CK27 smoke

[86Scotty]

Smoke colour?

The colour can tell you much.
What do smoke colours mean?

Sorry, blueish smoke. Good old oil burning kind of smoke, and smell.

So, you changed to oil and the coolant but did you bother to check the air filter and / or renew it? Curious minds what the know and your choice of T4 is also suspect. Should have used T5 instead.

No imposed load smoking is indicative of a restricted intake system. Diesels all smoke when under an imposed load, at least pre 4 diesels do. Post 4 engines don't smoke because the smoke is consumed in the catalytic reduction medium and then needs to be 'regened', converting the soot captured into ash. Both my turbocharged tractors emit a little smoke (black) under imposed load, btw.

Of course, I didn't mention all the service but I did almost a full service. Engine oil and filter, air filter, coolant flush, fuel filter, hydraulic filter (fluid is totally clear and was full), full grease on chassis and loader, bought gear oil for front axle but didn't swap that yet. Waiting on a warmer day to finish. I used Rotella T4 15/40, which I've used in my heavy diesels for years. I run T6 on occasion but got what Walmart had two jugs of, which was T4 that day. I have not seen Rotella T5 at any store in Tennessee ever.

Air filter and fuel filter were filthy. Oil was black but full. Coolant was full.

A CK27 with no marking on the tach? My CK27 has a red dot to show when the PTO will be turning at 540.
I have never run it above that point.

Yes, it has markings, just doesn't have a redline that I've noticed. I have not bought or used any PTO implements yet, just the loader, so honestly before this run on the road I haven't looked at the tach much.

 

[5030]

I meant T6, not T5, my blunder.

 

[86Scotty]

Now that I've seen some smoke I will definitely change to T6 next oil change but I really didn't think it mattered on an old small basic pre-emissions diesel tractor. Thats kind of why I posted this. Not sure what normal is for these yet. I generally run semi-synthetic, usually Rural King's house brand, in my emissions diesels. We just moved to this property and don't have Rural King closeby. In fact, not much at all is close by.

 

[Coyote_CS2220]

"Sorry, blueish smoke. Good old oil burning kind of smoke, and smell."

Engine oil is getting past one or more of those piston rings and/or valve seals. Might be able to play with oil viscosity to see if it makes any difference?

600 hrs on a diesel is not really very much, however if it had been abused in the past with questionable oil and/or very long change intervals, or dust thru the poor air filter.....damage has occurred.........for many people regular maintenance is a low priority.

Now that you have changed the oil keep a close eye on the level and try to get a handle on how much it is using. A small amount you can deal with (other than breathing it in when the breeze is towards you).

Unfortunately, once an engine starts burning oil it is a one-way street.

 

[Robin Veerman]

Like mentioned above, 600 hours isn’t much, unless the tractor has never had any maintenance. You never know, but maybe the oil/filter was still factory fill…but I doubt it. I’d put it to some hours of steady hard work. A PTO generator or similar would be awesome. Change the oil at 25 hours and then go for a light synthetic diesel rated engine oil, and work it hard again. I’m hoping for you that it’s just a fouled/carboned up combustion chamber…
Another idea could be diesel fuel in the tank that got a qt or two of used engine oil dumped into it, simply for disposal. Lotsa unknowns

 

[86Scotty]

The oil was not the original. Both oil and hydro filter were marked April 2015. That is not good news, generally speaking, but it doesn't really mean a lot if I don't know how many hours ago that was so I didn't bother sharing.

I'm working with it actively today and putting some pretty good load on my FEL moving brush piles. Very little smoke, just when I really give it the beans.

 

[Billrog]

Sounds normal.

 

[Robin Veerman]

Yah, but Only if there’s no “blueish smoke/oil burning” smell ….

 

[86Scotty]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. I'll be working this little tractor a lot over the holidays moving 8' tree sections out of the woods clearing Helene damage. I'm betting more than anything it just needs to be run and worked a bit. There is a lot of evidence, other than the old dates on the filters, that this tractor sat and sat outdoors. Unfortunately I bought it from a guy who flips them. He is solid but he doesn't have the history of the tractor and I risked that to get a decent deal on one I could afford.

 

[Coyote_CS2220]

Law of used tractor purchasing: Risk tolerance in used tractor purchases is inversely proportional to ones bank balance.

I had a friend who purchased (cheap) a beauty JD 4WD Utility/FEL that had ~1100 hrs and was completely clean and shiny (nicely stream washed) everywhere......only to find out the FEL would operate for about 5hrs. Changed out the hydraulic filter and it would work again for about 5 more hours.

Changed the hydraulic filter again ......only this time dissected the old one to find it full (packed) with metal shavings.

Ya, great looking green 4wd utility tractor, but required a major overhaul $$$$$$ to be useful!

Been there, seen that happen.

Hope you have better luck.