McCormick X4.3 Frozen PCV - Blowing Oil - Big Mess at -40C

[Rightsaidfred]

Well, we had a load of snow yesterday late in the day but too late to clear it last night. Then last night /this morning it was -33C without the windchill, - 40c (-40F)with the windchill.

So I got the McCormick X4.3 out to blow the snow we got yesterday (I left it plugged in overnight in the garage).

I was just finishing up and I caught a wiff of burning oil. I get off the tractor and see oil on the left side loader support, lift the hood and the fuel filters and Alternator are covered in Oil.

Call the dealer, he says , "yep , the PCV is frozen, and she's blowing oil out of (some vent) common issue on those ". (apparently I was the second guy to call and that was only 9am). He says pull the dipstick if you need to move it into the barn again, it will vent from there then instead. So I pull the dip stick and drive into the barn and shut it off. Now I had pool of Freakin oil under the right front side and the right loader arm support is dripping with oil. Friggin oil had shot out the dipstick tube. I'd guess I lost 2 or 3 litres of oil on the floor and down the driveway

Drove to the dealership in my car to ask WTF ? and buy more oil, They said likely the PCV is totally frozen/plugged, wait till Tuesday when its above Zero and try it again, see if it thaw's out.

It was so cold, the oil that puked out of the dipstick tube was actually freezing on my concrete barn floor !, I shovelled it and it peeled like ice-cream. (Rotella 10w30). I have NEVER seen that before .

I sure hope there are no seals blown. Dealer didnt seem too worried, they're good guys at our dealership

No seals in the turbo apparently -- I just hate it when my sh*t breaks, I spend alot of time and effort maintaining my stuff and then this happens. Hopefully she's ok.

Anyway, 2 cans of break cleaner later, she's mostly cleaned up and waiting for warm weather. I may see if I can tarp the front on Sunday (high of 0c) and put a heater under the tarp and thaw it out that way. Im not a patient man.

Cold day here in Northern Ontario Canada

 

[Spike56]

Well, we had a load of snow yesterday late in the day but too late to clear it last night. Then last night /this morning it was -33C without the windchill, - 40c (-40F)with the windchill.

So I got the McCormick X4.3 out to blow the snow we got yesterday (I left it plugged in overnight in the garage).

I was just finishing up and I caught a wiff of burning oil. I get off the tractor and see oil on the left side loader support, lift the hood and the fuel filters and Alternator are covered in Oil.

Call the dealer, he says , "yep , the PCV is frozen, and she's blowing oil out of (some vent) common issue on those ". (apparently I was the second guy to call and that was only 9am). He says pull the dipstick if you need to move it into the barn again, it will vent from there then instead. So I pull the dip stick and drive into the barn and shut it off. Now I had pool of Freakin oil under the right front side and the right loader arm support is dripping with oil. Friggin oil had shot out the dipstick tube. I'd guess I lost 2 or 3 litres of oil on the floor and down the driveway

Drove to the dealership in my car to ask WTF ? and buy more oil, They said likely the PCV is totally frozen/plugged, wait till Tuesday when its above Zero and try it again, see if it thaw's out.

It was so cold, the oil that puked out of the dipstick tube was actually freezing on my concrete barn floor !, I shovelled it and it peeled like ice-cream. (Rotella 10w30). I have NEVER seen that before .

I sure hope there are no seals blown. Dealer didnt seem too worried, they're good guys at our dealership

No seals in the turbo apparently -- I just hate it when my sh*t breaks, I spend alot of time and effort maintaining my stuff and then this happens. Hopefully she's ok.

Anyway, 2 cans of break cleaner later, she's mostly cleaned up and waiting for warm weather. I may see if I can tarp the front on Sunday (high of 0c) and put a heater under the tarp and thaw it out that way. Im not a patient man.

