Clouds of White Smoke

[MBeattie]

Hi, I have just recently bought my first Fordson Major, 1957, engine No. 1396259. So am at the start of my steep learning curve of ownership, looking forward to it.....I think !! The first thing I want to tackle, is it emits clouds of white smoke, so have been looking at the timing. It misfires slighly at higher revs & the occasional diesel knock. I checked the pump timing, its set at 26 degress BTDC on the flywheel marker, it has a 70 Series Simms diesel injector pump. One thing I noticed when checking the timing, is that there is a little play in the coupling on the Simms pump to the engine drive, I would suspect this could put the timing out by a few degress, do you think this could be the cause ? Should it be completly tight ? Also, if I decide to get the Simms pump rebuilt & recalibarted, last resort, can you recommend a good reputable firm here in the UK ? Any ideas/suggestions much appreciated to get the white smoke issue resolved without getting the pump rebuilt.

[Tubal Cain]

As you haven't mentioned any problem with starting, one can assume that you have reasonable compression.

Contaminated fuel can cause white smoke, so check the tank for water and flush the system through before fitting a new fuel filter. If you still experience white smoke, I would then remove and check the injectors.

Ideally there should be no play in the coupling as this could result in late injection, so a new coupling would help.

The fact that the smoke is white rather than black indicates that the injection pump is probably in good order.

Gerald

[JC]

Hi Mark,
Welcome to Fordson Tractor Pages.
The first thing that I would do is check for a leak in the governor diaphragm. I don't have much time right now so I can't explain how to do that, but I'm sure that someone else can, or I'll post more later today.

[MBeattie]

Yes, it starts OK. I will flush the fuel system & replace the diesel with fresh from the pump. Will also change the coupling for a new one. Will keep you posted.

[fenhayman]

How long are you running it and how hot is it getting?
Ideally put it to work on some land pulling anything heavy for a couple of hours.
Head and valves are probably "gunged up" and need a good burning out.
If that fails then do as you suggest.

[JC]

It is a good idea to change the filter and clean the fuel system, If you have any doubt about its cleanliness. Most of our Majors have a little slack in the pump coupling. It can change the timing a slight amount. If you know its there, you can take up the slack before you align the timing marks. I doubt that is the cause of your white smoke, though.
The governor diaphragm is easy to check, fairly easy to replace and not very expensive. That is where I would start.
To check it, first remove the vacuum pipes in the red circle on the right. Next pull the stop cable and push it back it. Put two fingers over the holes, that you removed the vacuum pipes from, to make an air tight seal. With your other hand, push the excess fuel button , in the small circle on the left. You should feel a small vacuum on your fingers. When you remove your fingers, you should hear a small clunk as the fuel control rod slides to the full fuel position. If you hear the clunk when your fingers are still on the holes, the diaphragm has a hole in it and needs to be replaced.



Do this with the when the engine is not running. Do not start the engine with the vacuum pipes disconnected!

I have a video of a Major running with a bad diaphragm, if you would like me to post it, so you can compare it with your tractor.

[MBeattie]

Thanks JC, I will check the governor diaphragm as you suggest over the weekend.

[Dandy Dave]

Welcome Aboard Matey. White smoke indicates unburnt fuel. Along with what others have suggested, I would pull the valve cover and check the valve lash adjustment to be sure you do not have any "Floating" valves that are not closing 100 percent. Also, if you can somehow turn the engine by hand slowly, you will beable to hear any valves that are wheezing and not sealing well if any. This may indicate that a valve job is in order. Look in the radiator while the tractor is first started and cold to see if any air bubbles are comming up though the coolant. This would indicate a head gasket problem. If you can smell any coolant in the exhaust, this is also a good indicator that there is a leaking headgasket problem. Dandy Dave!

[MBeattie]

OK, update on progress so far. Checked the governor diaphragm as sugested by JC, all seemed to be OK, as I could feel the vacumm as he described. So I took off the rocker cover..............wow, I have never seen so much carbon in all my years !! It was absoluetly caked, all over the rockers, the rocker shaft, valves, large bits just floting around in the oil etc etc. the front of the engine seems to be worst (No. 1 cylinder). I have not removed the head yet, as I ran out of time over the weekend. I will do that this weekend and see if I can find the route of the carbon problem.

[Pavel]

Excessive carbon caking would suggest that your tractor has, in the past, had a nonexistent servicing record for quite some time -- especially a lack of oil and filter changes. I would also suggest that, as well as a cyl/head and valve overhaul, you also remove the timing cover to clean up the oil pressure relief valve, and the sump to clean it and the oil pump and strainer.
A word of caution if you then intend using a modern multi-grade oil. Because of their strong detergent additives there is the possibility that the oil could loosen carbon particles in the internal oilways which could clog up feeds to bearings and the holes in the valve rocker shaft.

Pavel

[scoobyjim]

the only way forward here is a complete strip. It will only come back to bite you if you dont. Ive had the same on a ford tractor and the gunk was everywhere, a lack of comression producing incomplete combustion and caking the exhaust.

[MBeattie]

Progress continues. Have cleaned up the head, checked all the valves & replaced the valve springs while I was at it. Couple of the valve guides have a little wear, not not enough to cause any of the white smoke issues. Something I did notice when I was checking the Injector pump timing, is that the flywheel marker is at 26 degrees, but the Simms Injector pump is a SPE 4A 70 ? My confusion is that according to a Major Instruction book I have is states that the SPE 4A 70 pump should be timed at 19 degrees & the SPE 4A 75 at 26 degrees, could it be that my engine has had the pump replaced at sometime with the wrong series, a SPE 4A 70 instead of a 75 ?

[MBeattie]

Sorry, forgot to say, another thing I noticed, was the adjustment bolts on the injection pump timing plate are at the very end of the adjustment slots, so wondering if the timing is wrong for the engine/pump ?

[henk]

That could be the problem.

[JC]

Your engine number, 1396259 was made in July 1956. That is the correct injection pump and the timing should be 26 degrees.
The Mk 2 engine with the stamped steel head gasket was timed at 19 degrees. The gasket had a high failure rate and was discontinued, so no Majors are timed at 19 degrees.
I'm not sure why your coupler is at the end of the adjustment. Is your injector pump vertical, or does it lean toward the block at 10 degrees?

[MBeattie]

Got the injector pump back on yesterday (had it rebuilt) and now the coupler all lines up fine, with the adjustment bolts central. Have timed it at 26 degrees. Will get the head back on this weekend, now I have cleaned all the carbon & tar oil off. Hope to get it started at the weekend and hopefully there will be no more clouds of white smoke !! Will keep you posted