Farm Pro 2425 smoking after oil change

Do you have a 2 cylinder or 3 cylinder engine?

What was the oil level on the dipstick after you put in the new oil?

Did you get an owners manual with the tractor? If not, post what engine make and model is in the tractor and we can go from there to find out oil capacity.

I have a Jinma 284 (2006) with a Y385T engine and it takes right at 6 quarts so your 1-1/2 gal. is probably about right. However if you have the 2 cylinder engine it my only require about 4 quarts.

What color is the smoke?

Did you let it run long enough to see what happens when it warms up?

Have you checked the coolant level in the radiator to see if it is low or has oil in it?

Generally oil in the cylinders causes blueish smoke, too much fuel causes black smoke and coolant/water will cause a whitish color to the smoke. Keep in mind that cold engines usually smoke white/grey until they warm up.

Some black puffs of smoke on acceleration is quite normal for a diesel engine. It is the excess fuel not getting completely burned until the engine RPM comes up enough to suck in the appropriate amount of air. I wouldn’t worry about that unless it is smoking all the time, in which case it will be a fuel system issue (usually).

You have the same engine as I have in my 2006 284 tractor and your oil level is just fine. More concerning though is the oil coming out of the dipstick tube. That should not ever happen. The breather can on the right side of the engine just has a metal mesh filer in it (if I remember correctly). The breather air contains a fair amount of oil mist which collects on the filter, then drains back into the crankcase when the tractor is shut down.

Since you have oil coming out both places this seems to indicate you have a piston ring blow by problem. Excessive blow by will pressurize the crankcase and force excessive air out of the breather and that will carry extra oil mist with it. Really excessive blow by could maybe force oil out of the dipstick tube.

I think my next step would be to do a compression test and see if you can figure out if just one cylinder is leaking past the rings or if they all do.

Can you tell by looking at the engine if it looks like it has been taken apart?

How many hours on the meter?

still a compression check would be your best move, it should not make any difference but engine oil for these is 15/40. how many hours are on the machine? You never know maybe it was not broke in properly , just thinking of this take a compression reading then run it hard within reason for 5hrs or so , make sure it gets to a good operating temp. 80 c or 180 f  let cool off and take another reading and see if the rings seated any better. also check the oil in the injection pump, that gets over looked often. good luck

Take a look at the documents on my web site here:

http://harnerfarm.net/Jinma/Jinma284.html

The top one on the list will show the injection pump stuff on page 40. Lots of other good info in this document too.

Let us know if you have questions and if you need other info. I can scan anything I have and toss it on the web site.

A couple of additional thoughts:

You may not have to do an actual compression test to get an idea of what is going on. If you open the breather can on the right side of the engine you might be able to listen to it and figure something out. (not running of course).

Before I forget, was there filter material in the breather?

Anyway, you could just remove the glow plugs and use a rubber tipped air nozzle to blow air into each cylinder. Listen at the breather to see if you can hear the amount of air going through each one. You may have to turn the engine over if a cylinder has the exhaust valve open it will blow air out of the muffler and you won’t get a fair comparison.

At only 125 hours it should not have worn the rings out but it is possible that it was never broke in properly and you have glazed cylinder walls. This will lead to blow by and high oil consumption.

You have the proper oil in it and I would follow Dave’s advice and “blow the cobbs out of it”. Get it up to temp (warm up at 1000 RPM until temp gauge is in the green). Then work it hard for an hour. Shut it down and let it cool off. Check the oil level and color. Turning black in a couple of hours is normal and does not mean the oil is used up. Monitor the hour meter to make sure it is working.

Change your fuel filter and make sure to use clean high quality fuel that has not been stored a long time.

I have a manual on most of the smaller tractors like yours. I think it’s too large to post her. If you will send email, I will send it to you. Oldfart (Max)

Good move cleaning the breather. If it is plugged that could contribute to the dipstick blowout problem. That white gunk is water mixed with oil vapor. Normal for a tractor that is not used much.You might have fixed it with that on item. Put it to work and monitor it closely before getting too carried away with other testing. As long as you have oil pressure the innards will be fine.

