XR4145 Exhaust Smoking at 30 Hours

[Supraman0614]

Hi guys, sorry for not responding. I was out of the country last week on business. I think it is definitely an issue in the exhaust. If it was rings, I would think that I might have more blue smoke from oil being pushed past the rings and burning. It is definitely soot/diesel exhaust. I am not over-fueling as the smoke is a gray color, not black or white. It smells like the exhaust is burning excess crap that may have built up in it. I didn't see any smoke at all until 29 hours. I will do some mowing to heat it up good and see what happens. Stay tuned...

 

[ProdaddyTX]

I don't have a direct answer for the OP, unfortunately, but hopefully your dealer can help you figure it out. We haven't had any affected machines ourselves, but I did hear mention of an early unit that needed to have the EGR valve replaced....that thing not doing its job properly might lead to what you're seeing, so be sure to ask your dealer about that. If they don't know they can contact the LS tech adviser for their territory for help.

A couple general comments I'll make based on some posts here....

Ozley is correct, the new XR3100 & 4100 series tractors just started shipping a few months ago....mid 2015, not 2014... I don't think dealers even had any inkling of a new engine in the works until mid to late 2014, and no technical details or projected price estimates were available until after April 2015, so there weren't any dealers holding out on new model info in early 2014....we weren't even a full year into the ISM equipped models at that point.

These new LS engines are very different from the ISM motors in the XR3000 and 4000. The ISM engines are a fairly traditional motor on the injection side of things, so there's more particulate in the exhaust vs the new engines, and therefore a 4 hour cleaning cycle for the filter. The ISM engines are high tech in a lot of ways, so don't think of them as an "old" or "outdated" design necessarily ...they just use a less costly method of achieving Tier 4 compliance.

The LS engines use a Delphi common rail (CRDI) injection system that is very advanced (amazing really!)...the short version is that they have computer controlled electronic fuel injection that's operating at roughly 26,000 psi (piezo electric injectors are crazy!!....google it...there are some neat videos that explain it. Is this evidence of alien technology being shared with humans? Maybe ;-). The injectors can do 2 micro pulses before the main fuel charge is injected, and 2 more pulses afterwards (so 5 injector pulses total per combustion cycle) to insure very complete combustion of the fuel, which is getting atomized out the wazoooo at those high pressures. If fact, there's actually exhaust regen taking place in the combustion chamber thanks to the EGR valve and the final 2 injector pulses introducing a bit more fuel to burn any uncombusted diesel and maintain proper temps.

What you end up with is an engine that makes more power on less fuel (11% fuel economy boost vs the ISM motors is what was quoted) and has exhaust that's clean enough to not require an afterburner at all to meet the regs.... as it was described to me, LS wanted to have the cleanest exhaust of any tractor engine in existence, so they included a simplified afterburner on a 50 hour cycle to give them those bragging rights.

Bottom line...we've been really impressed with the ISM engines and expect them to be one of those "lifetime" motors, given proper maintenance. But the new engines are very advanced and offer the advantages of more power per unit of fuel, with cleaner exhaust even before it gets to the DPF, and a 50 hour reburn cycle instead of 4.

 

[ozley]

