L295DT wont start, white smoke, video

[joesmith123]

You probably have the fitting in the compression kit to check the compression at the glow plugs.

yes probably, I dunno why I never thought of that

 

[Russell King]

Congratulations on getting it running!

I think you should have the injector rebuilt or replaced. I can’t see well in the pictures but some of the bypass fittings look like they are not installed correctly and fell out. That will probably leak diesel fuel on top of the engine.

Also I think the intake manifold should still have paint on it since it doesn’t get hot enough to burn it off. Do you have any idea why it is bare cast iron now? I know that these engines are easy to overheat and crack heads on. But I am not sure if overheating would cause the paint to burn off the intake manifold like the exhaust manifold. Perhaps someone else with more experience will answer this question.

I think the L295 is a thermo siphon system like my L185 with no water pump but I may be wrong about that. If thermo siphon then keeping the radiator and screen in front of radiator is mandatory to keep it cool.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Stop take a deep breath.
That engine needs a complete rebuilt period!
Throwing external parts at it all day is not going to make it run any better!

 

[joesmith123]

Great that its 'sorta running'. What's the back story of this tractor? Is it new to you? Was it sold as having an ok engine? Was the hole in the exhaust manifold there when you got it? Pretty unusual. FYI the starter switch is wired to keep power to the glow plugs while it cranks.

back story: got it for a steal from someone who bought a ranch and it was just sitting there

He sold it to me saying it needed rebuilt, "smokes real bad"

Hole in the exhaust: yes, it does seem unusual to me, but my theory: rodents got into the muffler, causing it to put pressure on the manifold and burst it

I have since changed that manifold, got one from the parts l295

Glow plugs on with starter switch left or right: yup i think i read that somewhere

 

[joesmith123]

Congratulations on getting it running!

I think you should have the injector rebuilt or replaced. I can’t see well in the pictures but some of the bypass fittings look like they are not installed correctly and fell out. That will probably leak diesel fuel on top of the engine.

Also I think the intake manifold should still have paint on it since it doesn’t get hot enough to burn it off. Do you have any idea why it is bare cast iron now? I know that these engines are easy to overheat and crack heads on. But I am not sure if overheating would cause the paint to burn off the intake manifold like the exhaust manifold. Perhaps someone else with more experience will answer this question.

I think the L295 is a thermo siphon system like my L185 with no water pump but I may be wrong about that. If thermo siphon then keeping the radiator and screen in front of radiator is mandatory to keep it cool.

Intake manifold does still have paint on it, let me look again to see if maybe it looks like metal in the pictures i provided

L295 does have water pump

 

[joesmith123]

Stop take a deep breath.
That engine needs a complete rebuilt period!
Throwing external parts at it all day is not going to make it run any better!

I'm assuming you are making that statement after you saw it and heard it run?

What about the way it was running makes you say it needs complete rebuild?

I was planning on working on it today and seeing if I can drive it, then putting the front bucket on and using it to move dirt/rocks around

 

[joesmith123]

Changed exhaust port, still gotta fix exhaust leak, smoke does have blue tint to it

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Smoke is one factor, but sound of it more than anything, it's knocking hard.
Watch the temp really close as you run it.

 

[Russell King]

Intake manifold does still have paint on it, let me look again to see if maybe it looks like metal in the pictures i provided

L295 does have water pump

The pictures just look like there is no paint but it could just be a layer of dust or something making it look that way. If you say it has paint then I believe you.

 

[rbargeron]

I'm with Wolfman on this - if it continues to run this way it may self-destruct.

Looking closer at your vids and pics, its clear this tractor was repainted - and the top of the cylinder head was missed - it still looks like a 40-yr-old Kubota engine. My guess on the hole in the exhaust manifold is that something hit it from the outside punching a chunk of the cast iron IN not out - maybe still laying in there.

With the injector work so poorly done in the past, the knocking could be from some small part falling into the a combustion chamber and now banging against the head when the piston comes all the way up. There is near-zero clearance at top dead center. A washer or small metal part in there would get continually hammered into the top of the aluminum piston. Unbolt the head and have a look - hopefully the piston isn't broken.

Unbolt the head and have a look inside. If it continues to be run as-is there's a chance of doing more serious damage - maybe destroying it - a big escalation over what might be possible to correct it now.

Dick B.

 

[rbargeron]

This may be down the road a bit - but if a piston needs to come out, the job starts by taking away the front axle, a necessary step in removing the oil pan for access to the connecting rods. Bottom-end work on many 4wd models takes significant wrenching for access to the connecting rods. If the crank is found to need work too, then separate the block from the transmission. The crank would come out the back end of the block. If you go through all that, you'll qualify for the official "orange wings" medal. Best luck - Dick B

 

[joesmith123]

Smoke is one factor, but sound of it more than anything, it's knocking hard.
Watch the temp really close as you run it.

Ran it and drove around for 1-2 hours

Has tremendous power, everything works, got it to almost the last gear

Pushed another broken l295 with a loader uphill a bit

highest temperature I got it to, was 230 degrees fahrenheit

When its idling, temp is about 180

 

[joesmith123]

I'm with Wolfman on this - if it continues to run this way it may self-destruct.

