Could be starting up on 3 cylinders and then when enough heat the 4th cylinder is joining the party.
I would start by looking at the glowplugs
check the continuity of the glowplugs, go from the top of the plug to the engine block, a good glowplug will have a resistance value of circa. 1 ohm
you will probably have to disconnect the wiring from the top of the glowplug.