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Blue Smoke On Cold Start Up

18K views 35 replies 11 participants last post by  frakchered 
#1 ·
Hey guys, I notice that on this colder days here in NC my truck has a blueish smoke when I start it up. It does go away after warm up. It even has a miss to it once running if it is not hot enough. I have no other issues and been slowly fixing little things here and there. I do notice the diesel engines on the boats we have here a lot of the older style mechaincal types that they smoke blue as well until they are warmed up. Anything to be concerned about?
 
#2 ·
Mine does the same thing. It has been better since I swithed to Rotella T-6, but I have ready many threads stating that this is "fairly" normal to see. If it does not go away once warm, then I would say you have an issue. Mine only lasts for the first 5 seconds or so on cold start up.
 
#3 ·
Ok, mine takes a little longer than that to till it is gone. I would say until the temp is in the 90's on the coolant. After that, it is clear.
 
#4 ·
If you don't have a monitor you should get one ASAP, if you haven't checked the batteries disconnect them and get them load tested, if you haven't checked the FICM voltage you can find the test procedure on here.

If you've already checked the FICM, batteries and your numbers are all good I'd say get some Rev-X in there. My truck started the same thing last spring and this past fall I had a few injector codes. Rev-X seems to be helping.


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#7 ·
Fishermedic, as you see if my signature I am using the Edge CTS monitor. I just recently had my FICM repaired and tuned by FICMrepair.com. My FICM is at a steady 47.5-48 volts all day long now. Now beig I mention when the beast is cold it feels I have some injector issues still in the mix. I have had Rev-X in the oil now for about 10K miles. Second dose to be exact. So I am thinking I may need injectors soon, but would injectors be causing it to smoke blue? I know they use engine oil to help open, but can that oil get mixed into the fuel?
 
#5 ·
White is normal with the cold. IMHO blue is not normal. Mine never smoked blue until last spring and it started as a short 2 or 3 second puff and slowly got worse to the point it was about 10 seconds when I put the Rev-X in.


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#8 ·
I was told it go both ways. Oil in the fuel and fuel in the oil. Best way to find out is:

Oil in the fuel - Open your top fuel filter housing and check it out
Fuel in the oil - Smell the dipstick, if it smells like diesel, then there you go. If not, then you should be ok.

I only know this becuase I was told the samething about 2 weeks back.
 
#9 ·
Well I know I do not have fuel in my oil, atleast accroding to my last Oil Analysis. It stated fuel oil dilution should be under 2.0 PPM and mine was less than .5 PPM. So that part is good.
 
#10 ·
i dont know much about these injectors could it be some oil is leaking there?
 
#12 ·
I guess the question is, "Is it oil blue, and does it smell like oil; or is it slightly bluish (white depending on sun angle) and smell like partially burned fuel?" Looking through fuel vapour toward the sun will have a slight bluish tinge if it is thin enough.

The miss might be indicative of a stiction problem, but that in itself may not be the cause of the blue. Blue usually means oil from the turbocharger, CCV remains coming through the system, HPO leaking into the fuel rail or injector, piston rings and valve seals. Any blue that lasts more than a few seconds is indicative of a potential problem, but not always one that needs to be fixed ASAP.
 
#14 ·
This ^^^ as I read through this was my thought, under 10* sometimes the haze out of mine has a blue tint to it but smells like unburnt fuel. I have wondered if it has to do with the inductive heat strategy that I have or don't have.
 
#16 ·
Do you have a ccv reroute? If so, that is your answer. A small amount of blue smoke when cold is not a game changer, imo. Of course you may want to check both sides of your turbo for peace of mind. I've also heard of injectors causing blue smoke, i'm still not convinced of that, blue is typically oil. Fwiw, my 96 obs used to smoke blue going down the road until it warmed up, until I finally changed the oil. Poor girl has 308k miles on her, and she's been rode hard.

