Ford 3600 Diesel thermostart question

Does the thermostart always drip diesel into the intake? I ask because my 3600 has been smoking a whitish fuel smelling smoke for over 15yrs. It starts quick all of the time and runs very strong. I have recently replaced the injector pump, rebuild injectors, pulled head and sent to shop for valve job and cleaning, new water pump and thermostat, new radiator, new air, fuel and hydraulic filter and fluids, new alternator and drained fuel tank. And it still smokes, maybe a little less but it still smokes. Could this be a problem with the thermostart plug or its reservoir? Could it be leaking too much fuel into the intake?

Thanks,
Guns

I own one of these as well. If the thermostart is operating properly, it should only flow fuel when the element is heating (i.e. when it is energized). Having said that, I think there were a couple of variations with the ignition switch which over the years which could have been rigged improperly. My manual describes turning the key to the left for thermostart, but my key will only turn to the right. There is a small position on mine just before start which energizes the thermostart. I find it very difficult to find that spot with gloves on a cold day. An old Ford mechanic gave me a more fool proof procedure...keep range selector in gear and turn key all the way to start position (this energizes the thermostart), hold for 20-30 seconds and then move range selector to neutral (gear selector must obviously be in neutral to start with), engine starts spinning and thermostart has warmed up the intake and engine starts right up. Only reason for describing all that was to say that over 30+ years switch may have been messed with to energize the thermostart at all times. Mine is energized at both start and thermostart positions on the switch. It would be simple enough to verify operation of yours with a volt meter or test light to see what key positions provide power to the thermostart.

Hope this helps,

Kirk

Ask over on the Ford board as well, more Ford specific experts over there.

Should have also added that the "thermostart" is less than $30 (at least mine was 2 years ago) and takes about 20 minutes to replace, 40 if you have a loader frame in place and need to remove the battery tray to get access. I suppose that it could be dripping, but not sure how much it would contribute to "smoking".

Kirk

Thanks. Glad to hear this. I could not figure out what caused the glow plug to release fuel. I could only imagine that it happened when it was energized after examining everything in route but have no previous experience with them. I also did not know they were so cheap.