SMOKE, LOTS of WHITE SMOKE

[junkman1963]

Found a 1982 Nissan Diesel truck 720 from an estate sale for sale, nice trick 135k mileage towed behind RV most of life. BUT it smokes ALLOT of WHITE Smoke even after it warms us, idols fair, runs good pulls well just smokes bad. Truck has been parked for 4 years not sure what the new owner has done in maintenance. Truck is covered up with smoke when high revs smoke is less. I checked the antifreeze looks clean and full with no air bubbles.

ANY IDEAS???

Thanks, Brian

[plenzen]

Probably low compression or stuck rings which will cause low compression. Being as how it sat for that length of time it may just take some driving and a quality oil change ( or two) to perhaps free them up. Failing that, and if it's worn out, then 2 cans of STP will seal up just about anything I'm not suggesting to take it out and drive the bag off it, just some normal driving and make it work to pull a few hills etc, get some of the nasties out of the fuel system and see. Some diesel fuel addititve wont hurt either. Power Service or Stanadyne or even some Red Line is good stuff for these old guys.

If all else fails then perhaps a compression test.

FWIW


Paul

[Nissan_Ranger]

We don't really know what you did with the truck prior to trying it out. Did you change the oil and ALL the filters; fuel, air, and oil...? Did you drain the old fuel out of the tank and replace it with fresh? Where is the smoke coming out? (Tail pipe or road draught tube) Answers to these questions would lead to more knowledgeable answers on our parts...

HTH

N_R

[junkman1963]

Not sure about any service, from the looks of the filters and oil none would be my guess. The state inspection sticker is 3 years out of date. Looks like someone put in a new battery and maybe dumped some fuel in. The smoke comes all from the tail pipe is very white and smells like old fuel.
The truck has a tow bar setup like it was pulled behind an RV so some of the 135k miles could be tow miles.

Thanks for all the tips, i may buy the truck give it a good service, drain the fuel and add some fuel and oil additives and see what happens.

Brian

[Nissan_Ranger]

That is exactly what you should do and the sooner the better. It sounds like the fuel is heavily contaminated and this could damage the injection pump and injectors if not remedied in the way you just suggested you might do.

Let us know how it works out and good luck:-)

N_R

[plenzen]

I had assumed this would have been done already.

[Nissan_Ranger]

I had assumed this would have been done already.

Ahhhhhh, you and I were going down the same road...

N_R

[junkman1963]

If the truck needs injectors are they still available? other options? I have managed to locate most other parts on the net or local parts store.

Thanks, Brian

[Nissan_Ranger]

Yes, they can be rebuilt. I did mine just a few years ago.

N_R

[moose60]

The older trucks like the 82 have a pneumatic governor. If the diaphragm becomes torn the governor will over fuel the engine, possibly enough to cause lots of white smoke. But I would think that if this were the case you would see very poor driveability. A compression test is the best bet. Al Savage has posted a list of the required adapters etc. for this engine somewhere on this site. There is not a straight shot into the glowplug holes on this engine.

The injectors are fairly simple. Anyone selling Bosch or Diesel Kiki (sp?) parts should be able to get the new nozzles and washers. Info on these parts is also buried in this forum.

[Nissan_Ranger]

Overfueling will cause black smoke, not so much white, especially when the throttle butterfly is closed.

Before invasive measures such as compression checks are undertaken, it is better to do a thorough servicing as recommended above. The servicing is required regardless and could put paid to the white smoke. White smoke at this point could be as simple as old crappy contaminated fuel with a cetane rating fallen down on the floor...

N_R

[asavage]

White smoke is unburned fuel, so (because I own several diesel compression testers) I'd test the compression first. I doubt this is an injector issue, unless the engine is nailing hard (making very loud banging noises).

It could be trapped air in the injector lines, but air doesn't stay trapped there very long normally. Maybe it's pulling air, but you don't usually get steady running with air in the lines, it surges. I'd still do a compression test if you can lay your hands on the equipment. Or a crack-the-injector-lines test for RPM drop.

[nissandieselcrazy]

Have you oiled the diaphram. I got white smoke first then it went black after it tore. Mine had sat for two years. oil it with five drop of cod liver oil. It can be hard find in liquid form, But cheaper than the oil nissan sales.

[asavage]

Have you oiled the diaphram. I got white smoke first then it went black after it tore.

White smoke is unburned fuel. Nothing the pneumatic governor diaphragm can do by itself can cause white smoke. Black smoke, yup. But in order for the diaphragm to cause white smoke, you'd have to have a bad GP or low compression -- which should be checked first anyway for white smoke issues.

Mine had sat for two years. oil it with five drop of cod liver oil. It can be hard find in liquid form, But cheaper than the oil nissan sales.

Before you succumb to using cod liver oil, read this short thread first. The $16 for the stuff Nissan sells is worth the money, but Philip & Mike both found suitable alternatives -- not cod liver oil, which craps up the diaphragm:

[nissandieselcrazy]

experience is best Thanks for the better info. I'll be ordering some oil and cleaning the governor housing soon.