EMERGENCY: Smoke Coming out of Tractor Engine Area!

[6sunset6]

When you say the antifreeze tank do you mean the radiator itself? If that was empty you should have seen an overheat indication from the gages on the instrument panel. If there is a separate plastic tank with an over flow line from the radiator then it is an expansion tank and could be empty with no harm. But I tend to agree with another post. Belt slipping. You said it was raining , Check the belt tension. Actually if the belt burned it will be pretty slick. If it is slipping the alternator will not charge and you should see a bat charge light on. Could also be a fluel leak and a fire but if that was so the tractor would be a cinder at this time. BTW I think other than the fuel delievry system there is not a lot of difference between gas and diesel. At least as far as auxilary equipment is concerned. Alternator, starter motor, water pump, air filter, fuel filter, fuses , . Fuel delievery is different and a little tricky . One thing at a time.

 

[jimmysisson]

This part is confusing:

I'm used to this, and if it happens I just shut down the engine with the key (the engine will already be shut down by itself, but I turn the key totally off) and then I move the PTO lever to the off position, shift it into neutral, lift up the bush hog to get it out of the grass, then turn the engine back on again without the PTO engaged and it starts right up.

How can you lift the hog before you restart the engine? Maybe just a typo...

There is never smoke under this normal shutdown situation.

Black smoke makes sense with a throttle set for PTO speed and an overload on the hog. It should stop smoking when the engine stops, though.

But this time, it was quicker, it was different. It was like I was going great, and next thing, the tractor was shutting down and there was smoke coming out of the front of the tractor and down under.

Maybe the cuttings just built up under the hog more than usual?

And the thing that concerns me most is that the smoke went on for a full five minutes before it died down.

This makes me agree with others that a belt could be slipping - but it's just the alternator/water pump belt, right? Did something jam one of those that would make a loose belt overheat for five minutes of smoking? That seems kind of unlikely.

You probably didn't hurt the engine, unless it overheated without your noticing the temp guage. This is a HST tractor, right? Do you slow down when the hog load threatens to bog the engine down?
Sure hope you figure this out, but it doesn't sound horrible, yet.

Good luck, Jim

 

[JMynes]

Just thinking out loud, here....

Are there any belts under the tractor? I doubt it, but I would look. What about belts on the bush hog? Again, I doubt it.
Any sign of burnt vegetation under the mower deck?
Did a bearing get hot and burn the paint off of something?

If there's nothing obvious, I would, as I said, top up all fluids, check belt adjustments and hoses, and fire it up. Look for leaks, and if all is good, run it. Shut down in 5-10 minutes and check fluids, belts and hoses again.

 

[jinman]

No antifreeze/coolant. Engine quit and smoked. OOPS! Not good, stuff happens.

 

[Egon]

Suggest you loosen off the belt and see if the alternator and the water pump pulley turn easily and without any noise.[as others suggested]

Then be prepared for a new water pump.

I hope that is all it is??

 

[johnnylight]

Did you check your oil yet?
can you tell us how it looks and does it smell burnt?
for your bush hog did something get caught up in there like a peace of rope or wire that you couldn't see due to the rain?

 

[GreenAcres]

Good News -- my husband examined the tractor again this morning, and he couldn't see anything wrong with it other than the empty anti-freeze compartment and maybe the radiator was empty too -- he said something about an empty radiator.


Anyway, he put water in the radiator and anti-freeze in the anti-freeze tank (I think that's right, please bear with me, I'm not a mechanical person) and had me start it up. It sounded right, so he had me bring it back to the house where we ran it for about 10 minutes with no problem.


He said he wants to pull the pressure washer out and clean the engine, but he says that the belt looks OK and he cannot see anything wrong with it.


To answer somebody's question, yes he checked the oil and it was the correct color and at the correct level. He checked all the other fluids, and they were correct color and at the correct levels too. He checked alot of stuff, and he would not have listed all the things he looked at to me, he would just have done it.


For reasons unknown, when I pushed the tractor yesterday (and it WAS a heavy load at the time -- plenty of wet grass collected by that bush hog) the load got too heavy and he figures that it caused the anti-freeze (or was it the water in the radiator? He explained so much to me that I can be getting this mixed up) out and down a tube that leads to the ground. He showed me that tube. Anyway, I lost all of my anti-freeze and/or water when the load became too heavy for the tractor and the bush hog, and that started the problems.


He thinks the reason it burned for five minutes might be because a while back I had an elbow or something go out on the hydraulic system. Anyway, alot of hydraulic oil got sprayed all over the place, and he didn't get around to doing a really good engine clean after he fixed up the hydralic system. He meant to do it, but he's had so much other work on top of him, and with my surgery and all -- it just didn't get done.


So he thinks that maybe it was the residue of hydralic fluid that sprayed around there that might have burned.


That's why he says that he wants to pressure wash the engine before he lets me finish cutting that field.


Anyway, he thinks all is well at this point.


Thanks for your help, guys.

 

[GreenAcres]

This part is confusing:

I'm used to this, and if it happens I just shut down the engine with the key (the engine will already be shut down by itself, but I turn the key totally off) and then I move the PTO lever to the off position, shift it into neutral, lift up the bush hog to get it out of the grass, then turn the engine back on again without the PTO engaged and it starts right up.

How can you lift the hog before you restart the engine? Maybe just a typo...

That was a typo.

 

[GreenAcres]

I have learned a very important lesson here: don't push that tractor in the rain.


For now on, if it starts to rain, I'll just shut down the PTO gizmo, and run the tractor back to the house and park it.


I already know not to let so much tall grass accumulate under the bush hog, but I was so intent on getting that last row cut before I quit that I wasn't watching the load underneath there. A stupid thing for me to let happen, and this incident is a vivid reminder of why I need to keep a better eye on that, too. I usually do, but it only took one time not watching enough to cause a big problem.


And I guess I also learned that if I do ever have another crisis in the field (and I sure hope I never do), that you guys will help.


Thanks again.

 

[6sunset6]

Actually the most important things to keep an eye on are , in order
1. oil pressure gage or light shut down immediatly get help
2. engine coolant temperature gage. shut down pretty quick get help
3. Fuel gage. if on empty will shut down by itself and will require a couple of hoops to jump through for restart.

Ask your husband to show you where these indicators are and how they work.

I think.