Truck Repair: 95 2500 wont start, turning the key, white smoke

Question
Hey Cliff,

I have a 1995 2500 cummins and about 3 weeks ago, I went out to start it and it didn't crank, it acted like the battery's were dead. I let it sit for about 2 weeks before i could get to it, and I took the battery's out and had them tested and even charged up.  I went home and put the battery's back in and still nothin.  I decided maybe it was the starter, so I had my starter tested and the machine said it was good, but the noise it made while tryin to crank was horrible, very slow.  We compared it to a new starter and the new one sounded 10x better, so i bought the new one, installed it and I had better luck. It almost cranked so I decided to jump start the truck. i let it run for awhile, then tried to start it, still nothin.  My buddy asked if there was any fuel in the truck, I said yes, and he looked at the bleed lines. We went to go get some disel and put it in the truck, he bled the lines for a bit to get the fuel up where it needed to be. Once we did that, we tried cranking it which it did, but there was some type of noise, like something was loose, but it started and was extremely rough, it blew tons of white smoke for a good while. I let it idle for about 30 min's, then took it all around my neighborhood, it drove better than it did before it seems. Then this morning, I go out to start it up and it cranks, but won't turn over.  I've tried reseting the ignition, meaning turning the key over 3 times and letting it sit, but that still hasn't helped.  You have any idea as to what it might be? I appreciate your time Cliff.

Kris Banasau


Answer
If the engine turns over but does not start,then there is a fuel system problem.I would check to see if the fuel shutdown solenoid was coming up & staying up when you hit the start position.If it does stay up,check it for slack between it & the rod it is hooked to.If that is OK,then try pumping the primer on the transfer pump & listen for a hissing noise from the overflow vavle(fuel pump return line in the frt inside near head) & see if it gets harder.If that is good then there might be something wrong with the injection pump but that is rarer & most uncommon.