ok, I bought my truck in Jan, ran great never had any problem starting it, only noticed a little white smoke on start up but quickly went away, Now March, it is getting harder and harder to start when the engine is cold, it takes 4 to 5 cycles to start and i have to feather the pedal to the floor. The white smoke is becoming more and more of an issue, when i start it cold i get a VERY large cloud of white smoke from the tail pipe which lasts a few mins. After the truck gets warmed up i still get a little smoke from the tail pipe, but nothing major.. Any thoughts on what it is? I have been told its head gaskets, valve cover gaskets. Any thoughts?

Also the temp outside is about 50F.... im really stumped......

 

need to check glow plugs, cold raw fuel is white smoke, and if its getting hard to start cold, then the glow plugs probably arent working. common problem on those if the harness plugs start to corrode or melt under the valve cover.

 

thanks.. i am new at the diesel world.. is there any way you can post a pic of what im looking for? also, I was told that the connections for the injectors are combined with the valve cover gaskets... is this accurate?

 

I dont have a way to put picture on, computer doesnt cooperate that well, but yes the connectors are combined with the valve coou ver gaskets, that is a common problem on the 7.3L powerstroke. you can get the whole new wiring harness for under the valve covers for the injectors and glowplugs with the gaskets for around $50 per side. (if that is the problem). Also, if you take the valve covers off, start the engine and watch the oil drain spouts on the injectors, if there are injectors not pushing oil out of the drain spouts, they are probably bad. that is one quick visual way to check and see if an injector is fireing.

 

to help out autostroker:
your valve cover gasket is also a wiring harness.

picture:


if it's bad it can cause many an issue. they aren't 50$ around here (150 per side!) but they are crucial.

 

Thanks guys, that's a great help.. I started replacing the glow plugs on the passenger side of the engine this morning. i think i will be removing the valve cover gasket again so i can double check the injectors.. man i hope they are all good. I found the gaskets for $62.99 at advancedautoparts.com.
Is there anything else i can do to minimize the white smoke from my truck? I was also told it might be coolant seeping into the chambers when the truck is cold, and the gasket reseals once hot.. sound right?

 

I am having the same white smoke/non start issue. I bought a multimeter to check the relay and plugs. The relay checks out fine. When I check the pins for the glow plugs, I only get a reading on one of the pins. I am checking the outside pins as mentioned in another post. There are 4 harnesses and only one of the harnesses gives me any reading at all. Should I assume that I need to replace the harnesses and plugs? Thanks.

 

SO I figured out it was my relay which was going out and my non starting issue. still get smoke when starting, but doesnt stay around as long.. thanks everyone.

Ryan-- I would suggest replacing the valve cover gaskets and the connections that may be your problem.. Like i said above gaskets with connections cost me about $130.00 for both sides and they are really easy to replace. color match wired for external connections and for the interior they are color coded too, just remember to put the connections on in the same order.. do one at a time.. i started from back to front. and gaskets are gaskets, just be sure not to over tighten the valve covers.. should be *lb on the torque.. and thats it.. hope this helps..

 

thorraven,
Thanks for the reply. How difficult is it to get those valve covers off? Look like a few of the bolts are going to be hard to reach.

 

a flex head 3/8" ratchet and a shallow 10mm are all ya need. on the newer ones it's decidedly more bitchy, but on the 1gen trucks, it's not that bad.