curious engine issue

[duncanswood]

Hello,
I have a small tractor with a 60hp VM turbo diesel engine. Starts fine, runs perfectly but after an hour of use it starts emitting lots of blue smoke and loses power. Only done 600 hours so unlikely to be problem due to wear, plus it starts and runs absolutely fine with no smoke at all.
If anyone has any theories I'd love to read them, and if anyone knows of a good diesel engine service engineer in the south-east (Sussex / Kent) I'd be grateful for their contact details.
Thanks for reading, best wishes to all,
Chris

 

[Lincs Lass]

The hours are nothing to go by ,could be the turbo on it's way out,piston rings ,injectors ,,blue smoke says its burning oil

 

[MrNoo]

Checked the air filter?

 

[startinghandle]

When you say only 600 hours
Is that from new or from engine overhaul

 

[Right-arm fast]

I would guess it’s a fuel issue perhaps tank filter, engine filters gradually blocking maybe altering the timing / engine could be missing if air is drawn in.

 

[startinghandle]

Is radiator clear?
Is fan blade clean

 

[startinghandle]

Is engine oil change overdue

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

the bores on the liners will be glazed due to light work, it will start and run fine, the blue smoke will be oil getting burnt, bet if you look closely it will be damp around exhaust manifold etc,

solution is to give it a good thrashing and hard work for a day, that will dry it up

 

[duncanswood]

The hours are nothing to go by ,could be the turbo on it's way out,piston rings ,injectors ,,blue smoke says its burning oil

Thanks for your reply. Worn turbo, worn piston rings, dicky injectors are all contenders but what foxes me is that the blue smoke only starts after one hour of run time. 60 minutes in to any job the engine and PTO revs start fluctuating, then the tractor starts doing a pretty good Red Arrows 'smoke on' impression. From switch on to 60 minutes it runs perfectly. Weird!

 

[duncanswood]

When you say only 600 hours
Is that from new or from engine overhaul

600 hours from new, but it is a 2012 machine so only lightly used. Maybe it is the lack of use that is causing an issue?

 

[duncanswood]

the bores on the liners will be glazed due to light work, it will start and run fine, the blue smoke will be oil getting burnt, bet if you look closely it will be damp around exhaust manifold etc,

solution is to give it a good thrashing and hard work for a day, that will dry it up

Thanks for your reply. You are right that the tractor has only been lightly used. 600 hours on a 2012 machine testifies to this. Does the engine need a thorough clean? Would you advise a Terraclean or similar treatment?

 

[duncanswood]

Is engine oil change overdue

Thanks for replying. I bought the tractor secondhand a year ago and changed all fluids and filters when I got it to the farm. Just done 50 hours since.

 

[duncanswood]

I would guess it’s a fuel issue perhaps tank filter, engine filters gradually blocking maybe altering the timing / engine could be missing if air is drawn in.

Thanks for your reply. What I need is the help of a good diesel engineer who can go through the fuel system from tank to injectors and check that all is well. If you know anyone good down in the south east please let me know!

 

[duncanswood]

Checked the air filter?

Air filter is new-ish, just a 50 hours old.

 

[Sharpy]

Try running it till it starts its nonsense then while its still running remove the fuel cap. If it isn't letting air into the tank it will cause a vacuum leading to fuel starvation and the symptoms you describe.

 

[duncanswood]

Try running it till it starts its nonsense then while its still running remove the fuel cap. If it isn't letting air into the tank it will cause a vacuum leading to fuel starvation and the symptoms you describe.

Many thanks, I will give it a try tomorrow. Best wishes.

 

[daveydiesel1]

Would put money on it that it will be a air pipe suckin in when it gets warm and the rubber collapses causin sudden loss of power and smoke comin out. Take the air intake pipe of and giv her a good workin. Id be surprised if it isnt this judgein by the symptoms. Wev had this problem a few times

 

[duncanswood]

Would put money on it that it will be a air pipe suckin in when it gets warm and the rubber collapses causin sudden loss of power and smoke comin out. Take the air intake pipe of and giv her a good workin. Id be surprised if it isnt this judgein by the symptoms. Wev had this problem a few times

Thanks for your reply, and the brilliant advice. Good to know that someone else has experienced a similar issue. Many thanks and best wishes.

 

[daveydiesel1]

Thanks for your reply, and the brilliant advice. Good to know that someone else has experienced a similar issue. Many thanks and best wishes.

Keep us posted sure

 

[DavidP-South Wales]

Hello,
I have a small tractor with a 60hp VM turbo diesel engine. Starts fine, runs perfectly but after an hour of use it starts emitting lots of blue smoke and loses power. Only done 600 hours so unlikely to be problem due to wear, plus it starts and runs absolutely fine with no smoke at all.
If anyone has any theories I'd love to read them, and if anyone knows of a good diesel engine service engineer in the south-east (Sussex / Kent) I'd be grateful for their contact details.
Thanks for reading, best wishes to all,
Chris

Hi, I did a little with VM engines fitted to French brand of road sweeper about 10 years ago. I recall that the engine performance relied a lot on air sensors connected with small-bore pipework. The sensors and valves were unreliable and little could be done to diagnose problems without the computer plug-in.
DavidP-South Wales