White Smoke

[Greg1]

I have a problem with my tractor and I was hoping that I could get some advice.

I have a Fordson Power Major with the Mark II engine and pneumatic governor. The tractor has not done any work over the past few years, it has only been started up about every six months or so and run for about 10 minutes.

A few weeks ago I used the tractor to spread some fertiliser, with a three point linkage spreader. I ran the tractor for about 4 hours and it went well. The following weekend I used the tractor for about another 4 hours spreading fertiliser. Once again the tractor ran very well. I ran the tractor on mid-throttle for the full 4 hours. The tractor didn't blow any smoke.

When I had finished the work and was going to put the tractor in the shed, I pushed the throttle lever up to the idle position. As I did this the tractor immediately started blowing clouds of whitish smoke and the engine seemed to be running a bit faster. The tractor did not respond to the throttle very much and blew smoke in all throttle positions. I then parked the tractor and left it.

The next weekend I started the tractor again. I started the tractor with the throttle in about the mid position. The tractor started straight away and ran well for about 5 minutes. I was just starting to think that everything was alright, but when I pushed the throttle lever to idle it started blowing lots of white smoke again. Since then the tractor blows smoke every time I start it. The tractor is still starting alright.

I have checked the air cleaner, air inlet and the butterfly valve in the inlet manifold. All of these are good. I tried advancing the timing on the injection pump but it didn't make any difference. I have run the tractor for about 20 minutes and it did not use any water out of the radiator.

I was hoping that someone may be able to give me some advice on what the problem might be. I have spoken to the local fuel injection company and they can recondition the injection pump for $2,000.00. They said that they were working on 3 Fordson pumps in there workshop at that time.

Before getting the pump repaired I just wanted to check if there might be some other problem that I should check first.

Thanks for any advice.

[Dandy Dave]

Have you changed the fuel filter lately??? Dandy Dave!

[super6954]

Hi
I am wondering if it has something to do with the diaphragm or mechanism in the vacuum governor unit or fuel pump control rail . This can cause all kinds of crazy things to happen if it starts playing up, if its nothing to do with filters or fuel contamination as Dave said. You could probably get a reman pump out of the U.K for a heck of a lot less than $2000 too if you needed one
Regards Robert

[henk]

White smoke say it's a water problem, I think.

[Gman]

White smoke, maybe unburnt diesel fuel. Maybe in governor or control rod. Good luck.

[supermajor61]

To see if it is steam coming out of the exhaust, hold your hand well above the silencer outlet. If it is steam / water vapour then your hand will get wet.

You don't say if the engine is misfiring ? Does the engine still have full power ?

[Pavel]

I agree with DD. White usually indicates water vapour with black either excess fuel or oil.
Might be an idea to run it for a few minutes to warm up as all fuels have a water content before placing something just above the exhaust pipe to check for condensation indicating an internal water leak.
Pavel

[Greg1]

Thanks for the advice about my smoking tractor.

On the weekend I replaced the fuel filters. The old filters looked pretty good and the new filters made no difference to the way the tractor was running. There was a good diesel flow all the way to the pump.

I read elsewhere on the forum that you could test whether the governor diaphram was damaged by removing the two hoses from the top of the governor and placing your fingers over the holes while you moved the fuel stop lever. You are supposed to feel some suction that remains without leaking. I tried this and there was no suction at all, so I think the problem must be a hole in the diaphram.

I will buy a new diaphram and replace the old one. Hopefully, this will fix the problem.

Thanks very much for everyone's advice.

Greg

[EngineMan]

Is it smoking on all four..?
Take off the exhaust manifold, and then run her to see if its on all four, it may only be smoky on one cylinder..!
If its on only one cylinder(s), (or two) it may well be just one faulty injector (s).

White smoke is normally the result of air in the fuel line, a retarded fuel pump, or a sticky or otherwise faulty injector.

[Pavel]

In your first post, Greg, you made no mention that the engine was misfiring so it was assumed that the system did not require bleeding - even though white smoke is a symptom of air in the circuit as well as/or a coolant leak.
So a suggestion -- water in the fuel tank.
If water is added to fuel it remains separate from it and generally, being heavier, sinks to the bottom -- and this would apply also to the fuel filter canister. Therefore on initial start-up you would most likely get enough fuel for the engine to run, but only until the water again enters the combustion chambers and gives off the white smoke.
Hope you don't have a full tank!
Pavel