Power steering: First off do you have a front end loader?

Is there a quick connect coupler in the rubber hose pressure line that comes out of the pump? The factory couplers had issues and can damage the pump if they malfunction. This in turn can cause the front pump seal to blow out and dump hydraulic fluid into the engine crankcase.

Does the 3 point hitch rise properly?

There is a priority valve between the pump and the steering box that is supposed to give steering priority over the 3 point hitch. If you have a front end loader, it is in the circuit before the priority valve so it is normal to have the steering “fade” while the FEL is in motion.

You are correct to not jump to the point of replacing the cylinder just yet. When you had fluid coming out of the lines was the engine running?

You should be able to jack the front wheels off the ground and turn the steering wheel with the engine off and have the steering cylinder move the wheels. If it does not, then the cylinder is suspect but not condemned yet…

There were several variations of cylinders used on various brands/years produced by Jinma so if the cylinder is bad you will want to be very careful about getting the correct part.

If you think the cylinder might be bad, check with local hydraulic shops. Some will refuse to work on metric stuff but others are quite capable of fixing your cylinder if repair parts are available.

Steering Wheel: It is on a tapered shaft that also has splines. It can be a pain to remove but if you have a proper wheel puller it will pop off. Yes, just remove the horn button and the nut then use the puller. I have put anti-seize on mine and it still won’t come off without a puller. Just the nature of the beast. There should be threaded holes in the hub of the wheel for you to screw the puller to. If you try to pull it from any other location on the wheel, you may damage it.

You may or may not have the inline filter shown here but it is a good reference anyway:

https://www.circlegtractorparts.com/hydraulics/hydraulic-steering-and-pipe-4wd

OK, easy thing to check is take the loader out of the equation. Unhook all the couplers and plug the tractor side into the tractor side leaving the FEL unhooked. Then start it up and see if the steering works without the loader in the circuit.

Oops, I thought you were talking about the Farm Pro.

My Jinma came with quick connects in the high pressure side of the hydraulic pump hose. The Jinma FEL came with matching quick connects so that mounting and unmounting the FEL is quick and easy. Uncouple the tractor hose and plug in the FEL. Then when you take off the FEL you just uncouple everything and plug the tractor back into itself.

Whoever mounted your FEL opted not to spend the extra $$ for the quick couplers and just plumbed it in directly.

Without knowing how the hoses are routed in your system, I would just be guessing at how to bypass the FEL. It is possible that in mounting the FEL the Steering was bypassed or connected incorrectly. Another possibility is that the pressure limit valve dumping oil back to the tank and not supplying enough pressure to the steering for it to function.

I would start at the pump and follow the hoses to make up a hand drawn diagram of the hydraulic system. If you post the diagram (or pictures of the complete hose routing) we can probably figure out how to proceed.

Eric wrote:

to clarify, the powersteering issue and steering wheel question was about a different tractor…these two issues are on a Agracat 2940 with kyoker 160 loader. I’m actually kind of confused on how to do what you recommended? There doesn’t appear to be any way to easily unhook things/no quick connects. Where and how would I do this. Sorry…just not tracking.

Quote

If the connections are the same that is a logical and easy way to verify the cylinder.

Well you have been busy! All good stuff too. It is a shame it did not resolve your issues. Let’s take a look at things one at a time.

Oil consumption might be improved with heavier weight oil in some circumstances but will probably not do much to seal up worn piston rings. Some engines are finicky with oil. I once had an air-cooled aircraft engine that gobbled up Aeroshell oil but when I switched brands to Philips it nearly stopped. An old mechanic gave the the hint to try a different brand and it worked. Would not have believed it if I hadn’t tried it.

Anyway, if ring blow by is causing the oil to be pushed out of the crankcase I would expect it to turn black in the first hour. How does the oil look now? Ring blow by may not be the cause of your oil issue. The coolant issue may be related but we will get to that in a moment.

