2003 ford f250 diesel hard starting and lots of smoke after it starts. Also no power.

2003 Ford F 250 diesel 6.0 litre engine. Having trouble starting, then after start up there is a lot of smoke and very fumy. Seems to have no power when runnning down the road.

2003 Ford F 250 diesel, 6.0 litre engine starting hard and then smoking. You have to whirl and whirl and then it takes off, it puts out a big puff of smoke and then is very fumy. Seems to have less power than before.

Exhaust gases from a diesel engine should be colorless. Smoke of any color is a clue that it's not running properly. Here's what exhaust smoke tells you:

• Black smoke is a sign of engine overload, restricted air supply, or malfunctioning injector. For some reason, excess unburned fuel is being blown out the exhaust. Black smoke is usually a signal that there's too much fuel, not enough air, or injector pump timing is off. One of the most common causes of this condition is an air inlet restriction. The cause may be a dirty air filter, a collapsed intake hose, or an exhaust restriction.

• White smoke is a sign of water vapor or fuel that has been atomized, but not burned. Water vapor may be present in the fuel, or water may be leaking into the cylinders from the cooling system. Also, air in the fuel can cause white smoke. White smoke usually occurs when there is not enough heat to burn the fuel. The unburned fuel particles go out the tailpipe and typically produce a rich fuel smell. It's not unusual to see white smoke in the exhaust, during cold weather, until the engine warms up. Bad glow plugs (burned out, coated with carbon, or not receiving proper start-up voltage) or a faulty glow plug control module can cause white smoke on engine start up. Low engine cranking speed may also produce white smoke. If white smoke is visible after the engine has warmed up, the engine may have one or more bad injectors, retarded injection timing, or worn injection pump. Low compression can also be a source of white smoke.

• Blue smoke forms when the engine's lubricating oil is being burned, indicating worn piston rings, valve guides, or seals. Also, the oil can come from an air filter overfilled with oil or an overfilled crankcase.

No power may be caused by a damaged turbo. This eventually happens to all turbos not run on full synthetic heavy duty diesel engine oil.

Exhaust gases from a diesel engine should be colorless. Smoke of any color is a clue that it’s not running properly. Here’s what exhaust smoke tells you:

• Black smoke is a sign of engine overload, restricted air supply, or malfunctioning injector. For some reason, excess unburned fuel is being blown out the exhaust. Black smoke is usually a signal that there's too much fuel, not enough air, or injector pump timing is off. One of the most common causes of this condition is an air inlet restriction. The cause may be a dirty air filter, a collapsed intake hose, or an exhaust restriction.

• White smoke is a sign of water vapor or fuel that has been atomized, but not burned. Water vapor may be present in the fuel, or water may be leaking into the cylinders from the cooling system. Also, air in the fuel can cause white smoke. White smoke usually occurs when there is not enough heat to burn the fuel. The unburned fuel particles go out the tailpipe and typically produce a rich fuel smell. It's not unusual to see white smoke in the exhaust, during cold weather, until the engine warms up. Bad glow plugs (burned out, coated with carbon, or not receiving proper start-up voltage) or a faulty glow plug control module can cause white smoke on engine start up. Low engine cranking speed may also produce white smoke. If white smoke is visible after the engine has warmed up, the engine may have one or more bad injectors, retarded injection timing, or worn injection pump. Low compression can also be a source of white smoke.

• Blue smoke forms when the engine’s lubricating oil is being burned, indicating worn piston rings, valve guides, or seals. Also, the oil can come from an air filter overfilled with oil or an overfilled crankcase.

No power may be caused by a damaged turbo. This eventually happens to all turbos not run on full synthetic heavy duty diesel engine oil.

Thank you for this information. This may have answered my question I just posted. New to site so didn't see this before posting my question. Great information for this non-mechanically inclined ford owner

What's the best way to check out the glow plugs and warming system?