I've experienced something similar before: a very rough start and a lot of white smoke. During an inspection, I found that the glow plug fuse was blown, so I had the car towed and replaced the fuse. That's not all!
Unfortunately, the car broke down 600km from home, and the cause was the usual problem with the KW dampers.
My tip: check the timing belt pulley and the corresponding screw. It's highly likely that the screw has become loose, causing play in the pulley. Although there's a groove/spring connection, it's only a safety feature and has play itself. If you drive a lot, you will increasingly damage the constant velocity (CV) joint boot because, with each change in load, the slider rotates around the dead zone in that connection, which deforms the spring.
If the screw has a quality grade of 8.8 or 10.9 marked on the outside, you're probably out of luck because these screws are too weak.
Also, buy a new timing belt pulley at the same time; the part number for the new version ends in 'B'!
You might find more information at dieselkraft.free.fr or you can email me at
[email protected].