'01 smoking after changing fuel pressure regulator

[loosedrag]

(In case there's any doubt after reading the statement below, I know very little about engines of any kind, but I can follow directions.)

About 8 months ago I was experiencing regular "pulsing" of my 2001 2500HD 6.6 Duramax (330K miles at the time)when traveling down the highway, and was advised by a mechanic that my Fuel Pressure Regulator needed changing. So me and a buddy looked at some youtube videos and changed it. I put in a stock FPR from the local parts house. And I changed out my thermostat while I was at it.
When I started the truck back up, I immediately saw light-colored smoke coming from the exhaust. I figured it was because now that I was getting good fuel supply, maybe my injectors were showing up as bad.
So I took it to three different diesel mechanics, none who could confirm that my injectors needed replacing. Turbo was fine, (no oil inside? ) The truck runs fine, no rough idle or rpm, zero poor performance. One guy hooked up an analyzer and said that without actually pulling injectors and testing each one, all he could tell me was to live with the smoke. "It's an old truck and it smokes. Keep driving it." My mileage per gallon is holding steady, around 16 in town and 18-19 on the highway if I keep it at 65. Will still pull my 6000 lb trailer on 1,000 mile trips without complaint.
Great, except that it REALLY SMOKES, and is most evident at idle when clouds of smoke fill the intersection. Embarrassing at a stop light. The smoke is whitish-grey, not dark. Certainly not black. I have NEVER needed to add oil. The smoke smells like diesel in my opinion.
Is there something I could have done/not done when I changed the FPR? Do I have to go spend $2000 to pull injectors to find out why my truck is smoking even when there's no indication that it's injectors? Can anyone offer any advice?
One final note: I put on a BullyDog in '05, and it doesn't seem to work anymore. I can't adjust the program. One person told me that could be the problem, that I didn't get it hooked back up right when I put the truck back together.

[rapidoxidationman]

Your final note would be where I'd start if i were you. Remove it. Physically. All the way. Then see what happens.

[loosedrag]

Thanks for the reply. That makes as much sense to start there as anywhere else. And the price is right. I'll post a followup if I notice anything significant.

[More Power]

What was the manufacturer of the parts house FPR?

[loosedrag]

I'm looking for records but can't find them. I believe I purchased from OReilly or Advance auto parts: They sell BWD.

[Kennedy]

I would highly recommend using ONLY genuine Bosch/OEM regulators. This is all that we stock and sell.

That said, it sounds like your regulator is working and coincidentally, you have the typical blue-white smoke caused by the VCO style nozzles seeping/leaking. Worse when warm than cold, stinky, and probably worse at idle, but eventually it gets worse.

[loosedrag]

I ended up buying a cheap set of "reconditioned"injectors on ebay from "injectorsdirect.com", reasoning that even if they only lasted me 10,000 miles, I would get an education in how to install a good set on my truck next time. I spent $1200 on parts, another $200 on tools, and at least 40 man hours (me and a buddy) doing the work. The truck started, ran fine, but was spraying fuel inside the engine compartment. I'm not a mechanic, so I did what I thought I should do: I redid the install making sure I observed all torque specs instead of "winging it". When I attempted to restart, I could not get the truck to fire up. I could fill the filter then the truck would run, but I could not get it to self-prime. After a couple of weeks of realizing I was not a mechanic and could not get solid "how-to" info off of youtube, I had my truck towed to my mechanic.
He told me he checked my fuel system all the way from the tank forward to the injectors, and he was at the stage where now he had to pull the injectors to see if they were the problem. I was into him for nearly a grand even if he just put the truck back together and towed it back to my driveway. So I let him at it. He pulled the injectors, had them spec'd at the local bosch-equipped injector tester, and their tests revealed 4 out of the eight injectors I had purchased were below spec, one so bad that it was, according to my mechanic and the testing facility, a probable cause for my truck not starting. Did I mention I'm not a mechanic?
My mechanic said that in order to warranty his work, I'd need to let him install injectors he trusted, at $300 each. In less than a week, my 17-year old truck, with 350K miles on it, was running fine, no smoke, with a $5100 bill hanging off the tailgate. Net cost of the injector repair on my truck was close to $7000.
Since then I've had several "qualifed" folks tell me I was taken for a ride. I know I got zero cooperation out of "injectorsdirect.com", eventually having to get my money back via my card-issuing bank rather than "injectorsdirect.com", who wouldn't even return a phone call or email once they realized I had provided them with bosch-certified specs showing their injectors were bad.
Long story short: I have some nice tools now like crows-feet ratchets and tiny finger ratchets I may never use again, and $5000 less in my bank account, a boatload of too-late experience, and a truck that runs fine again.
If you aren't a mechanic, don't change out your own injectors. That's my advice, and I paid dearly to be able to offer it to you for free.