ISEKI TX1500F smoking, very hard to start. Do i need an overhaul?

[mdpatterson70]

Hey guy and gals, i have my old Iseki TX1500F which is the same as a Bolens G174 diesel. I am very familiar with gas engines but this will be my first diesel engine.
This old girl smokes horible and won't start but just when she wants to and then she has to get drunk on ether.QUESTION: is it time for an overhaul or just ring sets for each piston. Or is there more thst I'm not seeing since I am not a diesel mechanic.

 

[artfull dodger]

Could need rings, maybe more, maybe less. Could just be bad/sticking injectors. I would get a diesel rated compression gauge and see how healthy the cylinders are first. If compression is up to spec, then you have injector or injector pump issues. If its low, then a rebuild is needed. Outside of the injectors and injector pump, a diesel isnt much different. Just tighter tollerances to achieve high compression needed to ignite the fuel. Head should go to machine shop to check for flatness. Normal measurements to bore, crank bearing surfaces ect. Using either is not, let me repeat that NOT good for small diesels. Can cause all kinds of bad things, cracked piston heads, broken rings and other bad stuff. If it needs either to start, something isnt right. Is your cold start system working. Dont remember if this model is direct or indirect injected and what cold start set it she has. Glow plugs or something else. Indirect injected diesels like Kubota, some Yanmar, my Deutz Allis(Hinomoto) will not start without glow assist, even on 90'F days. Direct injected diesels many times will start ok on warm days, only needing assist in colder weather. Even with glow assist, many of the older indirect injected tractors I have owned were not happy to start unless I plugged in the block heater for an hour or two. Mike

 

[Industrial Toys]

A friend had one of those. I always thought it was really hard starting, but I never mentioned it. I just figured it was tired. Without lots of glow plug, it would never have started. He never used starting fluid. Does the glow plug indicator glow? I believe it has one of those heating element type indicators.

 

[mdpatterson70]

Well i appreciate the advice. I had the time so i tore into the engine yesterday. The good news is that the inside of the block and head looks great. I bet this little sucker doesn't have very many hours on it with the lack of crude and build up noticed. What i did find when i pulled the pistons out was that the top rings on both were broken in multiple places. Probably due to ether. Aslo one of the glow plugs was not working. So i have everything cleaned up and pistons, valves, rods, and such are in good condition. Ordered new rings, valve stem seats, glow plug, and head gasket from Weaver Compact Tractor Parts out of PA. Should be here by this weekend so hopefully the reassembly goes good. Thanks again for the advice.