ford ranger white smoke

[HAYWIRE]

Hey guys...im having a little problem thats confusing me. I have a 2009 ford ranger turbo diesel... works fine when running but on a cold start the engine bucks for about 4-5 seconds . While the engine is bucking it puffs out white smoke. I changed glow plugs and the bucking is still there... once i rev it out a little it stops. I also drained my fuel filter which had alot of water. Any suggestions please?

[wasbinator]

You're on the right track- white smoke usually suggests that water is getting into the combustion chamber somehow. The two most likely causes are faulty fuel (which usually requires draining & sometimes servicing the fuel tank) or the ever dreaded blown cylinder head gasket (meaning that at some point or the other, the vehicle ran too hot)... I more believe it's the former, though, as you say you're only experiencing the stutter after a cold start & you're not reporting any power loss... Hope this helps...