White smoke at high RPM

[uler3161]

New to the forum. Hoping someone can help me with my B6000.

I noticed my tractor is starting to blow some white smoke, but only at high RPM. It also misses a little bit at high RPM. Seems to get a little better after it warms up. I don't know diesels that well, so I'm just looking for ideas on what to check. Does it matter that this only happens at high RPM?

 

[Eric McCarthy]

White smoke is water leaking onto the cylinders somehow. Here's a helpful picture that tells you whats going on when you have different color smoke.

 

[Gannon]

Is it white smoke or white steam?

White steam it caused by water entering the combustion chamber and evaporating.
White smoke is caused by raw, un-burnt diesel exiting the combustion chamber (unlike black smoke which is from partially burnt diesel
This is a sign of poor cylinder compression, faulty injectors or poor injection timing

 

[uler3161]

Pretty sure it's smoke and not steam.

 

[MagKarl]

I would guess possible fuel delivery problem. Does the white smoke smell strongly? Have you changed your fuel filter lately? I'd say injection timing too, but I don't know how it can shift since it's all mechanical.

 

[uler3161]

I seem to recall it had a bit of smell.

Haven't changed the filter lately, so I'll try that.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

A diesel engine is a diesel engine no matter if its on a tractor or a Mack truck. White smoke indicates a water leak somewhere. The problem happening at high RPM's makes sense to me because the tractor runs hot and the radiator builds up pressure. What is your coolant level like when your done running?

 

[MagKarl]

Unburnt diesel fuel makes white pungent smoke.

 

[Orange2009]

sounds like what mine is doing after a hydrolock mishap, its white but sorta blue tint... diesel thats not completely burned or unburnt. Im hoping that its just a bad head gasket... mine is NOT water. do you have a vid?

 

[Orange2009]

this is mine is this what yours is doing?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plcp&v=qN5kWteeVTE

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Hydrlock.... HUMMMM.... whats another name for hydro.... WATER. Hydrolocking in a diesel engine happens when water builds up in the injectors and is dumped into a running engine instead of fuel.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

This aritcle I found will really clear up everthing you need to know about diesel exhaust color.

http://www.forconstructionpros.com/article/10286202/diesel-engines-get-to-know-your-colors

 

[uler3161]

this is mine is this what yours is doing?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plcp&v=qN5kWteeVTE

Mine seems like it has a little thicker smoke than that, at least until it warms up a little, then maybe it's about the same.

I will try to fiddle with it a bit this weekend and see if I can determine anything. If not, I may post a video.

 

[uler3161]

A diesel engine is a diesel engine no matter if its on a tractor or a Mack truck. White smoke indicates a water leak somewhere. The problem happening at high RPM's makes sense to me because the tractor runs hot and the radiator builds up pressure. What is your coolant level like when your done running?

I checked it after the last time I ran the tractor and the coolant was above the core, but not all the way to the top. I'm not sure what the level was before this started happening. I topped it off, but haven't ran it since. I suppose maybe the thing to do is run it a bit and see if it goes down.

I'm also assuming a compression test might be a good idea?

 

[Apogee]

My bet is a bad injector. How many hours on the engine?

You might consider pulling the injectors and checking the spray pattern.

 

[Orange2009]

Hydrlock.... HUMMMM.... whats another name for hydro.... WATER. Hydrolocking in a diesel engine happens when water builds up in the injectors and is dumped into a running engine instead of fuel.

Easy turbo. Read my post first it locked because I mistakenly got coolant in the intake, but after that its burning bluish white... It's diesel trust me. I'm just trying to determine what it is that I damaged, injector? Head gasket (loss of compression/unburnt diesel) ect.

 

[MagKarl]

After a hydrolock you could have a bent rod and thus lower compression on that cylinder. It can happen with any liquid, oil, water, fuel.

 

[Wild and Free]

Start with Pulling the injectors and have them pop tested and inspected and while they are out do a compression test.

I see too many wanting to tear into the engine due to a lot of miss information from wanna be diesel techs throwing a lot of bad info out there on this forum that would cause nothing but a lot of un needed work and money spent.

If one did have enough battery and starting power to actually turn an engine over that was "Hydro" locked very very rare unless one hit the key 20 times until it finally cranked over, in the case of equipment hydro can mean any type of fluid like Magkarl pointed out, You could have broken rings on pistons and If you bent a rod you wouldn't be running it as it would run like total crap as well as shaking itself to death being out of balance and knocking, not to mention more often than not it can bend valve stems and knock the rocker arms off and bend push tubes. If it runs good and just smokes white start with the injectors and compression test and go from there.

I have seen dozens of engines overloaded with Ether starting fluid and cause all of the above symptoms as hydro locking which is what it actually is with too much ether too.

 

[Orange2009]

Start with Pulling the injectors and have them pop tested and inspected and while they are out do a compression test.

I see too many wanting to tear into the engine due to a lot of miss information from wanna be diesel techs throwing a lot of bad info out there on this forum that would cause nothing but a lot of un needed work and money spent.

If one did have enough battery and starting power to actually turn an engine over that was "Hydro" locked very very rare unless one hit the key 20 times until it finally cranked over, in the case of equipment hydro can mean any type of fluid like Magkarl pointed out, You could have broken rings on pistons and If you bent a rod you wouldn't be running it as it would run like total crap as well as shaking itself to death being out of balance and knocking, not to mention more often than not it can bend valve stems and knock the rocker arms off and bend push tubes. If it runs good and just smokes white start with the injectors and compression test and go from there.

I have seen dozens of engines overloaded with Ether starting fluid and cause all of the above symptoms as hydro locking which is what it actually is with too much ether too.

Thank you for this info, I ill look into it, what should my compression be on this engine? Good news is mine was not running when it locked, it was after maintenance that I tried to start it a couple times and it wouldn't, so I thought the battery was dead, went to get a beer an came back and tried again and it was tough to turn over but fired with a little steam/smoke and turned to all unburnt diesel as shown on the video. Now as far as when the engine is cold it is a rough idle for a few seconds, then smoke till its warmed up, then no smoke unless its over 2900rpm


By the way sorry to steal the OP topic but sounds like we have similar issues.

 

[uler3161]

By the way sorry to steal the OP topic but sounds like we have similar issues.

That's fine. I'm learning some good stuff here.