Thankfully the gearbox on the new toy seems OK, will add some synthetic gearbox oil and see how it fares, off-road it was fine and never crunched once, only seems to be quick changes from 1st to 2nd in high range that trouble it.
Anyhow, another little issue is that the engine seems to smoke more than I would expect, lots of white clouds for the first few minutes when cold then settles but if I open the throttle it does kick out a fair bit of blue/black smoke. Any common causes of this on a 300tdi??
White "Smoke" (not "steam") = unburnt fuel. If it's steam/water vapour (it disipates rather than hangs about) could be normal, but check for water loss from the coolant system. Unburnt fuel, low compression, bad glow plug, or timing wrong, worn injector(s.)
Black smoke = too much fuel or not enough air. Check (as someone else said) air filter is not clogged, or any of the air pipes are not collapsed internaly, likewise the intercooler is not restricted internaly either.
Blue smoke = oil being burnt. Check breather cyclone and all air hoses. The Turbo can (in some cases) spray oil into the air stream too. Or the rings/bores or valve guides are worn.
TDi's should give a good puff to a belch of black the instant they first fire up, then be clean. They should have a hint of black under load when working hard, but no great clouds of clag (any colour!)
Any rough idling, with odd puffs of smoke (any colour) any of the above could be the cause.
When was the last time the cam-belt changed? If recently, was the injection timing setup spot on? A degree or two off, and all sorts of odd things can happen. If the cam-belt has not been changed in recent times, it might be worth a look in there. If it's slack, don't just tighten it, replace it (and the idlers too) and get the timing done properly. It's not dificult, the book tells you how.
The single most critical thing with TDi's is having the injection timing correct. Next, a good air cleaner and unrestricted breathing.
Even a worn knacked lump can with care, run with not too much smoke, though it will drink diesel like it's going out of fassion!
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