Engine Running funny cold

[PLOWER]

I have a jd 4100 and it has been cold here in South Carolina
latley,I have to keep it in my pole barn for a while and not in the heated garage.When i went to drive it today,started it up and it was all smoky and made funny noises.I havent had diesls before and this is normal right when its cold?

 

[Muhammad]

How long has the fuel been in it? What type of fuel?

First thing I would do is put some fresh diesel in it... shouldn't make funny noises just from the cold.

 

[PLOWER]

Muhammad,
I just put fresh fuel in it yesterday.
But now that I think about it I didnt let it warm up that much before I gave it
gas.And I went and started it up again and it seemed fine so
it really beats me.

 

[Muhammad]

Well, a warmup is usually a good idea especially in the cold... your manual probably mentiones just how long is good for the 4100... soemtimes a few minutes, sometimes a little longer. Running fine now is what matters.

 

[TomG]

Some smoke is normal, but what you describe sounds more like one cylinder isn't firing right off. A simple explanation might be that you aren't using the pre-heat long enough (I assume 4100's have pre-heaters).

Basically, diesels depend on heat of compression to keep the ignition going. For startup, most engines have glow plugs to pre-heat the combustion chambers, and the initial starter spin supplies the remaining heat needed.

On an older engine you might suspect a bad glow plug or maybe a leaky injector, which would keep a cylinder from firing until the engine ran for awhile. However, this probably is a fairly new tractor, and maybe you're just not pre-heating long enough. It's also a good idea to crack the throttle 1/2 - 3/4 open in cold weather. It's sort of like a diesel choke. Also, diesels don't warm up much at slow idle speeds. Typical warm up idles are around 1500 rpm. One thing more; it's a good idea to use the starter in short bursts. Unlike gas engines, if a diesel is going to start it does so quickly. Holding the starter on and expecting the engine to catch doesn't work and just pumps a lot of fuel into the engine oil.

 

[dmccarty]

My Chevy diesel will make white smoke and have a higher pitched clatter when the temps are below 40ish. I try to use the engine block heater which really makes a difference. Once the engine is warm from running or the block heater the noise is normal. The white smoke is unburned fuel.

My first really cold start on the 4700 was Saturday and it was in the mid to high 30's. My tractor is "stored" in the wood under a tarp but the trees keep the wind chill down I suppose. The tractor started right up.

The 4700 manual says to turn on the engine preheater, push in the key for 10-30 seconds depending on temps. Throttle at 1/3 at start moved to 1/2 after ignition. Let run for 5 minutes and then go.

The only problem I have had so far is the tranny is reluctant to shift ranges until warmed up.

I would think a 4100 has a similar warmup/startup.

The one feature that is utterly lacking on the 4700 is a danged seat heater. That plastic seat simply sucks the heat right out of my fanny! Twas like sitting on a block of ice. I put a folded up towel on the seat to keep from freezing!

We just got 4-6 inches of snow today. Unreal. There are still green leaves on the trees! I was going to work our property this week but with the snow and low temps I'll leave well enough alone. At least I got the oil changed over to 15W-40 on Friday!

Hope this helps...
Dan McCarty