Need Help! JOhn deere 4600 white smoke out of breather Tube.

[JU Fabworks]

hello. I just purchased a john deere 4600 for a rather good deal and there is a steady white smoke coming out of the breather tube. The tractor only has 840 hours on it but it appears that it got hot or overheated at one time because the plastic side cover on the left side of motor has sunken in like it started to melt about 2 inches. It seems to run great otherwise. There is no coolant loss or any sign of coolant in the engine oil. I did see that the owners manual said to replace the thermostat if it was smoking white but I cant see how that would help. I cant see a yanmar with 800 hours needed a rebuild but im not sure. I opened up the oil cap on top the motor and looked in there and it just looked like black oil. I just changed the oil and fuel filter and put all new air filters in.

 

[Tx Jim]

:welcome: to TBN
White smoke from breather could be compression from a broken piston ring or galled piston. It engine runs to suit you I'd recommend to drive it until it gets worse.

 

[jenkinsph]

I would start gathering money for a rebuild.

 

[buickanddeere]

Make sure the coolant reaches 195F and work the tractor instead of puttering around with odd jobs and frequent start-stop cycles.
It's probably gummed and sooted up from granny driving .
In cold weather don't be overly concerned with vapours that also occur in hot weather . You just don't see them , that's all.
Using the block heater before cold weather starting? Could be that some moron was blasting it with ether instead of using a block heater. Could explain a melted cover and a loose engine.
TractorData.com John Deere 4600 tractor information

 

[JU Fabworks]

I know a lot of my symtoms I am seeing spells rebuild, but how can a yanmar with 800 hours need a rebuild? unless it was just maintained poorly its whole life, which maybe it was.. but still, I have a hard time seeing a rebuild. The fuel filter was beyond dirty when I changed it, there was a thick layer of sand at the bottom of the sediment bowl, and when I opened the drain valve on the bottom of the fuel tank by the foot controls there was a decent amount of water buildup at the bottom of the tank. When I start the tractor it is quick to start and It does blow some blue smoke out of the exhaust when cold but after about five minutes of running it that goes away. I changed the engine oil and filter and the oil is already jet black after an hour of runtime. That seemed kinda weird to me, I know diesel oil gets black quickly but I only ran it a few minutes it seemed and it already turned black. normal? The tractor sounds and runs good, seems to make good power, but im really not working it just driving down the road in high range. Im not sure if the tractor is getting up to 195F. Not really sure how to determine that. The farthest the temp gauge has gone is about 1/4" iinto the green, not even close to halfway in the green, id say about 15% into the green. There also seems to be quite a bit more pressure coming out of the breather tube than my 4310 does. Anything else I can do?

 

[pmsmechanic]

I know a lot of my symtoms I am seeing spells rebuild, but how can a yanmar with 800 hours need a rebuild? unless it was just maintained poorly its whole life, which maybe it was.. but still, I have a hard time seeing a rebuild. The fuel filter was beyond dirty when I changed it, there was a thick layer of sand at the bottom of the sediment bowl, and when I opened the drain valve on the bottom of the fuel tank by the foot controls there was a decent amount of water buildup at the bottom of the tank. When I start the tractor it is quick to start and It does blow some blue smoke out of the exhaust when cold but after about five minutes of running it that goes away. I changed the engine oil and filter and the oil is already jet black after an hour of runtime. That seemed kinda weird to me, I know diesel oil gets black quickly but I only ran it a few minutes it seemed and it already turned black. normal? The tractor sounds and runs good, seems to make good power, but im really not working it just driving down the road in high range. Im not sure if the tractor is getting up to 195F. Not really sure how to determine that. The farthest the temp gauge has gone is about 1/4" iinto the green, not even close to halfway in the green, id say about 15% into the green. There also seems to be quite a bit more pressure coming out of the breather tube than my 4310 does. Anything else I can do?

I don't know what kind of oil you are using but my experience has been that dino oil always turned dark faster than a synthetic. No matter what oil you use it's going to take several changes for the detergent in the oil to wash the insides clean. A good oil always keeps more solids in suspension than a cheaper oil. If the previous owner didn't change oil often enough or used a cheap oil you are gong to have dark oil for several oil changes.

If you want to know what the real temperature of your engine is go and buy an infrared thermometer. In Canada I can find them on sale for about $20-25. If you hold the infrared thermometer on the thermostat housing you can see exactly when and at what temperature the thermostat opens and closes. As far as I'm concerned temperature gauges on vehicles are only a guide line. They were never designed to provide an accurate indication of temperature.

If I want to get my tractor up to operating temperature in winter I have a garbage bag than I hang over the air intakes for the radiator. Then I make it work, keeping a eye on the temp gauge. You can work it quite hard in cold weather before the engine get's any wheres close to over heating.

I wouldn't worry about the breather tube until you've had a chance to work the tractor thoroughly in warm weather. By work I mean put a rototiller or equivalent on it and make the tractor almost smoke black for several hours.

I agree with a previous poster in that you might have to save your money up for an overhaul but I would try cheaper options first. A compression test would let you know if you have a piston with damaged rings or other problems. If the tractor cranks evenly and starts good when cold and idles reasonably smooth for a cold engine I wouldn't get too excited about a compression test.

Hope this helps

 

[buickanddeere]

I'm thinking there is lots of concern and worry here but very little to be concerned about.
One over dose of ether can bend connecting rods, break piston ring lands, break piston rings or make head gaskets seep.
Run an oil analysis and keep changing oil until the ick is flushed out .
A diesel is by nature designed for HD use. That is full rated rpms and full rated loads for hours and hours at a stretch. Otherwise a diesel if puttered around in light duty applications . Diesels tend to run cold and load up with partly burned fuel deposits.

 

[JU Fabworks]

Ok. Where do I take oil to get an analasis? It does seem to soak into a paper towel rather quickly compared to my lawnmowers oil. I don't think there is coolant in the oil because my coolant level has stayed the same but it could be diesel in the oil I guess. I just took it down the road in high range for about 20 minutes and still puffing the white smoke out the breather consistently, there is also some oil coming out the breather too... hmm. I probably wont have an chance to really work it til spring when I can connect my tiller to the back. Do you think plugged or bad injectors would be the problem? seems to run fine though.

 

[buickanddeere]

John Deere dealers around here have the kits.

 

[Tx Jim]

John Deere dealers around here have the kits.

JD dealers in Texas have oil test kits also.