Emax22 hard starting and white smoke?

[CoThG]

Lol i wish it was an old detroit! Love how those sound.

Same here. Love a two stroke diesel.

 

[68mstngfstbk]

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 I got a 2016 emax HST 22, Brand new 70+ hrs , I started to run my mid mount finish mower! I never had to run the engine over 2500 rpms, so when cutting heavy grass is when I noticed it! Bought it to the dealer and it was a known problem with the fuel injection pump! so they removed the fuel injection pump, removed the shims under the pump, there is a procedure to do this by measuring the thickness of the shims! ran fine no more high RPM skip and smoke! that was summer, North east winter comes in and rough starting in the cold! So I was told there was a revised addition on this but I can't get my hands on it! Of course now that the warranty is up! I lost a lot of engine torque and vibrates like hell near an idle, Which has broke apart the inside of the muffler! That's tomorrows job cut the end off and clean out the muffler! and while I'm at it I'm going to disassemble the fuel pump check what they have in there for thickness of shims, I was able to obtain a couple! And see if I can get a happy medium! Thats what I believe your hi rpm issue is! cold start smoking like that i'm willing to bet you have injectors leaking down! good luck!

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I'd get a block heater. That one thing made my old tractor usable.

 

[68mstngfstbk]

I'd get a block heater. That one thing made my old tractor usable.

I can't find a block heater to fit a HST 22! ID measures 15/16 on bottom radiator hose, I did purchase a Katz oil pan heater and it does make a difference on cranking speed for a quicker start!

 

[Joe Hickerson]

I can't find a block heater to fit a HST 22! ID measures 15/16 on bottom radiator hose, I did purchase a Katz oil pan heater and it does make a difference on cranking speed for a quicker start!

I used the Katz pan heater for a couple years, worked pretty well. Then had my dealer install a bottom radiator hose heater. Half hour to 45 minutes and ready to go. Beyond 45 min. the glow plugs won't come on due to engine being above plug cutoff temp. Just let it sit a few minutes, or I crank the engine to introduce some cold fuel and the plugs come on.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I can't find a block heater to fit a HST 22! ID measures 15/16 on bottom radiator hose, I did purchase a Katz oil pan heater and it does make a difference on cranking speed for a quicker start!

Heater for the bottom radiator hose. Heater for a heater hose. I have both of those too. I have a magnet heater for oil pan. I have one heater that goes in dip stick tube. Or you can put some connections and circulate hot water with your pickup. Or you can leave it empty and fill it with hot water when you use it and drain it when you finish. Lots of options. I like cranking a warm engine. Cold starts are hard on an engine. I dont care about the naysayers. I don't kill one if I'm gonna use it again shortly.

 

[Leadfoot64]

So i forgot to update, and its been a while but my problem is now fixed! It was the pump timing. I took 2 shims out of the pump and now it runs excellent. It starts easier with no white smoke, and runs better all around.

 

[LittleBill21]

and how did you determine that was the issue?

 

[Leadfoot64]

and how did you determine that was the issue?

There wasnt much else it could be since i replaced or repaired everything else! It was suggested that pump timing may be off so i watched some videos and did it by trial and error. It starts much easier, No more white smoke or popping, it feels more responsive, and my butt dyno says it may have a tad more power too.