2K 7.3 Starts fine but smokes first 1/4 mile

[sagemonkey]

I recently purchased a 2000 F250 SD, 7.3l engine, and 65k miles. It starts great, lopes just a little bit when it is cold (<30 degrees-F), but otherwise seems to be fine. The minor rough idle goes away rather quickly (2-3 minutes).

The issue I have is the amount of white smoke this thing puts out when it is cold outside. I have talked to a lot of the "local experts" (the stealership wrench turners, local diesel shops, and others that own a 7.3 of the same vintage) and they all say that the smoke is nothing to worry about. One of the guys even smelled the smoke and told me that he was certain that it was just unburned diesel coming from a cold engine.

On my next days off I plan to check the "health" of the GPs and will look at the GPR with testing that I have gotten from some of you on this site. Assuming that the GP stuff checks out okay (and it is starting well), do any of you have any ideas as to what can be done to reduce this smoke? When I leave a parking lot, you can see where I started and the path I took to get out to the road. It's getting a bit embarassing.

By the way, after about 1/4 mile (after she has warmed up a bit), everything clears up and I get no smoke. Nothing when I mash down on the throttle, nothing when I sit at a light and then take off, nothing when she is just sitting there idling.

I yield to your past experiences and appreciate any insight you might have.

Thanks...

[pwrstrkdsl7.3L]

When it's cold outside this tends to happen to a lot of vehicles when they are not warmed up all the way. I believe I have also heard it has something to do with moisture in the exhaust


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[Colin7.3]

Its 100% normal. Just normal cold engine characteristics

Beamed in from the Death Star with lasers and sh*t

[Turbostang500]

I had the same exact thing and 2 of my gp's were bad. Replaced them and NO smoke on cold start or after and no rough idle anymore.

It might be normal for those that dont care, but I couldnt keep smoking people out at work in the mornings (worked mids).

Check the ohms of each gp to see the health of them.

Oh,

[sagemonkey]

Much appreciated... GPs and GPR are the next things on my list. I'll try to let you know what I find.

[Turbostang500]

You can pop the plug apart at the center of the valve cover connector and check the ohms of the 2placement wires on each end of each connector to see if there are any problems with them before removing the vc's.

Looking at the valve cover connector, it is the 2 wires on the left and 2 wires on the right. Both the pass and driver side will have the same color and gauge wire so it should be easy to see. Check ohms between those pins and ground. They should be around 1-2 ohm if I remember right.

[sagemonkey]

Thanks, Turbostang500...

I checked the GPR and it seems to be working. When I turn on the key the lug on the driver side gets power and it is only about 0.2 volts less than the voltage from the battery (as seen on the passenger side lug). I believe this means that the GPR is good. I thought about buying one and replacing it but from what I read, a 0.2 volt drop indicates that the GPR is good.

Tomorrow or the next day I pull the connector for the GPS and Ohm them out to see if any of them are bad. I don't really want to pull the VCs but will if I see more than one bad GP on a side.

I appreciate the comments...

[sagemonkey]

Hey Colin 7.3...

Appreciate the thoughts...

I am doing some looking around to see if it is GP related. The GPR only had a 0.2 Volt drop across the two big lugs and the the relay turned off in an appropriate amount of time. The smoke just seems excessive to me and I want to make sure I haven't missed something. If I could get it to kick a code I would at least have a direction to try.

[Naterenfo1]

I'm interested in the repair for this too, my 2k1 with ~200k on the clock smokes like crazy (same color as you) when its started until the oil temp hits 65ish degrees. I have a GPR LED mod, so I know my GPR is working, and I tested my glow plugs I had 5 that read .4 ohms, 2 that read .5 ohms, and 1 that read .6 ohms. I have the exact same symptoms as you, and my truck starts pretty well in the cold (little rough idle until the smoke goes away) usually takes about 4-6 minutes for the smoke to clear while idling on a 50 degree day. Is my resistance too low on the plugs? I'm going to assume the P.O. never changed them.

[Turbostang500]

Check here.

Troubleshooting GPR & GP's