350 b running rough

[eidolon]

New owner of a 350b with 6 way, & winch. Starts and runs good with good oil pressure. Previously on a farm, so not a great deal of use - overall not worn bad at all. Original tracks and undercarriage. Don't know hours (Meter broke). The only issue I see (other than a broken winch control cable), it runs rough at lower rpms - sounds like running rich, with some white smoke. still has plenty power. Is this normal for these diesels, or do I have a pump or injector problem? I'm used to diesels that run smooth and steady at whatever rpm. I am in Eastern KY and plan to use it to clean up my farm and pull a few logs. Thanks for any help. This site has been useful already.

[eidolon]

I never heard back from anyone but maybe I didn't provide enough detail. My 350b (3 cyl diesel) runs "rough at lower RPM (1000 & below) like a gasoline engine that has a faulty carb float and letting too much gas in. Never heard a diesel do that. At higher RPM, it smooths out, but emits more than normal white smoke. Plenty of power, but, again, seems to be running rich. Could I have an injector that has tip blown, dumping fuel? Or maybe a pump problem? I am concerned about washing down the cyl walls and causing damage. How hard is it to pull out the injectors for inspection?

[Lavoy]

Injectors are cheap for that engine, and not that hard to get out. I would pull all three and get them tested, or replace them. If you are wrong, not out much money, if you are right, saves a spendy over haul.
Lavoy

[original possum]

Generally, white smoke from a diesel means low compression (or cold engine, but not in my clime). Check your air cleaner and look for intake restrictions first, then a compression test.

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

White smoke is incomplete burning of the fuel with plenty of oxygen present. Like when the engine and fuel are cold. I used to get lots of white smoke in those 10 deg F or lower mornings after a snowfall back when I lived in the mountains of New York. Not so much here in North Carolina.

Black smoke is incomplete burning with too little oxygen. Think of the guys with diesel trucks and super chips that are programmed to do just this from their oversized (and overly noisy) tailpipes....

White smoke can also be from coolant in the cylinders. Let us hope yours is not.

The injectors might be spraying badly and so not breaking the fuel into small enough particles. That reduces the surface area of the fuel for mixing with oxygen and can lead to white smoke. And lower power. And rough at low engine speeds.

They are pretty easy to get to on these machines. There is a manual bench pump one can use to check the spray pattern. As in take them to an injector shop to have them checked. But these pencil injectors are cheap enough I would just change them like I do spark plugs in a gas engine if I suspected they were off....

Stan

[eidolon]

THANKS FOR ADVICE, FOLKS.. iNJECTORS ARE COMING OUT AS SOON AS I GET BACK TO WORK ON IT. wIL LET YOU KNOW RESLTS.

[Les]

It also wouldn't hurt to just bleed the fuel lines at the filters and the injection pump intake. At least that helped my 450B run smoother.