Looking closer at your vids and pics, its clear this tractor was repainted - and the top of the cylinder head was missed - it still looks like a 40-yr-old Kubota engine. My guess on the hole in the exhaust manifold is that something hit it from the outside punching a chunk of the cast iron IN not out - maybe still laying in there

I did change that manifold from a parts L295, but there is still a gap where it bolts in to muffler

Could that knocking sound just be coming from the leaking exhaust?

I have heard diesels sounding similarly and nothing wrong with them

Also I have heard vehicles with leaking exhaust manifold also sound like a knock

I will figure out how to seal it properly to eliminate that issue

I'm with Wolfman on this - if it continues to run this way it may self-destruct.

With the injector work so poorly done in the past, the knocking could be from some small part falling into the a combustion chamber and now banging against the head when the piston comes all the way up. There is near-zero clearance at top dead center. A washer or small metal part in there would get continually hammered into the top of the aluminum piston. Unbolt the head and have a look - hopefully the piston isn't broken.

Unbolt the head and have a look inside. If it continues to be run as-is there's a chance of doing more serious damage - maybe destroying it - a big escalation over what might be possible to correct it now.

Dick B.

Ok, I look into how to do that this procedure
If a small part got in there, wouldn't it eventually disintegrate because of heat/pressure/time
Could the piston be broken and it be running fine with plenty of power etc?

 

[joesmith123]

This may be down the road a bit - but if a piston needs to come out, the job starts by taking away the front axle, a necessary step in removing the oil pan for access to the connecting rods. Bottom-end work on many 4wd models takes significant wrenching for access to the connecting rods. If the crank is found to need work too, then separate the block from the transmission. The crank would come out the back end of the block. If you go through all that, you'll qualify for the official "orange wings" medal. Best luck - Dick B

If I have to do serious surgery to this degree, I need to have an organized place to do this
Now, if bolts and small parts fall, it takes me 10 minutes looking in the dirt
coincidentally , I need the machine to build the "mini shop"

My idea:
it doesnt knock too hard when keeping the rpm low
Put the bucket on it from the spare l295, use the bucket to do the dirt work on low power, then set up the mini shop, and really get in there and do surgery

I spent about 2/3 hours yesterday taking out the injectors again, resealing them
Put them back in tight, leaks all over

I think someone mentioned to get new copper wings that sit at the bottom

I want zero leaks because I'll explain:
Now, when I go to start it and there are leaks, its not primed to get going. I crank and crank and kill battery, then have to jump it etc

This is what I'll start with:
all new genuine injectors and new copper washers for seating
All new genuine glow plugs and whatever those sit on, someone said i think "tarp seal" but i'll re-read
Take out the manifold, hammer it into shape so that it is sealing, and get genuine gasket from messick, to completely seal the exhaust leak

Thats all i can think of for now, any feedback appreciated

 

[Russell King]

The glow plugs DO NOT have anything underneath them. I was wrong about that. They have a tapered fit that seals them.

There is a pretty thick gasket that goes between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipe. I would not try to hammer on the manifold since it is cast iron. You may want to get a new one if the existing manifold is damaged. The exhaust pipe flange is steel so can be bent but it is pretty thick so it will be hard to get it flat. I guess you could try two gaskets stacked together. Are the spare parts tractor any better?

I’m not sure what is leaking at the injectors but I don’t think that would make you have to bleed it unless the leak is at the fuel line nut.

Post another video of it running after you get the new injectors installed. And I would use OEM injectors over Amazon if you can get them for your tractor.

 

[D2Cat]

If you need new and known good injectors and good service here's a place you might check out. A bad injector can make a knocking sound that will make you think a bearing has spun. Oh, they ship all over the earth!

Diesel Injector Rebuilds and Testing

Oregon Fuel Injection rebuilds and tests diesel fuel injectors using the latest tools.

oregonfuelinjection.com

 

[rbargeron]

If a small part got in there, wouldn't it eventually disintegrate because of heat/pressure/time
Could the piston be broken and it be running fine with plenty of power etc?

If something got in there the shouldn't, it could be hammered into the soft piston and stay there. But that much noise doesn't usually fix itself - and isn't usually benign. Taking the head off is straight forward - just undo the injector pipes and unbolt it. Might be able to see what's making the racket.

 

[joesmith123]

Took out injectors, sprayed cleaner, ran a drill with metal abrasives to completely clean out injector areas
Scraped and removed all buildup inside injector
2 of the injectors did not have the copper seal
Put in all new copper seals and injectors
Took off intake manifold to get the glow plugs out
All new glowplugs installed, also did the wire work
Still need to install 2 gaskets on the muffler manifold to seal that leak
So far, no leaks on the injector side...

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

You should do a compression test!
And #2 intake valve is too tight or it's bad, it's blowing back.

 

[rbargeron]

The starting attempt at about 1:56 shows some spit-back from the #2 intake port.

I still think taking the head off may show something with that cylinder - the chambers may have carbon buildup that's interfering with valve seating.