patrol.smokey.

Bruce,
We had a petrol Volvo that was doing that. I took it to a guy who connected it to a machine that put something in the fuel before the injectors and ran it at a fast idle for 30-45 min. It cleans the upper cylinder area including the piston rings and the walls of the cylinders. Bingo, oil consumption stopped and, of course so did the smoking. The car had done about 160k when it was done and we sold it ar 220k with no sign of smoke.
I also use a flushing oil product made by CEM (Cost Efficient Maintenance) in my diesel landcruiser at each oil change and at 260k it is smoke free. Plus, I used 2 stroke outboard oil in the fuel at 200:1.
Check them out to see if you think they are of use to you.
Good luck, Ian

Bruce,
if it is white smoke you can just about bet it is your glow plugs. Easy to test if they are working or not with a multimeter. You can check to see if you have voltage at each plug from the relay and you can check the resistance of each glow plug as long as the plug is disconnected electrically from the other plugs.

G/Day mate, ..With out sounding critical its a known fact that these engines are a bit sus in a few areas, IMHO, its sounds like its starting to overfuel which can lead to a whole aray of disasters, If it was mine i would check out the Nissan forum, and get the right info there, it may well be just a minor issue at the moment but needs to be adressed real quick before things turn ugly..all the best with it.


Cheers Axle.

Injectors can dribble while sitting there so on start you have diesel in the chamber.
Injectors are also supposed to be replaced, they are not something that lasts the life of the vehicle even though it seems from being behind a lot of diesels on the road that the owner thinks otherwise or does not give a rats about the plume behind them.
If you want better economy, more power and a cleaner start, get a set of exchange injectors.
When I have tested Injectors on the bench, when they are worn they do not have a good spray pattern of small droplets, some dribble, and some have too large droplets for a good burn and do not "crack off" at the correct pressure.
I am not into Nissans so cannot help with a supplier but a bit of googling and get a set yourself for the mechanic even though it is not too hard a job to change out with a manual and common sense.
I would not just get the cheapest set you can find myself, hunt around and you will get a reputable set for a good price, maybe overseas.
Fuel pumps are also another item that diesel owners think lasts forever, but of course, they don't.
Depends on how long you will keep your car and whether you give a rats about people following you and the environment. Fuel getting pushed through those small orifices wears the injector causing the problems over time.
All the best.

Have just read above about this "CEM" or whatever.
Diesel Engine Oil is supposed to go black, it is removing the crud that develops during combustion that gets past the rings and holds it in suspension so when you drop the oil, out it goes.
Give up on all these products and just do the right thing by your engine the way it was designed for.
Anybody want some you-beaut Ralph Sarich fuel pills that you pop in your tank giving you more power and longer range out of your tank ??? Honest, they do !!!

Bruce
As has already been suggested, test the glow plugs first then get the injectors tested. Visible smoke is often a sign of injectors needing a benchtop clean or replacement and any decent diesel mechanic can tell you that. If it's injectors your fuel consumption will also increase marginally. Much (much) less likely, but if you're in a cold climate area it could be time to add some heating oil to your fuel a la the alpine diesel mix.

$250 per injector - lucky you don't have a CRD.

sell it quick,,,, another grenade in the making :-)