B3030 sluggish with white smoke

[Scott C.]

First post - glad I found this site...

My 2006 B3030 with 300 hours began running "sluggish" late last fall. It starts fine - what happens is I lose RPM's and when it starts to rebound it will white smoke pretty bad. Doesn't stall completely out but throttles way down for about 8 seconds before it starts to rebound.

Occurs much more frequently when driving up hill - really doesn't bog down going down hills?

Other gotta be related stuff:
I noticed the gas tank was building with more pressure last fall. The rubber gasket on the bottom of the gas tank lid was actually sticking to the tank. I read in the manual to turn off the motor after running count to two and turn back on to solve the air pressure problem but this never worked.

Also - it's in the mid 30's here but after running the tractor for about 40 minutes I noticed the temp guage never got much past C.

Thanks for any thoughts - let me know if more info needed.

 

[kc8fbl]

Welcome to OTT! It sounds like you may have an some fuel issues there. Possibly some extra air in the system. How's your fuel filter? Might want to try some diesel treatment in the tank in case there's possibly any water mixed in there.

On my B7610, the temp gauge goes to the top of the "C". I seen in other posts that this is pretty common and nothing to worry about.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

At 300 hours your getting close to the 500 hour full service spa treatment. May not hurt anything to go ahead and drain the hydraulic system and replaced the filer and clean the suction screen. Also change the fuel filter and air filter.

As for the tank building pressure take a toothpick and clean out the cap on the fuel tank. There's a small pin size hole at the top of the cap to vent and it could be clogged up with dirt and debris.

 

[bosshogg]

White smoke is generally a sign of incomplete combustion of diesel fuel. This could be caused by improper timing, worn injectors, or bad fuel in most cases.

 

[Scott C.]

It's fixed!!!

I think it was a combo of bad diesel and a dirty fuel filter. Swaped out fuel/filter and she's purring again.

Got to love the cheap easy fixes.

Thanks for advice.

Scott

 

[Eric McCarthy]

My next suggestion is head to an auto parts store and look for a bottle of Soltron. Its an enzyme fuel treatment that's good for both gas and diesel engines and it will keep fuel fresh for up to 3 years on a single dose.

I've always been sceptical of miracle liquids in a bottle but after a 20 minute conversation with a parts guy at the NAPA counter who doesn't gain a dime in promoting Soltron I thought I'd try it for myself. And yep now I'm a firm believer in it.

 

[bosshogg]

It's fixed!!!

I think it was a combo of bad diesel and a dirty fuel filter. Swaped out fuel/filter and she's purring again.

Got to love the cheap easy fixes.

Thanks for advice.

Scott

Cheap and easy are always pleasurable.

 

[kc8fbl]

Glad you got it figured out! Quick and painless solutions are the best!

 

[skeets]

Cheap,,,Easy ,,,Fast,,, pick any 2,,nawww I aint gona say it