Smokey Diesel 2.25 Series 3

My apologies for the well trodden question of smoking diesel engines but as I have read so many threads with umpteen answers I thought I would start again, see what people think?

I have just replaced the head gasket and while we had the head off all seemed well... But since buttoning everything up and getting it running again there is significant smoke.

What I know:
It's starts on the button and runs pretty well, but has quite a lot of smoke on tick over and under throttle. It seems to be more blue than grey and it's not white. I did notice the injectors were quite blackened when they were out.

I appreciate there could be many things to cause this, but could anyone suggest checks or tests I could to rule things out?

Also I have not been able to drive it as no MOT so maybe it's a good run??

Any help would be great!

Thanks
Rob

Well, most will agree that blue smoke is oil burning. However, I struggle to tell the difference between blue and grey diesel smoke. I tend to go on smell. If it's parafin - ish then it's over fueling. Burning oil is a more distinctive smell to me (like when you've followed a car with a knackered engine)
I would say give it a good run when you can as you will never really get it up to temp properly stationary and you'll end up adjusting stuff you probably don't need to.
Mine smokes me out of the garage on start up but burns clean when warmed up a bit. Still smokes a little if sat at tickover for a long time but clears again when revved. Gets through the mot ok.

I would firstly check the butterfly / air inlet arrangement is correctly set up first before adjusting the pump though.

Thanks Land Raver. I appreciate your input here. I think you are probably right. I think adjusting and starting and stopping is not really the way forward. I think I'll get on with getting it nice and warm etc and then see how things go from there.

Although I'm still thinking a compression test would be good ;-)

Cheers

Wait until it can have a really good run. Most clear up after a couple of miles running.
If you still get problems can you get hold of an injector pressure kit ? If so set them to 130/135 bar. I have had reconditioned ones vary from 120 to 165. Some days it smoked like a navy smoke screen, sorted with pressures set.
The other thing I did was ditch the butterfly flap on the manifold and fit an electric vacuum pump. Better running and even less tendancy to smoke.

Retarded injector pump timing is classic for blue smoke...if its not to far retared the smoke can clear when fully warm.

You often get an odd puff when warm.

Just another small thing that made a genuine big difference....I add Millers Ecomax diesel fuel treatment. I'm not really much of a believer in these additives but this definitely reduced smoke and improved smooth running. It boosts the fuel by 4 cetanes. I know there have been others on here used this with success too.

Cheers lads, I'll definitely work through all this. I think it deserves a methodical approach.

Got to resist the urge to adjust everything without running it properly.

First things first.

Check your oil if it's over full you'll get blue smoke. It's worth checking all is right with the dip stick if it's under measuring you can have problems. My first car had blue smoke until I worked out the previous owner had swapped the dipstick from a completely different motor ..I refilled with a measured amount of oil

Get hit nice and hot it may clear up.

That's not a bad shout actually as I felt I had to put in more than required!!