Deere 2720 Smoke issue at startup

[rredhawkk]

My 1025R smokes some when starting it up I get a few puffs of smoke then clear.

 

[Passattdi]

Hi everyone,

Before I go and pull the head off of this thing I wanted to see if there were any other ideas. My 2720 is absolutely belching out smoke at cold start and kinda rumbles a bit, almost like it's not running on all cyls - it smells like unburnt diesel. It does clear up once up to operating temp and the tractor seems to run just fine with plenty of power. My first thought was stuck injector. I pulled the injectors, they didn't look great, at least to my untrained eye, so I replaced them. No effect.

Then I checked the valves - they are all within spec and no oil is getting by the valve seats. It "Smells" literally like a fuel issue, but I'm not sure what else it could be? I was thinking of pulling the head to check for scoring, like if there was a bad ring where oil was getting by, but it doesn't smell like burning oil to me - it smells like fuel. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Chris,
This is normal for a tractor. Volkeswagon TDIs ran as smooth as glass. The Gov't did not like those though. My ford trucks both smoked and ran rough. Had a New Holland tractor that ran rich on start. What year is this machine?

 

[JDAOWNER]

I READ SOMEWHERE THAT WHEN STARTING, A MODERN DESIEL WILL PUMP MAX FUEL NO MATTER WHERE THE THROTTLE IS SET. IF SLOW STARTING, IT COULD PUMP A LOT OF FUEL INTO CYL'S TO BE BURNED OFF AFTER STARTING. MY TRACTOR SMOKES MY BARN UP PRETTY GOOD FOR MAYBE 30 TO 45 SEC. AND RATTLES, THEN SMOOTHES OUT AND RUNS GOOD. LESS THAN 500 HRS.

 

[beenthere]

They don't all smoke (blow white smoke per the OP description here) upon start-up.
The JD 4300 I have owned since new '98 will only do that when it is below freezing in the shed and I do not energize the intake heater for 5-10 seconds. But white smoke doesn't hurt a thing either, IMO.

JDAOWNER
All caps suggests shouting, and also hard to read. just sayin....

 

[Passattdi]

Chris,
This is normal for a tractor. Volkeswagon TDIs ran as smooth as glass. The Gov't did not like those though. My ford trucks both smoked and ran rough. Had a New Holland tractor that ran rich on start. What year is this machine?

I am speaking of all mine near 0F. Course until I suggested a fix to Deere for the 1025R, which lights the glows after start about 2 minutes. Starts significantly better and runs much smoother now with significantly less smoke. The early 1025R were terrible when cold.

 

[JDAOWNER]

BEENTHERE

SORRY IF IT BOTHERS YOU---REALLY. AS I'VE EXPLAINED BEFORE ON THIS SITE, I HAVE NERVE DAMAGE IN MY LEFT HAND FIND IT MUCH EASIER TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS THAN TRY TO REACH THE SHIFT KEY. IT DOES READ HARDER, BUT EASIER THAN ALL LOWER CASE---IMO

 

[Tx Jim]

I've had spinal column nerve damage mainly concentrated on my left side since '96 & I find it a lot easier to unlock the caps lock than do a lot of other more important tasks such as walking & getting myself dressed.

 

[Robin Veerman]

I would suggest trying a cetane boost additive. Diesel burns best at around 50-52 cetane, but most fuels are lucky to be 45. I like the Amsoil cetane boost and have used it for many years in my various diesels. Very little smoke on cold start and no rattle unless in extremely cold ambient temperatures.

 

[LD1]

I would suggest trying a cetane boost additive. Diesel burns best at around 50-52 cetane, but most fuels are lucky to be 45. I like the Amsoil cetane boost and have used it for many years in my various diesels. Very little smoke on cold start and no rattle unless in extremely cold ambient temperatures.

For a governed and low HP per displacement diesel engine....I dont think any form of snake oil is gonna do a darn thing.

Regarding the issues of smoking at startup.....who knows. Some do it, some dont. how do you quantify what is too much or excessive? I dont know....not there to witness it or see/hear first hand. So its hard to form an educated opinion of whether its "normal" or there are serious issues.

 

[Robin Veerman]

LD1, Snake oil has nothing to do with this. The fact is diesel combustion efficiency is very dependent on cetane rating, amongst a plethora of parameters. We are a community here trying to provide solutions, or at the very least a sense of direction, to situations that are brought to the fore. Opinions quite often get in the way of actual facts. Prove me wrong, on both counts…