I don't have a direct answer for the OP, unfortunately, but hopefully your dealer can help you figure it out. We haven't had any affected machines ourselves, but I did hear mention of an early unit that needed to have the EGR valve replaced....that thing not doing its job properly might lead to what you're seeing, so be sure to ask your dealer about that. If they don't know they can contact the LS tech adviser for their territory for help. A couple general comments I'll make based on some posts here.... Ozley is correct, the new XR3100 & 4100 series tractors just started shipping a few months ago....mid 2015, not 2014... I don't think dealers even had any inkling of a new engine in the works until mid to late 2014, and no technical details or projected price estimates were available until after April 2015, so there weren't any dealers holding out on new model info in early 2014....we weren't even a full year into the ISM equipped models at that point. These new LS engines are very different from the ISM motors in the XR3000 and 4000. The ISM engines are a fairly traditional motor on the injection side of things, so there's more particulate in the exhaust vs the new engines, and therefore a 4 hour cleaning cycle for the filter. The ISM engines are high tech in a lot of ways, so don't think of them as an "old" or "outdated" design necessarily ...they just use a less costly method of achieving Tier 4 compliance. The LS engines use a Delphi common rail (CRDI) injection system that is very advanced (amazing really!)...the short version is that they have computer controlled electronic fuel injection that's operating at roughly 26,000 psi (piezo electric injectors are crazy!!....google it...there are some neat videos that explain it. Is this evidence of alien technology being shared with humans? Maybe ;-). The injectors can do 2 micro pulses before the main fuel charge is injected, and 2 more pulses afterwards (so 5 injector pulses total per combustion cycle) to insure very complete combustion of the fuel, which is getting atomized out the wazoooo at those high pressures. If fact, there's actually exhaust regen taking place in the combustion chamber thanks to the EGR valve and the final 2 injector pulses introducing a bit more fuel to burn any uncombusted diesel and maintain proper temps. What you end up with is an engine that makes more power on less fuel (11% fuel economy boost vs the ISM motors is what was quoted) and has exhaust that's clean enough to not require an afterburner at all to meet the regs.... as it was described to me, LS wanted to have the cleanest exhaust of any tractor engine in existence, so they included a simplified afterburner on a 50 hour cycle to give them those bragging rights. Bottom line...we've been really impressed with the ISM engines and expect them to be one of those "lifetime" motors, given proper maintenance. But the new engines are very advanced and offer the advantages of more power per unit of fuel, with cleaner exhaust even before it gets to the DPF, and a 50 hour reburn cycle instead of 4.

Thank You for the what, how and when.

 

[Jhiphop72]

I don't have a direct answer for the OP, unfortunately, but hopefully your dealer can help you figure it out. We haven't had any affected machines ourselves, but I did hear mention of an early unit that needed to have the EGR valve replaced....that thing not doing its job properly might lead to what you're seeing, so be sure to ask your dealer about that. If they don't know they can contact the LS tech adviser for their territory for help.

A couple general comments I'll make based on some posts here....

Ozley is correct, the new XR3100 & 4100 series tractors just started shipping a few months ago....mid 2015, not 2014... I don't think dealers even had any inkling of a new engine in the works until mid to late 2014, and no technical details or projected price estimates were available until after April 2015, so there weren't any dealers holding out on new model info in early 2014....we weren't even a full year into the ISM equipped models at that point.

These new LS engines are very different from the ISM motors in the XR3000 and 4000. The ISM engines are a fairly traditional motor on the injection side of things, so there's more particulate in the exhaust vs the new engines, and therefore a 4 hour cleaning cycle for the filter. The ISM engines are high tech in a lot of ways, so don't think of them as an "old" or "outdated" design necessarily ...they just use a less costly method of achieving Tier 4 compliance.

The LS engines use a Delphi common rail (CRDI) injection system that is very advanced (amazing really!)...the short version is that they have computer controlled electronic fuel injection that's operating at roughly 26,000 psi (piezo electric injectors are crazy!!....google it...there are some neat videos that explain it. Is this evidence of alien technology being shared with humans? Maybe ;-). The injectors can do 2 micro pulses before the main fuel charge is injected, and 2 more pulses afterwards (so 5 injector pulses total per combustion cycle) to insure very complete combustion of the fuel, which is getting atomized out the wazoooo at those high pressures. If fact, there's actually exhaust regen taking place in the combustion chamber thanks to the EGR valve and the final 2 injector pulses introducing a bit more fuel to burn any uncombusted diesel and maintain proper temps.

What you end up with is an engine that makes more power on less fuel (11% fuel economy boost vs the ISM motors is what was quoted) and has exhaust that's clean enough to not require an afterburner at all to meet the regs.... as it was described to me, LS wanted to have the cleanest exhaust of any tractor engine in existence, so they included a simplified afterburner on a 50 hour cycle to give them those bragging rights.