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#21 ·
Southend, I do have a CCV route, you are not the first person I have heard say if you have the reroute it will smoke. Why is that? Also I just have the turbo out a few weeks ago to clean the syncro ring. It is free of oil.

does if miss at idle when it's cold or does it miss when your going down the road when its cold, i know if you have a glow plug not warming the cyclinder enough that it will miss a little till its warm the cylinder has the be warm for the compession the ignite the fuel, and blue smoke is a sign of oil in the combustion cylinder, it could be anything from bad glow plug, bad rings bad valve stem seals bad injector ,,, does it smoke alot, also the miss your speaking of will also cause one to smoke, i bent a couple of valves in my truck, she smoked like a freight train,, but i think if it was a bad injector it would miss all the time and you normally will have a fuel knock if its a bad injector, take it to your mechanic and have a contribution and buzz test done, that will tell you what cylinder is missing, if you have a cylinder missing i would also reconmend that you have a compession test perfromed on that cylinder , my big blue is in the shop right now having the motor rebulit i had to cylinders go down on me, my mechanic thought it was bad injectors the scanner also showed bad injectors, but i ended up having bent valves on no 7 and 8 thats why i would also recconmend you have a compession check performed, i hope this helps you some
RogerAllen, it only misses going down the road. At idle it is like nothing is going on, even 1-3 it acts fine, sometimes, and I mean sometimes very rare, in four gear it will miss. If I am in tow/haul she will pop in 4th sometimes, but as soon as I hit fifth gear the idle comes down and she has a noticeable miss.

Call me crazy but diesel is in effect heating OIL therefore it is reasonable to believe that a glow plug is getting tired, and that cylinder is not burning quite right, causing the slight miss till warm, and a slight blue haze of fuel not completely burning. Just a thought
Fosterslaw, I can see what your talking about. But being I have had to replace one glow plug already as I had a glow plug code show up, wouldn't I obviously get another one?

crazy!! lol anyways ... The blue smoke on a cold day/startup is normal as normal can be.. The blue should only last say 10-15 secs.. Then it should be a white/bluish haze.. Hahaha i explained it in a tongue twister way but .. i'll take a video of mine cold started in 15-20 degree weather sitting for 7 days.. Stay tuned.. Reason i say my truck because there is no issues with my truck knock on would.
04cr450, thats for getting the video. I would like to see another to compare my truck too. Today since it is a cool 29* here on the Crystal Coast, it should be nice and cold at lunch time and I will start it and try to take a video to post on youtube to paste the link here to show you. Thanks for all the help.
 
#17 · (Edited)
does if miss at idle when it's cold or does it miss when your going down the road when its cold, i know if you have a glow plug not warming the cyclinder enough that it will miss a little till its warm the cylinder has the be warm for the compession the ignite the fuel, and blue smoke is a sign of oil in the combustion cylinder, it could be anything from bad glow plug, bad rings bad valve stem seals bad injector ,,, does it smoke alot, also the miss your speaking of will also cause one to smoke, i bent a couple of valves in my truck, she smoked like a freight train,, but i think if it was a bad injector it would miss all the time and you normally will have a fuel knock if its a bad injector, take it to your mechanic and have a contribution and buzz test done, that will tell you what cylinder is missing, if you have a cylinder missing i would also reconmend that you have a compession test perfromed on that cylinder , my big blue is in the shop right now having the motor rebulit i had to cylinders go down on me, my mechanic thought it was bad injectors the scanner also showed bad injectors, but i ended up having bent valves on no 7 and 8 thats why i would also recconmend you have a compession check performed, i hope this helps you some
 
#19 ·
Your crazy!








Jk...lol. Guys if this was a glowplug issue, he would be boiling out white smoke. Ask me how I know. Diesel engines generate massive amounts of compression. Compession = heat = combustion. Glow plugs assist with heating the incoming air, typically not a huge factor until it gets really cold. Jmo.

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#20 · (Edited)
crazy!! lol anyways ... The blue smoke on a cold day/startup is normal as normal can be.. The blue should only last say 10-15 secs.. Then it should be a white/bluish haze.. Hahaha i explained it in a tongue twister way but .. i'll take a video of mine cold started in 15-20 degree weather sitting for 7 days.. Stay tuned.. Reason i say my truck because there is no issues with my truck knock on would.
 
