Corsa diesel, difficulty starting

[GeofT]

Hello there,

I'm running an old R reg Corsa 1.7 diesel that's takes a bit of effort to start in the cold - when the car is warmer the problem isn't as bad. I just got the glow plugs changed so it's not that. There's also alot of smoke from the exhaust when getting it started. I'm charging the battery as we speak, if this doesn't work what's the likely culprit? I change the oil+air filters fairly regularly and i'm considering changing the fuel filter if it's not too difficult.

Thanks

[woodchopper]

If there is a lot of miles on the clock I would suspect poor compresions ie. worn engine - but only at a high mileage

Is the car turning over fast enough on the starter ?
One cause of the smoke from the exhaust caused by unburnt fuel.
By all means change the fuel filter but i would suspect that if it was clogged it would give the engine running problems not just at start up.