Something is pressurizing the crankcase but what? The breather should be able to handle normal amounts of blow by but on your engine it can’t keep up. I know you cleaned it out but did you verify the tube back to the engine is not plugged? It is held to the block with two bolts with a gasket in between. I would take that off and make sure it was open all the way through and that the passageway is open into the pan. Then put it back together but leave the filter material out. Check the oil level and make a note of it. Start the engine and let it warm up then run it up to over half throttle and check to see if you can detect air coming out of the breather tube. Then take the dipstick out and check there too. Shut it down and after it cools for a few minutes check the oil level again and compare to before.

If the crankcase is overfull and the crankshaft is hitting the oil it would churn it up and cause all kinds of problems. Does the oil spit out of the dipstick tube right away when you start it? If so, you could drain the oil and replace just 3 quarts and test again. 3 quarts should be sufficient to lube the tractor for a short run just make sure the oil pressure comes up within 30 seconds of startup.

to be continued….

On the aircraft engine mentioned above it had an oil capacity of 8 quarts but it would burn/belch 2 quarts in the first couple of hours. Standard practice on that model of engine was to only put in 6 quarts at change and it would run 10 to 12 hours before using another quart.

If less oil in the pan solves the dipstick tube spitting problem you still need to confirm that there is not excessive pressurization in the crankcase. If there is pressurization, then the question is why? Worn rings allow combustion gassed to blow by, but a leaking head gasket or problem with a cylinder liner can cause this too. Then there is a cracked head as a possibility. Finding and fixing these means a tear down of some kind.

At this point I would recommend having an oil lab do an analysis of your oil. They can check for contamination from hydraulic fluid, antifreeze, water, and combustion products. None of this will tell you where the problem is, but hopefully provide a clue to what to check for next.

Next up, coolant system…

Flushing the radiator and putting in fresh coolant is always a good move.

I will guess here that your tractor does not have a coolant recovery bottle. These systems work at fairly low pressure and radiator caps can be problematic. When cold the coolant level should be just above the radiator core openings. Do not fill to the bottom of the neck on the cap. When the coolant expands as it warms up, it just goes overboard anyway.

Replacing the thermostat is a good idea and fairly easy to do. I had problems when one of the bolts broke off but it was nearly rusted through and was going to be an issue anyway. My tractor had a 180° F thermostat which is not warm enough for a diesel in North Dakota. I replaced it with a 195° one and my engine is much happier for it.

With a new thermostat and the coolant at the proper level leave the cap off and start the tractor. Look in the neck and see if the coolant is moving. It should not until the engine comes up to temp. As the thermostat opens you should slowly start to see the coolant flow increase and the level in the radiator come up as it expands. As this is happening, monitor the temp gauge on the dash to make sure it is responding accordingly.

If all looks well, you can put the cap on and go work the tractor a little while monitoring the gauge and overflow tube for leakage.

If you see movement and or bubbles in the coolant before the upper hose gets warm to the touch there is probably something wrong in the engine. This is where it might be connected to the oil spitting issue.

At this point I would work the tractor an hour or two and then get the oil AND the coolant tested for cross contamination. Most Caterpillar dealers have an oil lab or at least access to one. Typically you buy the empty sample bottles and mail them in or drop them off if the lab is local to you.

Odds are you are going to have to order at least a head gasket so you might as well get the testing done while waiting for parts.

BTW, what part of the country are you in and do you have a dealer nearby?

if it is just a head gasket they are fairly cheap, more time than money there

When I checked the head bolts I used a crows foot wrench for the two that were under the rocker shaft. All of the others were tight so I was not too concerned about over torquing any of them and used the crows foot just to confirm they were indeed tight but couldn’t get a perfectly accurate reading.

Info on head re-torque is on page 34 of the Jinma 200 Series Documentation PDF on my web site.

At this point I am guessing that you have piston ring blow by. That’s a tear down and overhaul situation. Don’t jump on that just yet though, it will still be important to find out what is going on with your coolant.

If coolant and hydraulic oil levels are not changing that is a good sign that the head and gasket are probably OK.

