vauxhall corsa starting problems

[n3il]

Hi there i have a vauxhall corsa arizona N plate (1996) i thnk, i bought it off a friend who told me at the time that it didnt stat too good on cold mornings because of its age, at the time i thought no more about it but now im convinced that its not the age and i have another problem that i want to get to the bottom of because apart from this its been a quality little car.. The problem is when i start it in the morning i obviously wait for the glow plugs light to go off then when i try to turn it over it takes a good 10 seconds before the engine starts, then when it does start alot of smoke comes out the exhaust. and a i can smell a strange smell that i can only describe as burning pan handles or somet. this also happens if i click the glow plugs 2/3 times but not as much.. i dont know alot about ars but i know that when i let the glowplug light go off i hear a click 5/7 seconds later, is this normal? i'll list the things ive done to it to try and get it starting good Had new glow plugs put in Had a new battery New alternator belt Changed oil Ive also had in in the garage and got told by the mechanic that i need a new alternator which i dont mind buying if i knew for a fact that it would fix the starting problem.. they also had a quick stab in the dark and said it might be tappet or tappet sockets but ive veen told it doesn't sound like tappets.. All advice welcome Thanks in advance Neil

[mech29]

it sounds like your fuel jet are clodded up and need cleaning, get some diesel cleaner in your tank and run it for a few days. but first change you fuel filter, it could have water at the bottom of it. there is a black relay unit on all diesel engines which help the car to start, check that too.

It will not be the alternator, or the tappets giving you problem starting up.