White cloud after cold restart

[JHZR2]

1991 350SD. 42F outside.

Did a cold start and ran the car for about five minutes, driving around the block. Went out to the car maybe 10 minutes later and did another start, and the car put out a giant white cloud of smoke. It was pretty dark outside, so the exact tint of the color wasn’t something I could see, but it did sort of smell like burning fuel.

The car starts and idles perfectly, although recently, it sat for about a month of time, while I was doing some suspension work. When I started it up, the engine felt like it was pulsing a little bit, not vibrating, not missing, just pulsing for lack of better terms (still smooth) until the fuel system caught up and then it idled perfectly smooth. I thought nothing of it because after that it started and ran absolutely great. It has no problem with power or anything else.

I have never seen this white puff smoke from this car before. However, another thing that I noticed in recent time when trying to pull the car up ramps is that it dumped a pretty significant clump of damp (not fuel, not coolant) black soot on the ground at the point where the exhausted faced the ground, when I gave it enough throttle to climb up the ramps.





I’m wondering what this might all point to? I don’t think it’s a glow plug issue, because the lights don’t stay on to alert me that one is out, and it starts just fine. I have to wonder if it may be a leaking injector?

Any thoughts on this? Why would I get a big puff only at a cold restart?


And I’ve been around MB diesels for over 20 years. I get it that some white smoke during cold conditions at initial cold start is normal as long as it doesn’t happen all the time. This doesn’t happen all the time. But the smoke today is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, like the Seafoam videos. That’s not normal…

Thanks