I’ve never done a diesel engine overhaul so will not be much help there. One option before you start taking things apart is to call either Rolland at Ranch Hand Supply or Tommy at Affordable Tractor in Bellville TX. Offer to pay them for an hour of shop time if they will spend some time listening to your symptoms and give you some advice. Tell them where you are so they know you are not trying to take advantage of them just to do the work yourself. Both of these guys have a good reputation, I have bought stuff from them and from Circle G in Nashville.

If you start taking things apart, be sure and take pictures as you go. It helps when putting it back together and for future reference.

let me state this, blow by is not terminal as a blow up , you can run this engine and we just can not say how long ( before blow by reduces compression till it will not run), it might even improve if it needs running hard to seat rings , this engine is of low hours. I have seen engine that were so worn the had to be started with starting fluid but once going would still work all day. I would not be in a hurry to do a teardown get some hours on it and reevaluate .  Also buying a complete engine might be the way to go you will have a spare parts engine then  unless a core is required which I doubt.

Dave, agreed. I would be in no hurry to take things apart until we had more of an idea as to why.

The coolant issue and the oil spitting issue may or may not be related. At this point it is sounding like two different problems.

The radiator shouldn’t be corroded at these few hours unless it was filled with tap water and had no anti-freeze or protection additives. I’ve seen tap water do nasty things to coolant systems.

If it will run without overheating I might even be inclined to remove the dipstick and put a cap over the tube to seal it. Might have to clamp it in place. That way you could carefully monitor oil consumption without it being pushed overboard.

The more hours you can get on the oil and coolant the more accurate an analysis will be.

Which leads to one more thought, although a little off topic. I wonder what kinds of fluids are in this machine. If the original stuff from China, they need to be changed. The stuff that was in my tractor in the crate was horrible stuff.

If you decide to try too reseal with a liquid liner the fuel tank, I have done with good results a product called Red Kote I think? anyway when you get one tractor to move strap the rusty fuel tank to the center of the rear wheel of the tractor with nuts bolts rocks whatever and go for a 1hr low speed ride that stuff will work on any loose rust  and get the inside ready to seal, although further cleaning of the residue will be necessary, just a fyi might want to use hearing protection too. you can not believe how noisy it can be.

the spring might have been put in a hose to keep it from collapsing in a bend , I have seen it used in cars hoses from the factory but it should fit snuggly.  If you do not have a pressure washer maybe take the radiator out and to a car wash for blowing out the junk.

As for cleaning the fuel tank, I would recommend using a foot or two of small chain. It is much easier to get out than a bunch of nuts and bolts. If you can get the holes all sealed up you can also put a little diesel fuel in it to help during the tumble process. I think the tanks were just bare steel inside to start with and they are fairly thin so be careful trying to get all the rust out.

Moisture in the fuel tank can lead to problems much worse than a little rust. Diesel bugs make a terrible mess and do significant damage to everything inside the fuel system. There have been lots of threads on that so I won’t re-hash it here.

Side cover and breather should be an easy fix for you. I would use some sand paper on a hard block (just wrap it around a piece of wood) and sand the mating surfaces down to shiny metal. It doesn’t have to be perfect but clean and smooth is helpful for the new seal. You can order a new gasket, or buy some gasket material and make your own or just use RTV sealant. Personally I would probably make the small two hole gasket and use black RTV on the larger side cover. This is not a high pressure or submerged situation and it should work just fine.

Radiator continued below…

My 2006 Jinma 284 came with a flat steel screen that slides into some tracks along the front side of the radiator. It has a little handle on the top so you can pull it out for cleaning. The holes are punched out and round. While protecting the radiator fins it does add some resistance to air flow but has never caused overheating unless plugged with debris.

Does your radiator have a fan shroud on the back side?

I am not sure if you can see light all the way thru the radiator fins. I will check later today when I get to the shop.

These radiators are extremely thin! be VERY careful cleaning it. I would recommend against using a pressure washer as it can not only easily fold over the fins it could possibly cut thru the core itself. I blew a hole in mine just by putting on a cap that was rated too high.

