Emax22 hard starting and white smoke?

[Leadfoot64]

Hello everyone, i have recently purchased a used 2015 emax22 gear tlb as i write this its got about 550hours on it. Ive got a few issues with it and i think i already know the answer but wanted to hopefully get some confirmation from you guys before I spend all the money trying to get repairs. Heres the issues: now that its cold out (roughly in the 20s-40s) the tractor has become harder to start. I never thought it was great starting since day one but i dont have much to compare it to except some friends have older john deere and kubota small tractors that start with barely even turning the key hot or cold and no drama with clouds of smoke. When i say my machine is hard starting, I mean that it takes several tries to get it to run continuously even after using glow plugs, and im getting quite a bit of whitish/bluish/gray and sometimes black fuel smoke. I always cycle the glow plugs (about 40 seconds) when attempting to start and I have checked each plug and they look ok and ohm out at 1.8-1.9, and the connections are clean and im getting 11.5-11.8volts at each plug so the circuits and wiring and plugs are assumed good. Also, it has always taken a bit of cranking even in 80-90degree weather and I always get a decent cloud of smoke when it starts. Another issue is that since i bought the machine, it has always sputtered and puffed white/blue (fuel smelling) smoke when run at higher rpms (2800-3k/pto speed). When i bought it, i found out it had sat for quite a while and that there was enough water in the fuel to nearly fill the filter bowl. I ended up draining and flushing tank, and emptied fuel lines and replaced filter and filter housing since the shutoff lever was inop. I spoke to dealer about this and he suggested a mahindra branded fuel additive which i purchased and after all that it did start somewhat easier and some of the smoke and sputtering went away but it was still not perfect. Fast forward to now, and even considering temps arent really that cold, the tractor is much more reluctant to start, and the sputtering and smoking at high rpms has returned. Im guessing that the injectors may need cleaned/rebuilt, and im hoping that the pump doesnt need messed with. Im guessing that this could have been from the water in the fuel, but between my flush and running the additive and keeping the tank topped up and storing it in shed and keeping an eye on the filter, i would have figured the water would be well dissipated by now. What do you all think? I have videos that i will try to post of the issues that im experiencing.

 

[Leadfoot64]

Here are links to videos of my tractor with the starting/smoking/sputtering issue:

 

[Leadfoot64]

 

[Leadfoot64]

 

[Peter 315]

Well here's my :2cents: I think your holding the glow plugs on to long. Maybe crud on the glow plugs not given you full heat, I hold 10 to 15 seconds. Maybe a weak battery and not turning over fast enough to start, dirty injectors not spraying fuel , crap still in the fuel system.

 

[Leadfoot64]

Well here's my :2cents: I think your holding the glow plugs on to long. Maybe crud on the glow plugs not given you full heat, I hold 10 to 15 seconds. Maybe a weak battery and not turning over fast enough to start, dirty injectors not spraying fuel , crap still in the fuel system.

So, i have been letting the plugs run their full cycle (they time out at roughly 40-45seconds), and the dealer suggested that maybe i run them shorter as well so i did that, but it was not any easier to start. When i pulled plugs to check them they appeared clean but i took scotch brite to the plug end anyways and cleaned them up even nicer. The battery is pretty new and tests good, I checked cables and connections and grounds and even cleaned the ground connections on frame. Engine cranks just fine and all electrical appears to work fine as well. Im fairly certain the fuel system is clean up to the pump as i have not seen any more water and the filter looks clean as well. Not to say that the pump or injectors weren稚 contaminated previous to me owning it. So in my mind ive kind of narrowed it down to injectors or pump or both and was just hoping to see if anyone had any insight before i tear it down and ship stuff out for rebuild $$$$$. Im assuming you have an emax22.. How is yours to start, and does it do any popping or smoking at high rpms??

 

[Peter 315]

So, i have been letting the plugs run their full cycle (they time out at roughly 40-45seconds), and the dealer suggested that maybe i run them shorter as well so i did that, but it was not any easier to start. When i pulled plugs to check them they appeared clean but i took scotch brite to the plug end anyways and cleaned them up even nicer. The battery is pretty new and tests good, I checked cables and connections and grounds and even cleaned the ground connections on frame. Engine cranks just fine and all electrical appears to work fine as well. Im fairly certain the fuel system is clean up to the pump as i have not seen any more water and the filter looks clean as well. Not to say that the pump or injectors weren稚 contaminated previous to me owning it. So in my mind ive kind of narrowed it down to injectors or pump or both and was just hoping to see if anyone had any insight before i tear it down and ship stuff out for rebuild $$$$$. Im assuming you have an emax22.. How is yours to start, and does it do any popping or smoking at high rpms??

No I don't have a emax22 , Just a couple Kubota's..

