B3200 smoke-out on cold start

[leonz]

[QUOTE=jim_wilson;3185721]So do owners of older Kubota 4 cylinder tractors have this problem? If so then maybe it's just inherent in the 4 cylinders. But I've got to believe that there is something else at play here since there is such a drastic difference between my old BX and the B3200.

I've started the BX in sub-zero weather - with no block heater (it never had one) - and I didn't have this much of an issue.




Hello Jim,


You can safely use a salamander where it will only be about 5 feet from the B3200 and it will heat up the engine crankcase, the cooling system and the transmission within 15 minutes or so and then it will roll over quickly. In general a lot of folks who have machines outdoors throw a heavy tarp over their machines and then use a space heater to keep all the heat under the tarp when the machines are out of doors.

EDIT: space heater is facing the rear of the machine blowing the heated air under the rear axle and tarp; this is done quite often with skid loaders where the rear access door is opened fully with the engine and hydraulic systeme exposed to the heat where the trap covers the entire machine and it also heats the radiator at the same time.


In but one of my examples:
I heat up my firewood precessors engine and hydraulic tank after about a half hour to fourty five minutes of running the space heater-25 gallon system with an air cooled Honda engine. I have the space heater about five feet from the front bumper of the truck and after 30-45 minutes its deiced and starts with no dificulty.


You have to remember the mule is nothing more than a heat sink and it will shed heat quickly when it is shut off quickly too. I used to heat my old truck up with a space heater even though it had a block heater plugged in the year round and it helped me keeep it running for 13 years before i took it off the road.

[kuboman]

Looks like fixing the injection pump timing can have a big effect on the problem:

New Kubota B3200 Cold Start.wmv - YouTube

A blockheater is an easy install and just an hour or 2 before starting plug it in. Does yours fire right away when cold and then smoke or do you need to crank it some. I would wonder if your glow plugs are working correctly. And if they are then yours may benefit from advancing the timing. And yes it is advance not retard. They tend to retard the timing on these engines for emission which gives smokey starts.

[jim_wilson]

A blockheater is an easy install and just an hour or 2 before starting plug it in. Does yours fire right away when cold and then smoke or do you need to crank it some. I would wonder if your glow plugs are working correctly. And if they are then yours may benefit from advancing the timing. And yes it is advance not retard. They tend to retard the timing on these engines for emission which gives smokey starts.

I'm going to try the block heater just because in general diesels start easier when they've got one. I've read the instructions before and I believe it's not a bad install.

It pretty much starts right away - I turn the ignition - let the glow plug stay on for 45-60 seconds - then crank it. I don't see it having much of a problem starting - but it's obviously not firing on all cylinders right away - that takes another minute or so. So yeah - it fires right away and then smokes like crazy. The guy in the video link I posted sounded like he was having pretty much the same problem - and you can see in his video that he gets a little puff of smoke when he starts it after fixing the injector pump timing , but it's not bad at all.

What I'm seeing is a cloud that fills up the garage - and the guy in the video says he was seeing the same thing.

I'm going to have to look up the specs and procedure on fixing the pump timing and give that a try.

[Gary Fowler]

I only have Kubota B 26 and RTV 900 but I don't use the glow plugs more than 10 seconds and they fire up within 2 revolutions of the engine and don't smoke other than initial puff of black smoke at startup. I have cranked both at 18 F which is as cold as it has ever got here and they both crank right up with no lugging or excessive smoking just like they do on a 90F day without using the glow plugs. If your plugs are on a timer it could be timing out and getting cold again before you crank if you are burning for a minute. That is way too long to use them. 5-15 seconds would be plenty at 30F to 0F I would think. Anything lower than that and you need a block heater for the oil and then same 15 second max hit on the glowplugs.

[beckmurph]

Spit, sputter, miss, smoke and rough idle on first start up of the B3200 is my experience. It will do it in cold or warm weather. Mine stays in the garage, unheated, the same as the BX25 and the b2620.
The BX and the b series both started just fine in cold weather. It was mentioned on this forum about holding the key in the glow plug position after starting. This helps alot, and the B3200 runs good on startup if you hold use the glow plugs after startup.

[kuboman]

I would check each glow plug independently. My 3200 starts real good with little smoke. If glowed for 60 seconds it would start like summer time.

[radair]

The block heater on my B3000 makes a world of difference. Rough, smoky start in cold weather without it (but not as long as your 45 seconds), smooth starts in any temps with it on.

Please let me know what you learn with the timing issue

[tc18ny]

My brand new b3200 has the same behavior. Smoke some on startup and runs choppy for about 10 to 15 seconds. The dealer mechanic told me this is normal for this engine. I asked specifically about this before having it delivered as I did alot of research into it. Mine isn't terrible but I definitely notice it when it's cold. It doesn't seem like there is a whole lot you can do about it unless you want to get into adjusting fuel delivery. I'm not going to on mine. If it gets worse, I'll call the dealer.

[Chilly807]

The B3200 in the video starts very much like my L3400 does, a quick puff of grey smoke then it is essentially clear exhaust. Any diesel will give that initial puff, the fuel pump delivers a maximum fuel charge until the engine starts, then the governor cuts it back to maintain an idle. A turbocharged engine with air-fuel limiter is slightly different. Smoke that continues after the engine starts is indicative of poor combustion which can in some cases be caused by incorrect fuel timing, or other mechanical issues.

I've been using the block heater before almost every start this winter. There's no harm in using it, it's easier on the engine to be warm when starting and I save idle time warming it up before using it.

Sean

[dtherrien]

I have a b3300su that starts and smokes alittle on the initial start-up of the day. It stays in the garage and only use the glow plugs for 5-10seconds. It will stumble for about 5 seconds or so and then smooths out. I bump the throttle just off idle when starting.
If your machine is running smooth through out the rpm range....I wouldnt worry about the smoking at start up.