Your manual will explain it all better than I can, but to get you thinking.
The fuel "rack" is a confusing term. All under the valve cover Each injector has a small rack that meshes with a pinion, and by moving this rack in and out it moves the pinion, and varies the amount of fuel injected as well as the timing.
The confusing part is all these "racks" are connected together with a "fuel injector control tube", or more than one on a V type engine. This tube has fingers on it that move the individual racks, and they are adjustable to allow you to synchronize all the cylinders. Most everyone incorrectly refers to this tube as the "rack", or the process of adjusting is "running the rack", this is partly true, but not completely, but all that does not change how it works....
There is no throttle. There is a lever on the governor that adjust the amount of fuel injected, this lever is connected to the "gas pedal" in the cab. The governor works linkage that rotates the fuel control tube (or tubes) that has the fingers that work the racks in and out adjusting the amount of fuel injected and therefore engine speed.
I don't believe there are any glow plugs on an 8.2? There are not on the two cycles either, except some very very late 6V53T engines.
To check compression it is a little involved and takes some time, but not hard. Basically you remove one injector, plug the fuel lines to that injector, install the compression gauge in place of the injector, start the engine, and read the pressure while at about 500 rpm. Repeat for the rest of the cylinders, and when done you perform a tuneup which consist of adjusting the valves, setting timing (actually injector plunger height is what you measure), and set the racks by adjusting the fingers on the fuel control tubes.
about the smoke, something is probably wrong, start with a tuneup, see what happens. If no change, there are other possibilities, but start with the free fix first.
I could be wrong on some of the details of the 8.2, as I have seen them, but not worked on them. I have worked on several of the two cycles, and the injection system is almost the same.
Grigg