 

[Big Chief]

I have a 2015 emax. Always required multiple attempts to start in the cold.then smokes like yours until it gets going in 10 to 20 sec.
Important things that make it harder to start
1. Good strong battery, a little weak makes it much harder
2. Anti gel additive in the fall through spring. Make sure you use up the summer blend and fill with winter blend fuel.
3. Computer update added extended glow plug on time to pre heat the cylinder.

I don't have the smoke you have at PTO speed or high rpms, never did.

I would suggest running some power service additive through it and putting some hours on it before you start tearing things apart

 

[Peter 315]

You might try checking the compression before you take it apart , And use some injector cleaner and see how that works out.

 

[doneill127]

I have a max not eMax that has indirect fuel injection with a mechanical fuel injection system. Posted this a while ago and made a big difference. Not sure of the type of injection on the eMax but depending on the type may want to give it a shot. It’s a long thread to get through and tends to wander.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ng/419217-cold-engine-starting-procedure.html

 

[gcgst]

I have an eMax 22 gear and get the same white smoke on startup, but only about half the amount based on your video, and mine usually cranks the first time. I use Howes diesel treatment in mine. I would run a can of Seafoam through it before I went to the trouble of tearing it down. Seafoam has worked well for me on other equipment.

 

[Leadfoot64]

Thanks for all the advice/info. I have put about 150hours since purchase, and run the mahindra cleaner/fuel additive for most of those hours. I just tried a full throttle start, and that made it quicker to start but no less smoke. I also have the high rpm issue to work with as well. I have decided to pull the injectors and have them cleaned/serviced, and while i was disassembling i noted a little rust and jelly looking substance when pulling fuel lines so im suspecting my injectors may be fouled. A local shop seems very helpful and said i should be able to get them tested and serviced for under $500 so im gonna try that first. He also added that i can do that first and then if that doesnt fix it, we can look at pump which is roughly $1000 to rebuild. So im hoping the pump is ok and the injector service will fix this issue.

 

[Bilko]

Leadfoot, please keep us informed what you figure out!

 

[Leadfoot64]

Leadfoot, please keep us informed what you figure out!

Will do!

 

[Leadfoot64]

So i just got a call from the shop that has my injectors. He said he had them on the tester and found that the flow was sporadic and the spray patterns were all over the place. He also said that when he disassembled them to get the numbers etc, that they appeared to have been disassembled before and werent put back together quite right. He suggested that this is very likely the cause of my problems and quoted me $65/each to rebuild and $40 for the diag time. He said i should have them back within a weeks time and hopefully i have a tractor that will run like new after this.

 

[Bilko]

Leadfoot, sounds like a step in the right direction and the price doesn’t seem to bad to me at all! Let us know how it starts and runs once you get it back together.

Mike

 

[Chrisb009]

So, i have been letting the plugs run their full cycle (they time out at roughly 40-45seconds), and the dealer suggested that maybe i run them shorter as well so i did that, but it was not any easier to start. When i pulled plugs to check them they appeared clean but i took scotch brite to the plug end anyways and cleaned them up even nicer. The battery is pretty new and tests good, I checked cables and connections and grounds and even cleaned the ground connections on frame. Engine cranks just fine and all electrical appears to work fine as well. Im fairly certain the fuel system is clean up to the pump as i have not seen any more water and the filter looks clean as well. Not to say that the pump or injectors weren稚 contaminated previous to me owning it. So in my mind ive kind of narrowed it down to injectors or pump or both and was just hoping to see if anyone had any insight before i tear it down and ship stuff out for rebuild $$$$$. Im assuming you have an emax22.. How is yours to start, and does it do any popping or smoking at high rpms??

Stupid question...manual say nothing about holding the key in the glow plug position. Do you have to hold the key in the glow plug position until the glow plug dash light goes out?

Thanks,

Chris

 

[Bilko]

Chris, on my emax 25 I just turn switch so the glow plug light comes on. Don’t have to hold the key. Then once the light goes out I turn key to start it!

 

[Chrisb009]

Chris, on my emax 25 I just turn switch so the glow plug light comes on. Don’t have to hold the key. Then once the light goes out I turn key to start it!

That's what I assumed - the owners manual only mentions to turn the key to the left then start. I wait until the glow plug light goes out before starting. I did noticed when I turn the key to the left the glow plug light comes on the dash but goes off quite quick. One time, during starting, the glow plug light came back on, after it was running, and stayed on for a while. Thought that was odd...

Thanks,

Chris

 

[RJI]

there's a connector on the glow plug rail, its cheap and becomes loose... if you hold it tight against the the connector it slides on, it should start... if the connector is gone, simply cut it off and crimp on a new one... had to do it on a 26 max xl gear... take a meter and see if your getting 12 - 12.5 volts to that connector, if you are, its probably a bad/loose connector...
if you need to start the machine, simply take a heat source (I use a torpedo heater) and aim it at your oil pan for a couple minutes, you'll see the white smoke start to turn blk, it'll start shortly after...
good luck...