2003 TDI Blue Smoke on Start Up

I have a 2003 Jetta TDI ALH that Has Blue Smoke on Start Up with engine running rough. When it warms up things smooth out and smoke goes away for the most part. (I know that sometimes they can be a bit smokey when they are cold)
History: The engine in this car ranaway at one point seals in the turbo were bad. Since then I have replaced the Turbo, Timing Belt and all components. Changed the injectors. There is also an EGR Delete kit on this car. Compression is close to 500 psi in every cylinder. I haven't been able to figure out the excessive smoke at start up or the rough Idle.
Any suggestions where to look next would be appreciated.

You will want to check the IQ as well as the injector balance as shown in VCDS. If you need to run some cleaner through the injectors, that might help some.

After you do this and find that the injection system is running as well as can be expected, then you can figure out the start up smoke.

On the smoke: there's a couple of questions to ask: 1) does the smoke increase the longer the car is idle between starts? I.e. does it smoke more if it is idle for a week vs. idle for only 1 day?

2) When was the last time the glow plugs were checked?

3) if you spray some soapy water (plain tap water with enough dish detergent to easily make bubbles) around the base of the injectors and glow plugs when cold, do you get bubbles when starting?


I've had a couple of smoke-on-start problems. One was with my 4-dr and after much thinking and careful observation, I decided that it was due to worn valve stem seals (250k+ miles on the engine at the time). The smoke was blue tinged, smelled like engine oil, and the longer the engine sat without starting, the more it smoked. 1 day, hardly noticeable, but after a week or more, the neighbors were smoked as well. Replacing those seals cured it completely. I'd say instantly, but the replacement procedure certainly wasn't instant.

The other was a problem with a car since sold. It was smoky and rough for about 5 minutes or so on startup when it was cold, but not below freezing. Maybe it was bad below that, but other factors made the smoke not really noticeable. But anyway, it turned out that 2 of the glow plugs had 1/2 the threads packed with carbon and did not seal until the engine warmed up with about 5 minutes of running. The starts from cold were smoky, but the smoke gradually cleared up. Smoke smelled like diesel. I replaced the glow plugs, but if yours are new, maybe that isn't necessary. What you will need to do is carefully chase the threads in the hole as well as on the plugs, make sure to carefully clean the seat in the head as well as on the plug, and carefully torque the plug on installation. The threads are fine, are in aluminum, and only need 11 ft-lbs. Use a beam torque wrench to ensure you don't over-torque them so that you don't need expensive repairs.

HTH. Cheers,

PH

While ALHs don't make up the bulk of my TDI ownership experiences, I do concur with PowerHound: blue smoke is oil burning.

Check the intercooler and intake piping, you may find oil in the tract.

Rough idle sounds like possibly not balanced injectors. I'd verify with VCDS, along with timing.