From the diesel list the following plea; can we add some advice?
I overheated my Westfalia diesel van several months ago, warped the head,
blew the head gasket, etc.   I have it all back together with a new
hydraulic head and have about 300 miles on it but it seems hard to start and
smokes really bad for several minutes.  It is a bluish-white smoke.  Once it
clears out, it runs as good if not better than before I warped the head.
Could a diesel pump timing problem cause the hard starting and smoking?

I had to do quite a bit of honing of the #3 cylinder and replaced it's
piston and rings .  The oil ring seemed a bit tight in the new piston when I
installed it.  Could that be causing the problem?  Is it conceivable that it
might loosen up with use?  Could the other three cylinders have bad or
damaged oil rings as a result of the overheating?  A compression test at
this point shows:
#1 - 455 lbs.
#2 - 460 lbs.
#3 - 460 lbs. (the new piston)
#4 - 505 lbs. (15 lbs. higher than the specs indicate as acceptable)

I would sure appreciate some insight before I tear back into it.
Thanks, Jeff
(208) 388-2788
Cell: (208) 859-4729
JHickey@idahopower.com