glowplugs?

[Vohaul]

Hi,

I have a 94 aaz turbo diesel....and recently all of a sudden, started being very hard to start when cold.20 - 30 secs of turn over then coughs to life with white smoke out the tail pipe (unburnt fuel?)..as soon as it fires, its fine...runs great, lots of power etc. and if i shut it off and turn it back on again, its 1st turn of the key....

also, when it first fires..if i push in the cold start knob, it stumbles etc. until its been running for a minute....all like it was cold outside...but it isnt....its +10 -+15 c

any ideas?

Cheers

Paul

[Vincent Waldon]

IDI engines need some glow plugging even on temperate days, and since this happened "all of a sudden" it certainly sounds like it could be glowplugs... some troubleshooting info here:

http://vincewaldon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=28

[burn_your_money]

While you are poking around under the hood check to make sure that the crank gear isn't starting to slip. It's as easy as removing the cam cover and verifying that the cam and crank are still in time with each other.

Odds are it is just a glowplug issue like Vince said though

[Vohaul]

Ya, i'm pretty sure its not that as when the car is running it is super smooth and powerful as usual......

[Vohaul]

sigh...i dont get it.....now the car starts fine....a little pull of the cold start handle..and 1st turn of the key....i didnt get a chance to even do anything:)

[burn_your_money]

That sounds like air in the fuel system to me.

[Vohaul]

could it be bad diesel.....?

now that i think about it, it went away after i filled it up.....