primer first then seeing if starting is improved. If the glowplugs are good and the HG is not leaking coolant into one or moer cylinders, then the next most likely candidate for poor starting is the exhaust valves having closed up - this happens on high mileage XUDTs. Of course, resetting them means taking the cam out and getting new shims, so it's up to you whether you want to go the time and expense to get rid of what is only a small(ish) annoyance.
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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White smoke on start-up is generally condensation in the exhaust turning into steam, together with a certain amount of unburnt diesel which is absolutely nothing to worry about, provided it clears within 10-15 seconds. Any leak in the fuel system would cause poor starting and a rough running engine. I once forgot to replace the rubber ring on the fuel filter housing on my 306TD when changing the fuel filter and the car took 3 attempts to start and ran like a bag of nails! I soon realised what the problem was though.
Martin
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It sometimes depends if you have a Bosch or Lucas fuel system.
Duff glow plugs on either fuel system on the car will cause it to spew alittle white smoke and run roughly for the first few seconds, then smooth out.
Best search this site for Glow plugs as its been mentioned so many times on how to test for a faulty plug or two.
If your system is a bosch, then if as you say you think air is getting in into the system. Then you will have a problem in starting whether you have good or duff plugs. And this is normally due to the rubber cotton braided leak off pipes between the injectors and fuel pump that are cracked and need replacing. If you replace these, make sure you get a good brand of kit as the cheap ones don't last at all.
If its a Lucas system, then this leak off pipe problem does not apply as it does not effect the starting on this engine, only duff plugs as above.
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