Trying to narrow down causes of white smoke.

[jlrsn]

I'm assuming this head is junk?

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You'd be amazed at how a cylinder head can be overhauled. If the valve seat is badly burned and cannot be resurfaced it can be replaced. Cracks can be welded, etc. Remove the valves and inspect the valve face and seat. Check for head warpage with a quality straight edge. Clean up the head and check for cracks. A good machine shop can make a junk head like new unless a new or exchange head is available at an affordable price.
Good luck,
Jim

 

[chiefchicken]

There appears to be a fair amount of material eroded away on that one particular combustion chamber. Keep in mind that diesels ignite their fuel from the heat generated by compressing the intake charge. If that one cylinder is missing enough material from the head, it may never be able to create enough pressure to obtain a proper burn. Be sure get an opinion from a good diesel mechanic before you decide to spend your money repairing your existing head.

 

[joe48]

So I've only had this L185 tractor a week or so. It has started and run great until Saturday when it all of the sudden lost power and started pouring out white smoke. I had the injectors checked and they opened at 1900 psi. The spray patterns were OK. One sprayed a little better then the other and after some solvent they looked "fine" according to the guy who tested them. I flushed the fuel tank, pump, and lines...new filter also. There has been no change. It starts, but runs very rough. There is barely enough power to move it in high gear. Tons of white smoke coming out of the exhaust. No loss of coolant at all. Not sure where to go from here. Any help would be appreciated.

I have to assume since you didn't say ,this is a used tractor and you didn't buy it from a dealer, therefore no warranty and therefore all this DIY work. Correct?
Any good engine machine shop can give you the go/nogo on the head. a rebuildable head is usually cheaper than a new head. However I would look for a reman head from a dealer or on internet. The other thing is take a real close look at that piston for cracks etc,.
Too bad you had to DIY, but congrats on tackling the job and the great satisfaction you'll get from fixing it. (not to mention $ saved)

 

[dodge man]

Is part of the head eroded, or is that a build up of material?

 

[rdsaustintx]

Impressive photo. Upload more!

What would cause that? Are we looking at a symptom of something else? Debris in the chamber, tons of pre-ignition (injector timing)??

Agree with previous poster, whatever did that to a combustion chamber would also have to be be VERY tough on the piston crown.

 

[jimmer2880]

Is part of the head eroded, or is that a build up of material?

When I zoomed into the pic, it looked like it's eroded away.

 

[Egon]

Awe, take it to a shop and have cleaned up, checked for cracks, alignment and get the valve seats redone.

 

[joeyb]

Took it to the machine shop. They said they could repair it but would cost more than a new one. The reason being that too much material is missing from the dome for the fuel to burn properly. It would run fine for a while but the difference between one good cylinder and one not so good would eventually cause premature wear to the rest of the rotating assembly. For long term reliability he recommends a replacement.

He said that the damage was caused by a blown piston or ring material that was in the combustion chamber slamming against the head. Since the piston is fine there are only two possibilities. Either this is the original head and somone before me only replaced the damaged piston and valves or a previous owner put this head on the motor because the original cracked. Either way I'm left holding the bag. Don't know if I should try and find a used head to take my chances with or drop $700 for a new one.

 

[brain55]

I would disassemble the head, pop out the precombustion chambers and have the machinist take .008" - .010" off of the surface and see what it looks like. I have ran them with minor pitting without a problem. That corrosion is from water damage, the previous owner used block sealer, alumaseal or something to keep it from smoking when you looked at it, and that band-aid didn't last long. Kubota makes a .008" head gasket shim to make up for the material removed. It might be worth the money to see.

Brian