306 Diesel--Smoke In The Morning

[nickm]

i've just got hold of a cheapish peugeot 306 diesel for my girlfriend, it has done lots of miles but drives quite nicely, the only real niggle is that it smokes like a trooper on the first start in the morning--once it's warm it's fine, i've done an oil change and put in new glow plugs but am loathe to throw any more money at it while it seems to run ok at all other times, while it's smoking it does seem very lumpy--not at all like her 106 waws, does any body have any idea of the problem and potential cost etc. thanks in advance.

[reblack68]

Replace the fuel and air filters with quality items (you can get them here). The cost of that will be under £20 but it doesn't really count because these are consumables anyway. It's worth running some injector cleaner through it, everybody has their favourite and it'll cost about £6. Taking it for a long-ish high speed run will also help matters.
If that lot doesn't cure it I'd just live with it. The lumpiness combined with smoke is because it's not firing on 4 cylinders initially. If it's OK when warm, the MOT tester's happy and it starts fine it's a small sacrifice for a cheap car. If starting is poor I'd suspect the glow plug timer/relay.

[nickm]

thanks for that--i'll try it and see what happens

[kevin]

Also it depends on the quality of the glow plug you fitted. I fitted some cheap heater plugs which promptly failed after 10,000 miles. I fitted some bosch plugs which are working perfectly.
The colour of the smoke is an indication of the condition of the engine and injectors. After @150,000 miles it could be worthwhile having the injectors serviced, @£60 - 70, this will improve the smoking and economy of the car.
Failing that the regular useage of a good fuel additive, Millers STP etc will do the job
Kevin

[nickm]

thanks kevin

[silverline]

is it a turbo diesel? smoke is a tell tale sign of a worn out turbo!