Ok here we go... I have a 1997 Chevy express cutaway van with a 6.5 turbo diesel. i replaced the two thermostates and got it back up and running but now the van blows white smoke even when the engine is warm. If i rev the engine up and build the heat up it goes away.. but when i let it sit and idle it drifts white smoke again till i rev the engine up then it blows alot of white smoke till it warms up then stops.. im not leaking any coolant or loosing any so im at a loss

 

What does the smoke smell like?

 

Soot. no sweet smell. i put a pressure test on the cooling system and it holds 15 pounds till i take the test off so still not sure

 

That sort of white smoke usually indicates incomplete combustion,leaky injectors or low compression.

 

Sounds more like a fuel issue then a coolant...

Dont know much about these motors, but its turbocharged?

Could be oil leaking past the compressor seals.

 

i changed the oil this past weekend and got almost 7 quarts out of the engine so im not loosing oil .engine runs great with the exception of the smoke.. so im starting to lean towards an injector.. so might look at replacing them all rather than play around with picking and choosing which one it could be

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ok here's another twist... the oil that was put in the engine was 10-30 diesel oil but it calls for 15-40 could i be getting blow-by from wrong oil?

 

No issue with the oil... As long as its diesel rated you will be fine.

Could be an injector...

 

Injectors should be changed as a set.
Have them pop tested to 2200 or 2300 psi +- 5% and only use bosch,delphi or stanadyne standard duty nozzles-no benefit whatsoever to marine nozzles.

 

yea i ordered a complete set not point replacing them one at a time as its a waste of time doing that.. going to go from there and post the updates.. Thanks for everyone's help this site is awsome

 

ok something new.. i went to go pickup my new injectors and the truck started like normal and when i let it warm up and started driving it the truck blew white smoke and had no power.. i checked all the fluids before i started it and all was ok. there was pressure in the coolant system and the level was were i left it so still no coolant loss. could i have jumped timing on the fuel injection pump?