Bottom line...we've been really impressed with the ISM engines and expect them to be one of those "lifetime" motors, given proper maintenance. But the new engines are very advanced and offer the advantages of more power per unit of fuel, with cleaner exhaust even before it gets to the DPF, and a 50 hour reburn cycle instead of 4.

I like this explanation a lot. I have also noticed the same engine model number and displacement for the 3100 and 4100 series. Your explanation leads me to believe the higher HP ratings are all achieved by electronically manipulating the engine. X setting for 35HP, with a setting for each all the way to 55HP. Is this correct?

 

[George2615]

Ok I was thing they came out July 2015 my mind is slow at times thanks.

You are correct and I stand corrected. Must be my CRS (Can't Remember ****) kicking in. I do remember talking to the factory rep at the farm show about the new models but it must have been at this February 2015 show. Already owned my 3037 for a year by then. My apology for the mistake.

 

[dntfxr]

Thanks to John from RCO for the info on the fuel and emissions systems, good to know the details on how they work together. The owners manual has brief descriptions of each but I had no idea they were that efficient! The engine is extremely smooth and quiet, hope they prove to be durable also.

 

[STELLS]

Hi guys, sorry for not responding. I was out of the country last week on business. I think it is definitely an issue in the exhaust. If it was rings, I would think that I might have more blue smoke from oil being pushed past the rings and burning. It is definitely soot/diesel exhaust. I am not over-fueling as the smoke is a gray color, not black or white. It smells like the exhaust is burning excess crap that may have built up in it. I didn't see any smoke at all until 29 hours. I will do some mowing to heat it up good and see what happens. Stay tuned...

Has your smoking issue been resolved? I just had a spat of exhaust smoke at 66 hours on my machine.

 

[Supraman0614]

Here's the latest: I was loading my wood cart while the tractor was at idle. It had just over 40 hours on it and the regen light came on. The engine began to surge a little (idle up and down), and the regen light was blinking. The owners manual says that the regen light blinking on and off in one-second increments means that the exhaust is somewhat plugged with soot. I moved the throttle up to around 1500rpm and it continued to surge. At that point, the regen temp light came on. It seemed like it should be a normal regen cycle (although I've never experienced one), except that it was at 40 hours instead of 50, and the engine was surging. I didn't want to shut it off as I was far from the barn and it was dark. Long story short, after about ten minutes, the lights shut off, the surging stopped, and I moved the throttle back to idle. It has been running fine since with no smoking, although I have only put a couple hours on since then.

I suspect that since I have been running around closer to idle and not really pushing it that it created more soot in the exhaust than it otherwise might have. Most times I use it, it isn't for very long and the engine is not pushed hard and really warm. I am going to give it a few hours and if I see any more smoke, I am going to manually regen the exhaust. The owners manual says that if you hold the regen button a few seconds, it will start the cycle. We'll see how that works. For now, I have no performance issues but we'll see how it goes. Fifty hour service is coming up so I will be speaking to the dealer when that happens.

 

[nvmyhd]

I suspect that since I have been running around closer to idle and not really pushing it that it created more soot in the exhaust than it otherwise might have. Most times I use it, it isn't for very long and the engine is not pushed hard and really warm. I am going to give it a few hours and if I see any more smoke, I am going to manually regen the exhaust. The owners manual says that if you hold the regen button a few seconds, it will start the cycle. We'll see how that works. For now, I have no performance issues but we'll see how it goes. Fifty hour service is coming up so I will be speaking to the dealer when that happens.

If you keep the RPMs low you will incur regen more often as it needs to heat up to burn off. If your doing a lot of short on/off low RPM it most likely keep causing problems. Unless you force it like you said but again you want the RPM's up.

So where in WNY are ya, I'm from Albion originally.