i recently bought a 2000 L300 and its been fine but over the last 2 weeks its starting to get hard to start and very smokey as well. once its going it seems a little hot so i try to go easy, its not saying its hot but it smells a little hot. it had the glow plugs replace and im thinking it might be something to do with that? any advice would be great cheers
intrade,
Dec 6, 5:40am
maybe you have a split harmonic balancer pully not driving the fan and all at the correct speed. seen this on 4m40 told the guy sorry wont tuch it put it in the crusher. it also stalled on me and was dripping transmission fluid between engine and gearbox automatic.
franc123,
Dec 6, 5:49am
Condolences. What state is the radiator, the cooling system generally and the coolant itself in? Any coolant being consumed? What colour is the smoke?
fish_n_doodles,
Dec 6, 6:05am
once its driving it seems fine but just a little hot. radiator and coolant are fine. smoke is white
franc123,
Dec 6, 6:56am
And does the coolant need topping up every so often?
fish_n_doodles,
Dec 6, 6:58am
never, still green
intrade,
Dec 6, 7:09am
did you not have threads about this before . i dont think i will bother on this all over again.
franc123,
Dec 6, 7:15am
OK, I was thinking it may have been a classic case of cracked head syndrome. Maybe get the glow circuit checked to make sure the plugs are being operated correctly and for long enough, if there is definitely no coolant being leaked into the cylinders white smoke generally indicates partly burnt diesel. Tight valve clearances may also be causing a similar problem.
fish_n_doodles,
Dec 6, 7:24am
Thanks heaps, going to book it in to get everything looked at. greatly appreciated
intrade,
Dec 6, 7:43am
cant see a old thred with your name. as per post 8 . also does it run smooth when you cold start or is it coughing out the exhaust?
fordcrzy,
Dec 6, 7:48am
we used to have these as work vehicles. they EAT glow plugs but more importantly they boil the batteries. the battery is under the passenger seat and gets really hot in the engine bay. we had to top up the battery fluid every service as they seemed to boil it off at an alarming rate. check your battery fluid. the smoke is from cranking and crancking without start. youll get the same smoke when the glow plugs get tired. dont EVER put a maintenance free battery in one. itll be dry within a year
petermcg,
Dec 7, 8:12am
Probably has been hot so commpression will be down, this would cause hard starting and smoking. Also if your starter is worn it will also cause hard starting by not cranking the engine fast enough to build commpression.
intrade,
Dec 7, 8:15am
this is why i was thinking they had a thread before already where i said to squirt engine oil in to the intake on hard start and see if it fires up instantly then= low compression as the oil makes a seal on piston rings temporarely
fordcrzy,
Jul 18, 11:02am
Check the battery
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