79 Diesel Rabbit Help!

[79Rabbit]

I just recently bought a 79 Diesel Rabbit and have a few problems im hoping you guys can help me with.  Im not sure of the history of the car, but it was running when i bought it.  Heres the deal, I have an extreemly hard time starting the car during any time of the day, When I do get it started a huge puff of smoke comes out the back and with the adjustment of the Choke knob it seems to clear up.  Secondly I have oil Leaking out of the "Y" Split on the air cleaner tube. (Oil is actually leaking from the hose where it connects to the top of the engine, and seems to be getting into the airbox.)

Any ideas on this? I was thinking of trying to check continuity on the glow plugs... unfortunately theyre positioned right behind the darn fuel injector and it makes it difficult to get to.  Im also getting a drain on the battery... Im thinking its a short somewhere...  anyways, im kinda new to diesels, so any help would be appreciated.. thanks!

[hipifreq]

In case you haven't had a diesel before, sorry if it's something you know:
The "choke" is actually the cold-start advance. Pull it out first, then turn the key to on, and check that the yellow glowplug light in the dash comes on. It will stay on for as much as 60 seconds; wait for it to turn off, then crank the engine. If it doesn't start after 15 seconds, then start over.

What color is the smoke you get when starting? Does the engine chug and shudder when it first fires? Does it run smoothly after 15-30 seconds? You'll need to describe the hard-start better for diagnosis.

To test glowplugs:
If you remove the hard lines from the injectors the plugs will be easier to get to. Take off the glowplug bus, that's the long piece of copper running between all plugs. Using an ohmeter test each plug by putting one end on the cylinder head and the other on the end of the plug. You should get near-zero resistance. If any plug shows infinite resistance it's dead.

If you replace a plug be sure you get a slow type. Better yet, just get 4 fast glowplugs and a new fast relay and replace it all.

Leaking pipe:
The tube going to the air cleaner is the positive crankcase vent (PCV). It's perfectly normal for a little oil to be getting into the intake manifold. Don't worry, if any gets sucked into the chamber it'll just get burned without doing any harm. If it's leaking at the valve cover clean the area of contact and tighten the clamp down tight.

[79Rabbit]

Hey thanks for that bit.... The smoke that comes out is actually white (upon first time starting), I do notice once in a while some dark smoke comes out (usually after i have already started the car and the engine is warm) but in both cases they usually clear up after about 15 to 30 seconds.....  I do have a glow plug light that stays on for quite a while.... in fact it doesnt really go off until i start driving the car around and i guess it heats up...  As soon as she kicks, it chugs a little, but when i move that throttle advance it levels out.... hope that was a good enough description.