My 200 TDI Bosch fuel injection pump is 18 months old and was sold as a 'refurbished by Bosch' unit. However it developed a leak underneath at the back where the main unit joins the thick square plate bit.

Bosch in Portugal fixed it for me ( and said all of the parts very very old, only the outside casing looked new - I had only done 10,000km since fitting!).

I then had a good mechanic fit it, drove around and all seemed fine so headed for Africa.

In the north of Morocco and east when it has been very cold at night but hot during the day I have had loads of white smoke at start up and some loss of power intially. It calms down after 5 minutes, especially if driven slowly, and only returns during the day if accelerating a little at high speeds.

I found a good mechanic locally who as part of the fix adjusted my fuel injection pump timing.

At idle now it ticks over quickly rather than doing it's usual rattling idle.

Is this a problem? Should I get the timing set properly asap or just when I find a good landy mechanic? Can I do it myself (I'm a crap mechanic!).

My main concern is that it is not damaging anything.....

Thoughts guys.....? ;-)

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Kiwi, 7 years around Africa. Overlanding channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/roamingyak

Hi there,

Do you still see white smoke from the pipe or just the high idle speed bothers you? If just idle speed without other problems than find the idle speed screw regulator on the pump (by the acceler. cable) and simply reduce the speed. I have not heard of any serious problems related to increased idle speed except fuel consumption.

Cheers
Jarek

Thanks mate - all white smoke has gone now that I'm at sea level and in 38 degrees - as opposed to freezing over night, 1200m high Eastern Morocco.

Thanks for the tip...... I thought it was that easy from watching the mechanic but thought I'd check.....

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Kiwi, 7 years around Africa. Overlanding channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/roamingyak

I have a 1996 80 series 4.2 Diesel Land Cruiser. I live at 4 000ft above sea level and in winter the car has a massive smoking problem at start up. White smoke is unburnt fuel and not anything very serious to worry about.

In summer, and closer to sea level it is almost gone.

There are a few things you can do to try and fix it:

There may be a microscopic leak past your injector tips and into the cylinders when standing overnight. When the temperatures are hot, the metal expands, and the leak is gone. You can replace the injectors, but it is expensive and not a guaranteed fix.

The other problem may be inefficient glow plugs. Remember the glow plugs are responsible for igniting the fuel at start up and until the engine is at running temperature they still help. Try and prime them twice. They also keep heating up after the "Glow Plug light" on the dash has gone off. Try "priming" them twice and leaving them for 10 seconds after the second prime. If there is a significant difference in smoke, change glow plugs for manufacturers spec.

The last, and least likely issue is water in the fuel system. You can try a fuel filter that separates water and see if that changes things. I don't know Land Rover well, but many vehicles have this as standard. These filters have a little reservoir in the bottom that needs to be emptied every once in a while, or the filter replaced. When your fuel quality is unreliable, you should really change that filter every 3 000 miles on the outside as contaminated fuel can also erode your injectors, which will casue smoking at start up and is expensive to fix.

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Dawie du Plessis
www.pictureafrica.org
www.photographersa.co.za

^ Generally agree with the last statement, white smoke possible water in the fuel.

Racor filters (most commonly found on marine appliances) are pretty good at spinning the water off the diesel. Will set you back just under 100quid but a really worthwhile investment. Prob the 500 filter is a good enough size for a landy.....infact im not sure if they make them smaller? Racor filters will prolong your fuel system by a considerable length of time. Quite a few listed on ebay for under the rrp.