Bought this engine new off Ebay last year and have it set up with an 11K Stanford type head.  Last time I ran the unit (a few months ago) it ran fine.  Getting ready for winter so I thought I'd best fire it up and make sure everything was working correctly.  Unfortunately it has issues.

The problem:  engine starts easy enough but billows white smoke, occasionally backfiring and pulsating rpm.

What I've done so far:

1.  Drained fuel and replaced with fresh diesel.  No love.

2.  Bled all the lines -- I can hear the injector pump creaking.  No love.

3.  Pulled the injector -- connected to fuel line and turned over.  Seeing 3 perhaps four fine mist sprays from the injector.  Re-install, bleed lines, No love.

4.  Torqued head bolts.  No love.

I know that white smoke usually indicates unburned fuel and/or air in the lines.  Compression seems to be good.  Fuel rack seems to work appropriately.  Can't figure out why the problem is not getting resolved.

Next step would be pulling the head and replacing the head gasket but I really don't want to do that before getting some input from members of the forum.

I understand that the injector pump is timed with shims but honestly have no idea where and how to time the pump.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.