smoking on start and acceleration

[EnviroImports.com]

Black smoke, yes thats a Easy fix, I will bet you a timmys double double that your EGR either has failed or is failing, most likely so gummed up with carbon that its stuck in the open position and when you give it some throttle you draw vacuum on the diafram, opening it more and more,
either take off the egr and clean it so it can fail on you again in 6 months or toss it in the Steel recycling and put a blanking plate over each end, but dont forget to plug the vacuum line or you will just burn extra fuel.
I make blanking plates for each end. but just havent listed them yet on my site. this will stop your super hot exhaust gasses from doing a second pass into your intake manifold . yes you can still pass an inspection with the egr gone the down side is poeple will be able to loose you in the snowy winter you have ahead of you.... so really it could help you, with all that black smoke belching out the tail pipe you can be followed for Miles across the snowy plains....

Im sure getting your IP tuned properly would also only help you, but for the most part, the black smoke monster is caused from the egr...

[aaptoday]

again thank you for the response, He did say that the injectors and egr were replace in Japan but really... maybe they just tired to clean the egr and appreantly that does not work so well.

I am glad you are of the opinion that nothing major is wrong... I feel the same way. I likely will blank off the EGR when I get it anyway. We don't have to get the same type of tests you do in Red Neck Alberta so for now I should be safe.

on a final note the van will go to proactive in calgary... reading this forum it seems like they may not be a good choice? does anyone have a recommended person to take this to in Calgary? I normally do all my work myself but being new to diesels I figured best get a third opinion.

getting more excited!!! lol...

[Green1]

one thing to note, these vehicles do NOT have an altitude compensator, as a result, it is quite normal for them to start smoking once you get them up to high altitude like for example, Calgary. (same amount of fuel, but less air leads to black smoke)
The fuel adjustment needs to be set a bit different for high altitude than it does for sea level (most of Japan is lower altitude than here, and most importers are too)

on a final note the van will go to proactive in calgary... reading this forum it seems like they may not be a good choice? does anyone have a recommended person to take this to in Calgary? I normally do all my work myself but being new to diesels I figured best get a third opinion.

There are no diesel mechanics in Calgary that I trust. The only mechanic I trust so far is kirkham automotive, they'll do anything but the engine (so for brakes, steering, air conditioning, oil changes, etc etc they're great)
If anyone ever finds a good mechanic for the engine in Calgary let me know, but please don't suggest pro-active, or worse yet GCL (About the worst place I've found so far) I'd also stay away from 2square (they actually charged me for parts and work that was obviously not completed!)

[aaptoday]

hey green 1, so you are in calgary too. excellent.

part of me just wants to get the van and adjust the pump myself. I have had friends that do it on the landcruisers all the time.... I say this because I have NEVER taken any car or truck to a mechanic.. that's a lie... the one time i did I got hosed. I am a belive in DIY and you will know more about your vechicle.

Maybe I should just tell him to take a few hundred off and I'll take it home. I am sure i can fix it better myself for less money

[Green1]

unfortunately smoke is one of those things that can have a multitude of causes, but in essance, black smoke means too rich, possible reasons for this are:
- fuel adjustment (as I said earlier, needs to be leaner at high altitude)
- clogged air filter (less air getting in)
- pump timing
- stuck EGR (though you said this is new)
- soot build up in the engine (a good diesel purge would solve that)

Of the 5 listed all but the pump timing are relatively easy DIY, the pump timing is a bit more complicated. However if you are used to doing all your work yourself then you probably can handle most of what can happen on these vehicles, they are, after all, a relatively simple engine.

[aaptoday]

yes they seem very simple, especially compared to what I am use to doing and that is rebuilding SAABs, supra's Audi's, BMW's that you have to go through the alphabet twice when labeling stuff to pull the engine!!!

from what I know the pump can be adjusted by just tweaking it, driving it around the block, tweaking again, driving again... as opposed to checking what angle the engine is at when the injector fires.