#22 ·
With the ccv in the intake tube, there is a negative pressure effect, reroutes create a positive pressure affect, that forces the excess combustion fumes ect into the combustion process. Is the way I see it. It can also increase the potential for gaskets and seals to leak. A short piece of hose dropped to the ground is the best way to reroute the ccv, to prevent undesired affects.

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#23 · (Edited)
Ok, I think I got it. You are basically saying that factory, the intake air sucks the crank case fumes out, having a reroute takes away the vacuum and it basically has to push the fumes out as they fill the crank case. Gotcha. But, International and many big rig trucks have vent for years, and yes I do have mine venting just in front of my fuel tank, with no effects. I have been thinking of cropping mine and dumping under the engine to eliminate the freezing factor as I believe I will be getting stationed North for to much longer.

Is it pretty common for the fumes to small so bad? I know on the boats if the CC is not vent to the intake, it is usually vented through the to the exhaust stack or the atmosphere so i never small those ones. I do have a bit of smoke (vapor) that comes out of mine. but no excessive from some of the posts and videos I have seen. Every now and then with this cold weather I see the smoke (vapor) out of the corner of my eye and freaks me out. If it wasn't for the oil coating my intercooler and piping I would have left it. I have to replace my boots as it is already.
 
#24 ·
Correct, the big rigs i'm familiar with, dump fairly close right out of the crankcase, with a fairly large hose.

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#25 ·
Well I am going to have to try and get a video maybe overthe weekend. I fired it up just now and I can say it smells more like unburnt fuel. I do know what burnt oil smells like, and I am going to have to point fingers at the injectors. I started it and got the biggest cloud of blue smoke and forgot the camera and had to run to get it and by the time i got it the smoke had cleared up to the popint the camera wouldn't pic it up.

I do have a big hose, most went with atleast a 3/4 I have a full 1" hose for my reroute.
 
#26 ·
#28 ·
Called to make sure the injectors are covered on the warranty. Should be as it is a power train warranty and states if oil touches it is covered. If not, that is gonna be an expensive repair. $125 to diagnose unless warranty covers it.
 
#29 ·
these trucks have so much to them, that the scanners sometimes don't completely tell them what the issue is just points in the right direction, but if i had to i would spend the 125 bucks buddy, because an over fueling injector can lead to a move serious problem, if you burn a valve of melt a piston you would be looking upwards of a 2500 dollar repair bill, man you don't want that when you can fix it for a few hundred, i wouldn't push it bro, you don't wanna tear your truck up
 
#31 ·
He has already stated that a oil analysis has proven his injectors are not dumping fuel. Btw, that only cost $30+. With the amount of overfueling you are talking about, you would have to be blind not to see white smoke pouring out of your truck, or the oil level rising. It helps to read the thread through before jumping in on the backend.

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#33 ·
I think my problem is stiction. A very bad case of it to the point my injector doesn't want to work properly. It is either dumping to much at start up, or not enough until the engine is fully warm. Either way, it is going to the shop next week for diagnosis. Pending warranty will determine if they fix it or if I procure the parts and do it myself.
 
#36 ·
WOW, where to start. Dropped the truck off this past Sunday so the trouble shooting could begin. Now, number 6 injector was bad, 3and 5 are still in parameters but on the low end. Get the call today the harness clip to the number 4 injector is broken and they are replacing the harness.

Has anyone ever done the injector flush at the dealership? Anything good or bad with it?

So luckily everything with the injector is only costing me the $100 deductible on my warranty. But I decided to the do the injector flush, tranny flush, and opted to have them replace the harness as it was in bad shape other than the clip being broke. Atleast I got them from the asking price of $240 dollars in change for the harness to the at cost or what I was told is at cost of $140 dollars and they cut the labor from 6 hours to 3 hours. When said and done I will be paying just under $1K to have it all done. I hope she runs good and strong after all this. She needs to go to the outer banks this weekend for some beach fun!
 
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