Ilikeurtractor
Veteran Member
- Joined
- May 16, 2011
- Messages
- 1,069
- Tractor
- Iseki TX1300F/TX1500/ TX2160F/TS2220F/ Satoh S370D/S373D
It has become apparent that the KE70 engine in my Iseki TX1300F seems to not be running correctly. Anybody have any experience with these engines and how much power they seem to have? They are suppose to be equivalent to the K3A engine and mine just seems to be a dog. I take about a 20% hit on power due to my elevation - 6200' asl but this seems to be much more loss than that. The engine seems to puff a lot of white/gray smoke under acceleration and load. Even just in neutral, going from low idle to full throttle it seems to bog down and take some time to get to full rpms. Here's what I have done/learned so far (not necessarily in the order completed):
1.) Drained fuel, new fuel filter & fuel. Checked air filter and even ran it shortly w/o the filter installed just to see any differece - none noted.
2.) Played with IP timing - the engine had two 1/32" gaskets installed under the pump since evidently previous owners lost the metal shims. I removed one of them and the white smoke and miss went away at full throttle which it originally had. Still gray/white smoke and lack of power under load and seems like it's not entirely timing related. Not sure where I'm at as far as degree BTDC because I don't have the skill/tools to check it but I've had every thing from no gaskets (wouldn't start) to a 1/64" (didn't seem to run much better but starts fine), the 1/32" (starts fine but still no power and gray/white smoke), and the 1/32"+1/64" gaskets installed (starts a little harder but pretty much the same low power and smoke).
3.) Fuel pump rebuilt and new injector nozzles. This helped some - less white smoke and easier to start, but it wasn't the culprit (and wasn't worth the money for the gain) - same low power
4.) Checked to make sure the cam gear timing marks were lined up with the crankshaft gear timing mark - they were
5.) Did a compression check - cylinder closest to radiator was 310 psig and the other was 295 psig. The gage was still climbing on both cylinders but the instructions that came with the tester said not to crank more than 8 revolutions for each pressure check. Not exactly sure why. The service manual states the compression should be 455 psig @ 2800 rpm and I have no idea what rpm the starter turns the engine but I doubt it's 2800 rpm. I also did the check with the engine up to operating temperature.
6.) Checked cold valve clearance - all were factory spec. (0.014" if memory serves me).
I haven't noticed any usage of coolant and the oil level has been holding over the past 10 or so hours of use so I don't think I have a blown head gasket or am burning oil. The previous owner stated he never added any fluids during the last 10 years of his use. The white/gray smoke smells like diesel fumes as best as I can tell. Unloaded/idling at any rpm, I can only see a faint amount of white smoke and sometimes none at all.
So I'm guessing it probably needs a ring job to get that compression back up, but I would hate to go through the expense and time of rings and bearings only to get what I already have (like with the pump and injector nozzles). I don't think I'll ever see 455 psig at my elevation anyway, maybe more like 370 or so at best. When I removed the valve cover vent, it seemed like very little crankcase gases were coming out but I really don't have anything to compare it to. Am I missing any other obvious checks? I find it hard to believe this engine is as weak as mine feels from the factory. Any comments are appreciated.
1.) Drained fuel, new fuel filter & fuel. Checked air filter and even ran it shortly w/o the filter installed just to see any differece - none noted.
2.) Played with IP timing - the engine had two 1/32" gaskets installed under the pump since evidently previous owners lost the metal shims. I removed one of them and the white smoke and miss went away at full throttle which it originally had. Still gray/white smoke and lack of power under load and seems like it's not entirely timing related. Not sure where I'm at as far as degree BTDC because I don't have the skill/tools to check it but I've had every thing from no gaskets (wouldn't start) to a 1/64" (didn't seem to run much better but starts fine), the 1/32" (starts fine but still no power and gray/white smoke), and the 1/32"+1/64" gaskets installed (starts a little harder but pretty much the same low power and smoke).
3.) Fuel pump rebuilt and new injector nozzles. This helped some - less white smoke and easier to start, but it wasn't the culprit (and wasn't worth the money for the gain) - same low power
4.) Checked to make sure the cam gear timing marks were lined up with the crankshaft gear timing mark - they were
5.) Did a compression check - cylinder closest to radiator was 310 psig and the other was 295 psig. The gage was still climbing on both cylinders but the instructions that came with the tester said not to crank more than 8 revolutions for each pressure check. Not exactly sure why. The service manual states the compression should be 455 psig @ 2800 rpm and I have no idea what rpm the starter turns the engine but I doubt it's 2800 rpm. I also did the check with the engine up to operating temperature.
6.) Checked cold valve clearance - all were factory spec. (0.014" if memory serves me).
I haven't noticed any usage of coolant and the oil level has been holding over the past 10 or so hours of use so I don't think I have a blown head gasket or am burning oil. The previous owner stated he never added any fluids during the last 10 years of his use. The white/gray smoke smells like diesel fumes as best as I can tell. Unloaded/idling at any rpm, I can only see a faint amount of white smoke and sometimes none at all.
So I'm guessing it probably needs a ring job to get that compression back up, but I would hate to go through the expense and time of rings and bearings only to get what I already have (like with the pump and injector nozzles). I don't think I'll ever see 455 psig at my elevation anyway, maybe more like 370 or so at best. When I removed the valve cover vent, it seemed like very little crankcase gases were coming out but I really don't have anything to compare it to. Am I missing any other obvious checks? I find it hard to believe this engine is as weak as mine feels from the factory. Any comments are appreciated.
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