The guy that put the engine internals together says "The rings are not seated yet end the smoking is normal. Just give it a couple hours of work"

[dfkrug]

What do typical small diesel engines run?

The 3-cylinder Yanmars I have rebuilt idled at 1000 RPM, and had min engine oil pressure spec of 8.7 psi at idle.

 

[sd455dan]

jmo. Both my high hour 3 cylinder Ford tractor diesels have/ had 60+ cold PSI and over 45 lb hot at a 600 idle RPM. (Over 5000 hours)
Believe this very common for Ford diesel tractor engines, as far as what kind of oil pressure they make.
Which is why this "rebuilt" Ford with a New pump is not in the Normal category.
As many have posted oil pressure is not something that is going to improve with more hours, which is just another reason to take this particular engine back apart and do some measuring but only after a compression and leak down test first again, as has been posted.

 

[Dman1981]

Find a real
Mechanic to fix it do you have blow by pull the dipstick if oil shoots out problems aslo pull muffler off see if you still have smoke old muffler full
Of oil will make really good smoke
Yes injectors could be a problem
You can listen to them or crack line one at a time to see if engine runs better worse I would imagine if you overhauled it you would have done injectors cheap repair
I can smell the diesel just thinking about it
Being a mechanic is always fun and very interesting to see how things work and what People think and do
I have been turning wrenches for forty years and I am still amazed some mechanic are still alive

 

[JRH02]

Why was the engine rebuilt in the first place? Maybe I missed that being asked and answered?

 

[boatmoter]

When I went to school I was told to only do this is you can't get the rings to seat.

when repairing for a company that sells used tractors time is not an option so the quicker seating was needed as I had to go start on repairs on the next tractor. this method never let me down but was not needed on every build either

 

[JRH02]

All this talk about the bore, finish and sizing....

All I can say to that is most shops want the oversize pistons ON Hand Before they bore a block, that way they can final hone to put it on the money spec wise as far as piston to wall clearance.
. So the block was bored .040 over and then a set of .040 pistons in a kit was sourced?

This is absolutely true for a competent shop to bore and then hone the cylinders to size to the pistons supplied before the block work is done.

Next, I ALWAYS end gapped EVERY ring. How much came off the ends varied constantly. You can do it or pay the machine shop to do it. I always did my own.

I always plastigaged ALL mains and rods. Adds a little time but that step sure guards against this kind of problem. Heck, even proper technique for plastigaging is taking lightly.

It was said earlier that this engine needs to be shelled apart and redone. I concur. This whole thing is just dragging on and its just gonna get worse over time. Too bad its a tractor and has to be split again. It'd be even more of a easy decision if it was a vehicle. I sympathize that you have to go through this but fortunately I can't empathize.

 

[JRH02]

Overall, to me, this is a frustrating thread. All this discussion of what COULD be a problem and trying to get around what seems to be absolute evidence that it has to be redone.

 

[just_Dave]

most diesel engines will never get to operating temp at idle, and with no thermostat I bet that motor is cold as cold. a lot of semi and pickups Cummins actually have a high idle feature for situations where you need it run while not driving to maintain a proper engine temp and not wash the cylinders down.

my personal opinion is you need it in a dyno, behind a plow, pushing dirt around with a loader... dragging a big ass heavy rock around the yard something to get it up to temp and working. Dragging the brakes won't do a thing past wear then out.

and or an honest conversation with the builder for info on all the data they should have on the rebuild

 

[thepumpguysc]

Down here in SC we have sand for soil.. so “pushing a tree” is the norm here to get 1 up to temp. & broken in..

 

[pmsmechanic]

Soooo. Was there a happy ending?