Glow plugs won't help after the engine is running.
Is there anything i can do to combat the hard cold starts? Rarely drops below -10c here
one of his concerns is hard cold starts. good, quality, strong glow plugs, as wells as current flow, & system, usually the relay, will help a lot in all cold situations. a weak, old, tired set up, usually new bosch GPs does it, will make cold starts (more) difficult, its also common to not be able to get an older diesel started, can leave you stranded, and possibly wondering whats wrong.
good GPs can also help during the first few seconds, can help with hard running.
So far i just want a little less smoke while driving in the city.
Dragging a smoke cloud behind me when accelerating just a bit faster than an old lady, isn't all that appealing to me
^this is one of his concerns while(as i state above) new GPs (and good current flow, at the same time) *can help with this, mostly in the first few seconds of running, hard running. other information in posts apply here, head is going to be the main problem here, timing adjustment may well be best way of getting to run better. although its not my favorite subject for inexperienced practitioners(mechanics).
^i had forgot to mention in (one of) my prev posts. if you send to a shop for timing,(help or adjustment. or the whole thing) it gets expensive. for the cost i cannt say whether its worth it. then again i ve also gotten a car back from a shop who did timing, is supposed to be a reliable shop, timing job was marginal. a lot (off) for the cost.
another thing getting a diesel, these old girls to run in the cold (& colder weather) isnt exactly easy. they can be hard to start, and run rough until it warms up.
as far as glow plugs, you have my one bit of advice, another is current going in, another is grounding.
another thing as i had mentioned prev is adding winterizer additive, it should help with initial starting, and should help until engine gets some warmth.
sry for all the information. and the lengthy post.