Cold day here in Northern Ontario Canada

Wow, I do not know which to feel sorrier about, your tractor issue or the fact you had to be outdoors in that weather. Personally, grew up on the shores of Lake Erie. Only been in -22 degrees was my record, wind chill unknown. I recall though being almost numb. A friend in Montana couldn't get his truck started one morning and called his mechanic friend. Friend said it was -55 and don't bother, gas is frozen in the lines. Sounds similar.
Good luck, hope no damage !

 

[Paystar]

Two winters during a period of minus 40 we had a power outage for 3 days. That was the first time I ever had to leave my gas generator running continuously for that long. And sure enough it did that! My lights went out, I went outside and sure enough it was covered in oil. I thought it blew up. But everything looked okay, so filled the oil back up and cleaned the air filter and it has been fine ever since.

Then last winter I went to start my Polaris Sportsman 500 that was sitting in a shed. Had it idling to warm up and I went in the house and heard what was like a bomb going off. I ran outside and sure enough it was covered in oil and it blew the dry sump oil tank right off!! Luckily I was there quick to shut it off before the engine went dry.

 

[Rightsaidfred]

Well, today its finally back up to -3C, may hit zero degrees later this morning.

So, I've put a portable heater under the hood, and covered the engine in blankets & a tarp to trap the heat. (keeping the heater way from blankets and plastic etc)

ill leave that on all day, and tonight ill plug the block heater in, instead.

I will Put that heater back on tomorrow (zero degrees again) and I figure by EOD Monday or Tuesday (+3 degrees C) Ill give her a go.

I did add 2 litres of oil today, so thats how much I lost, and it appears the oil came out of the joint in the pipe that connects the Turbo to the intake plenum (Big Cataltyic shaped gizmo on the top of the valve cover), which is where my dealer guessed it was coming from. He said there are no oil seals in the turbo so thats not a worry.

Dealer said McCormick know this is a problem and theyre trying to devise a way to heat the PCV pipe to stop it freezing. Of course on the older rigs like my 2011 Mccormick CX100 Xtra Shift, there is no PCV valve theres just a vent pipe that vents outside and the engine can breathe that way.

 

[5030]

Glad I don't have one, just a road vent tube from the overhead cover.

 

[Thunder chicken]

Its common to drill a hole in crankcase vent tubes/hose on airplane engines to provide an alternate means of venting in case the end of the tube ices over from condensation. Many people have blown out dipsticks or prop seals as the pressure finds the weak spot!

 

[Rightsaidfred]

Fired it up this morning after 3 days of a heater under the hood (blankets & tarps) and block heater plugged in. It was warm under there for 3 days.

But...still getting oil spitting out of the pipe from the turbo to the intake. Blue smoke under load when I first set off to the dealership, it stopped blowing the blue smoke after 5 minutes. It seems to be running a bit rough, pressure still in the crank case too (the I pull the dip stick).

So.... I took it to the dealership, they can investigate and see what going on


Residual oil in the turbo pipe ?
Still frozen PCV valve/pipe?
Blown head gasket @ the push rod hole pressurizing the crank case ?


dealer will look at it in the coming days and report back

fingers crossed its not a big issue with a big $ fix

 

[Rightsaidfred]

OK, so it appears we are all fixed up now.

Seems the ois spatter and leakage yesterday was still leftover oil in the turbo intake from last week's issue. However, the dealer made a modification per the instruction of McCormick to convert the venting to the old school road vent tube, instead of having it route to the intake by the turbo. PCV valve still there but now it just vents to atmosphere down the side of the engine via a new pipe. The intake side of the setup is now plugged.

Both McCormick and TYM that run the same Deutz engine are apparently recommending this modification after trying heating coils and other things to resolve the issue over the past few years. Problem was, there was a bend in the metal PCV pipe that was about 70 degrees and too acute, causing a perfect place for the pipe to freeze in cold weather.

McCormick / my dealer performed the work free of charge despite the tractor being out of warranty for a few years.

 

[newbury]

Thanks for the wrap up.