If I could knock 500$ to 800$ off the price I could put that into new glow plugs etc.

do you have any line on some glow plugs?

thanks! my name is Steve btw.

[Green1]

glow plugs can be sourced through any of the big name importers on this site.
You can also get them direct from the Mitsubishi dealer, but to do that you need the part number (they can't look it up)
I should also mention, these don't sound like your problem, as glow plugs don't affect the engine after starting (so the acceleration smoke wouldn't be affected)

I get most of my new parts from Rocky Mountain Imports, and most used parts from either CCAutos, or Amazing Auto Imports. (Glow plugs you don't want used)

One other tip that I've been given on the L400 and glow plugs is that due to the intercooler scoop on the hood, lots of moisture gets in to the engine bay, as a result, those existing plugs are usually well corroded in place, so tread carefully, and probably soax them for a couple days before trying (if you sheer one off you have to pull the full head off the engine, not a fun task)

[aaptoday]

excellent info! yes the glow plug replacement is more to get rid of the white smoke on start up.

[Stiful]

Before replacing glow plugs it is worth looking at where the wire terminates on the glow plug rail. That wire that the terminator clamps onto corrodes/rots . Peel back the outer cover of the wire and see if it is not green and horrible. If it is , cut off the last 20ml of the wire and put a new connection terminator thingy on the end and reconnect to the rail. Problem solved. It is common. Both my L400s did it and when it happens, it stops the glows from working. We have had members pay to get the glows replaced only to find it was just rotting of the wire and the glows were fine....If you are careful you can pries off the old connection and reuse it once you have taken the 20ml off... Cheers

[aaptoday]

awesome guys very good info. I think I'd rather offer him a bit less now and skip the mechanics opinion on the pump and smoking.

now that I know a little more about them from my reading etc. I would rather put that money into some preventative maintenance.

[Manitoba deli]

My l400 blows black smoke for a few seconds under hard acceleration, or when snapping the throttle in neutral, My egr is blanked and my air filter is new, but I think my pump has been turned up, because my van has exceptional power for a LWB, I've settled down a bit, but when I first got it I was constsatly laying rubber with it. I've now put on my studded winter tires, so I've eased up on the throttle. It doesn't smoke under normal conditions, only when accelerating hard. On start up mine smokes light grey for about 5 minutes, when temps are about -13. I would consider the smoke from mine normal when compared to the power it puts out.

Jason

[Green1]

My l400 blows black smoke for a few seconds under hard acceleration, or when snapping the throttle in neutral, My egr is blanked and my air filter is new, but I think my pump has been turned up, because my van has exceptional power for a LWB, I've settled down a bit, but when I first got it I was constsatly laying rubber with it. I've now put on my studded winter tires, so I've eased up on the throttle. It doesn't smoke under normal conditions, only when accelerating hard. On start up mine smokes light grey for about 5 minutes, when temps are about -13. I would consider the smoke from mine normal when compared to the power it puts out.

Jason

From what you describe I diagnose your vehicle to be "diesel" I don't think there's a diesel out there that won't smoke on occasion under heavy load, they just shouldn't do it continually, and they shouldn't obscure the sun for the next 10 cars... As for light grey smoke at -13c... even gas vehicles do that!

[Manitoba deli]

Yeah, thats why I say I consider it to be normal

Jason

[aaptoday]

thanks for the input Jason, it's good to hear the differences between eveyrones vehicles

this van smoked a light grey plume behind it when started in about +10 it stopped after about two minutes max

the black I could see in the side mirror under hard acceleration, small black puffs when bliping throttle in neutual.

I think from all the comments here this sounds like normal deli operation and I figure I'd rather offer a few hundred less, put that into the van and save myself time waiting for a mechanic to tell me something I already know.

[delicabits]

Not everyone who buys a vehicle from Japan has to use Auctions, I ONLY buy from Private sales and a condition of the sale is I get the previous Shaken on them and not just one of them.

Do you mean shaken certificate or copy of the work order? What in particular are you looking for on the Shaken certificate.