New sound and stink coming from engine, what now?

[MOlivin]

Hi all,

2016 L6060

Everythings been running fine until about 2 weeks ago. I start her up, and theres a sound coming from the engine/exhaust like something is wizzing. Along with this new sound is a semi sweet smell but then burning. It's not sweet like antifreeze, this is somthing different. After about 20 minutes of running it the sound and the smell both go away.

After she sits for a few days I start her up again and it's doing that sound and stink again. Then goes away after a while.
I assumed a squirrel or mouse decided to nest in there and it's burning off their home. I open up the hood, boom theres an empty acorn shell sitting right on top of the battery. I further investigate, and find nothing else. I pull the air filter, nope, perfectly fine.

I recorded the sounds... here is the engine making this new noise:
New Noise

Here is the engine about 20-30 minutes later, how it normally sounds:
Normal Sound

Any ideas?

Edit: the temps have been about 50-60f outside, not to cold at all.

Also, while I was under the hood checking the air filter, I noticed the intake pipe was off of it, just laying there disconnected from the air filter housing. I reattached. But it did not make a difference with the sound.
And, took this photo here, I never noticed this before but the lettering is upside down on this. Is this positioned wrong? I'm not sure what this even is. I'm great with car/truck engines, never screwed around with diesel though.

I would assume this is some type of water catch as well? But why is it upside down?

Here is the normal diesel water catch which aparently has some water in it. I've had the tractor for 3 years and this is the first time I've every seen any water in it.

So the take aways:
- what is this sound and smell coming from the engine and exhaust?
- what is this catch for and why is it upside down? (1st photo)

Thanks again all!

 

[D2Cat]

Your videos are not loading, at least no on my computer.

That is a water separator. It is in the position it's in so the water set on the bottom. Unscrew the metal nut and dump the water. The float in there is just an indicator of water level.

You're in Missouri, there's all kind of critters wanting to get close to your machine!! If the hose was loose I'd guess a mouse is working for a winter home and you're cooking his efforts when the engine get hot.

 

[#40Fan]

The first photo is your air filter restriction gauge.

 

[Russell King]

Your videos are not loading, at least no on my computer.

That is a water separator. It is in the position it's in so the water set on the bottom. Unscrew the metal nut and dump the water. The float in there is just an indicator of water level.

You're in Missouri, there's all kind of critters wanting to get close to your machine!! If the hose was loose I'd guess a mouse is working for a winter home and you're cooking his efforts when the engine get hot.

The videos did load for me. The first one (new noise) did take awhile to get loaded but it did finally start after a bit. The second one (normal noise) played like normal.

If it was me I would remove that hose that was loose and see if there is anything in the housing or the hose, just to be sure.

But I have no clue about the problem resolution.

 

[MOlivin]

D2Cat - I adjust the videos so they should both load now for everyone. Yes, the 2nd photo is the diesel/water separator. I do know that one, I was referring to the air filter restriction gauge #40Fan noted.

#40Fan - air filter restriction gauge... so is it supposed to be "upside down"? You see the 50% lettering is the wrong way. I'm assuming when the yellow is down into the Redline area, that means the air filter is clogged? Is that the only thing this is for?

Russell King - This is what I thought as well... The pipe was completely clear, I took apart the entire air filter housing, it was clear, the internal 2ndary filter was also clear. No critters in there at all. I looks all over the engine bay and can't find any other trace of a critter other then the acorn shell on the battery. The bigger issue is the sound in the videos are coming from the tailpipe, as well as the smell. Other then the air filter housing, where else would a critter get into?


Thanks again all!

 

[McMXi]

Hi all,

2016 L6060

Everythings been running fine until about 2 weeks ago. I start her up, and theres a sound coming from the engine/exhaust like something is wizzing. Along with this new sound is a semi sweet smell but then burning. It's not sweet like antifreeze, this is somthing different. After about 20 minutes of running it the sound and the smell both go away.

After she sits for a few days I start her up again and it's doing that sound and stink again. Then goes away after a while.

So the take aways:
- what is this sound and smell coming from the engine and exhaust?

I wonder if this has something to do with regen or EGR? The smell being sweet and then burning. Have your regens been uneventful and how often? I don't like that the intake pipe was disconnected given the amount of dust around your engine compartment.

The sound makes me think turbo though. My F-250 will produce a completely different sound from the exhaust when the exhaust back pressure valve closes in order to get the engine hotter sooner. It makes a higher pitched sound and you can "hear" the restriction. Your exhaust sounds restricted when the tractor is first started. Some experts will be along soon though and I'm sure they'll help you figure it out.

 

[MOlivin]

The regens seem to have been fine. Just had a regen about 5 days ago. It was already running about 45 minutes ago the sound was gone. It regened as usual. Back to 0%, the next day I started her up, the sound is back. No idea.
I didn't realize this had a turbo on it? I don't think I've seen any specs saying this has turbo.

