Yes, that was the topic indeed, the chap's symptoms were similar. Though I do not have a warm start problem. Just cold embarrassing smoke. Eek. Indeed I'll let you know. I still have my old needle lift injector in the garage which is broken and I'm tempted to have a play with it to see how hard it is to remove and refit the nozzle. The experience may come in handy should I choose to replace the nozzles! There is no general consensus on their life expectancy. Some claim 500-600 thousand km with no issues. Others recommend new ones every 150-200 thousand km.

You don't think that a single glow plug might have sneaked off for a coffee while nobody was looking   ....... 5 out of 6 cylinders come in fine, but the 6th takes a few revolutions to get there?

I don't think so, at least not in my case, since I double-checked a while after replacing them ( I read somewhere that they can get a bit unscrewed after replacement due to the thread differences between older head and newer GP).

I checked again the voltages as well, just to eliminate potential burn-off...

 

I think that the issue is false air intake somewhere along the circuit, since there are so many potential culprits (hoses, tubes, valves, casings, etc.). But it's a pain in the arse to pinpoint, I guess the only solution is to take it step by step (involves changing a lot of parts until you get to the faulty one), which takes time&money, scarce resources these days... 

My glow plugs are all pulling 20 Amps, they are all good. I'm double cycling them and that makes a difference, so they are probably past their prime, but still functional.

BTW, I disassembled my spare injector yesterday and it is really easy. Just surprised how rough the needle is where it sits in the sac. I think I'll get all of my injectors spray pattern / pop pressure checked. By the way, the nozzle part number is DSLA142P1025.

Edited 19 February, 201511 yr by oh_superb