 

[McMXi]

The regens seem to have been fine. Just had a regen about 5 days ago. It was already running about 45 minutes ago the sound was gone. It regened as usual. Back to 0%, the next day I started her up, the sound is back. No idea.
I didn't realize this had a turbo on it? I don't think I've seen any specs saying this has turbo.

Here's a screenshot from the video that you posted. You can see the oil line to the left of arrow and the compressor side to the left of that.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

That sounds like the turbo is going / gone south!
Repair it now before it costs you a lot more!

 

[#40Fan]

#40Fan - air filter restriction gauge... so is it supposed to be "upside down"? You see the 50% lettering is the wrong way. I'm assuming when the yellow is down into the Redline area, that means the air filter is clogged? Is that the only thing this is for?

Being upside down doesn't matter. It relies on vacuum being built between the air filter and engine indicating the air filter isn't allowing as much air into the engine as needed. When the indicator is in the red, you should at least check the air filter and clean if necessary. They are well known to not be very accurate. Your 50% could mean completely clogged filter where someone else's would read that after starting the engine with a new filter.

In order to reset the indicator, push on the end furthest away from the air intake tube. Squishy rubber end.

One reason that I don't like them, other than the inconsistent readings, is they can crack the plastic, or the rubber reset button and allow dirty air to be sucked into the engine.

 

[MOlivin]

How do you know if the turbo has gone bad? I would assume there would be a massive loss of power. How would that account for the smell?
Or is it possible a critter found it's way into the exhaust and worked his way up?

 

[BAP]

Bearings going out in the turbo will make noise and cause oil to leak into the engine to be burned off, hence smell. If it gets bad enough, the engine can run completely on the oil and “Runaway “ until the engine blows up and you can’t stop it. Extremely expensive. If bearings get bad enough, pieces of turbo will break off and go through the engine and destroy pistons causing expensive repairs.

 

[McMXi]

That sounds like the turbo is going / gone south!
Repair it now before it costs you a lot more!

I've got four diesels equipped with turbos and I make sure to let the turbo cool down before shutting off the vehicle to prevent or limit oil coking. I have pre and post turbo EGT probes and gauges in the F-250 and let the truck cool down until both locations are around 300F. Running good oil and allowing turbos to cool will typically result in a long life. I plan on eventually installing thermocouples post turbo in both tractors along with gauges, and also find an elegant solution for the F-450.

Obviously we don't know why this particular turbo might have failed (assuming that it has), but since the OP didn't know that his tractor has a turbo, I think it's safe to assume that there was no thought given to allowing the turbo to cool down after use.

 

[John T]

The fact that the intake hose was off (not connected) AND you found signs of rodents... would concern me.
You could have sucked up a mouse when you started it.... The turbo impeller is probably jammed with mouse carnage. anything that got past the turbo might be slowly cooking off in the CAT or the muffler. (smell)
I would pull the turbo for inspection at a minimum.

 

[MOlivin]

Wow, $3450 for a turbo from the Kubota dealer.

Yes I'll pull it first and check if I can see anything.

You are correct, I did not know this has a turbo, however, just as a general rule after hitting it hard we did always let it idle for a bit before turning it off to relax

 

[John T]

Wow, $3450 for a turbo from the Kubota dealer.

Don't buy it from Messicks...... They will charge you $850.00 shipping....

but seriously, You can find a replacement turbo for a hella lot less than that.

 

[McMXi]

Wow, $3450 for a turbo from the Kubota dealer.

Yes I'll pull it first and check if I can see anything.

You are correct, I did not know this has a turbo, however, just as a general rule after hitting it hard we did always let it idle for a bit before turning it off to relax

Maybe it's time to buy one of those borescope cameras that have become all the craze. I finally joined the fray and got a Klein ET16 that works with my Android cell phone.

As for the turbo, they can often be repaired/rebuilt rather than replaced. If your turbo is indeed on the way out, you might want to look into that as an option to buying a replacement.

Also, the DPF is downstream of the turbo and nothing is getting past that i.e. a rodent isn't going to crawl up the exhaust pipe and get to the turbo. If a rodent was sucked up on the intake side of the turbo, am I supposed to believe that body parts somehow got through the intake valves into the cylinders, survived the combustion process, out through the exhaust valves and then managed to get all the way out of the exhaust manifold and to the turbo. Then what explains the change in sound until the next start up?

 

[MOlivin]

$600 for an ihi turbo from here is more like it
Turbo

I'll have to get the tractor in the garage in the next couple of weeks a take it out to see what's going on.

If it is the turbo, I would assume the $600 replacement would be about what it costs to have it rebuilt?

 

[#40Fan]

Can you explain better which intake hose was disconnected? Was it the hose from the air filter to the turbo with the restriction gauge or the hose from the air filter that probably runs to the front of the engine where the fresh air is sucked in?

 

[MOlivin]

It was this guy, just laying there not connected.