Look down inside the filler neck and see if the rows of tubes are off-set or or if they are all lined up from front to back. If they are off-set it may be difficult to see light through the fins and water sprayed on will have to weave its way through the fins and will come out looking like it is blocked. With so few hours on your tractor I doubt the fins are blocked too badly. Just use an air hose from the back side to blow any dust back out the front.

Replacing the radiator is not hard but it is a bit of a pain so I would avoid that if possible.

How does the inside of the radiator look? Do you see a lot of white corrosion build up around the core tubes? If not, it is probably fine. This is where tap water attacks the system. Use only distilled water and anti-freeze for diesel engines. For trouble shooting purposes you can just use plain water but for long term health of the system you want the coolant mix.

Thermostat in next post…

The thermostat/housing/bypass setup on this engine is the weirdest thing I have ever seen.

The factory thermostat is supposed to block off the bypass circuit when it is fully open. I have never seen this kind of setup before and the only thermostat that will do this is the factory one. However, from the measuring I did, the fully open thermostat wouldn’t touch the bypass hole in the housing anyway. There was also a bypass hole drilled in the thermostat itself so I don’t understand the redundancy here.

I wanted a warmer thermostat so had no other option than to go after market. I have a chart of after market parts that cross over. However the number listed for NAPA did not exist but the counter guy found one that looked like it would work. In reality it was ever so slightly too big of a diameter. I had to sand/file it down just a little to get it to fit properly.

The bypass is open all the time but now my engine will warm up to the proper operating temp without putting cardboard in front of the radiator. I have yet to work it really hard on a hot summer day so there is still that test to be done.

On a side note, I tested the old thermostat and it was opening fully at about 150° F so it definitely was the problem.

The spring you identified is definitely not part of the hose and I can not think of a reason for it to be in there. I would say take it out if possible as if it comes loose on its own it could wind up in the pump.

I also recommend putting anti-sieze on the bolt threads when you re-assemble. One of the bolts on mine was rusted to the housing and broke off. I had to take the housing off and drill it out and heli-coil it. Not hard to do but a pain in the rear that can be avoided.

Yes, that gasket could have been the problem. I didn’t catch it in the photo the first time I looked. I have a snowblower that has a reed valve in the breather. It froze up one time and caused oil to spit out everywhere!

If you leave the thermostat out you can see immediately if your pump is working and that is fine. Just don’t work the tractor without a thermostat as it will overheat without one. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but without the restriction provided by the thermostat the coolant does not stay in the radiator long enough to shed the heat it picks up in the engine.

I would confirm the function of the thermostat in a hot water bath and then put it back in if it works properly. I am lazy and cheap so I would put it back together once but use plain water for testing, not wasting the anti-freeze until I know it won’t be wasted.  🙂

In my experience most cooling problems are the thermostat. Fortunately on this engine you only have to drain about a gallon out of the system to lower the level far enough to replace it. If the top hose is soft you don’t even have to take it off the housing and if the gasket is fresh you can probably re-use it.

Watching through the radiator neck (make sure the cold level is just above the tubes) from cold start up to full temp will be quite telling. If your thermostat has a small bypass hole you should see a little circulation even when cold. If you have an IR thermometer it can show the temps as heat transfers through the engine. Temping the exhaust, head, thermostat housing, block and radiator would be something your kids might enjoy (educational too).

I did not expect to see that. Here is a scan of my parts book and it shows a gasket that looks like what you have. Call out # 10.

Take a look and see if what is in the book looks like your gasket. I have never had these parts off of my engine so don’t know what it’s like inside.

It may be that the gasket is designed to act as a baffle. The air enters through the slot, then has to travel sideways between the gasket and the cover to get to the breather tube.

I messed up the scan file, here are the other two pages that go with it.

yup sure looks like it,

looking good, I am sure you got this one figured out. one advantage to these tractors is they are simple. a little ruff machined and assembled  too.

Good Work!

There is always the possibility that these pistons were faulty from the start. It is also quite possible that someone who didn’t know what they were doing used starting fluid on the engine and did this damage.

If you have someplace nearby that can magnaflux the head it might be a good idea to have it checked. Replacing all 3 is a good idea as there may be damage in the 3rd one that you just can’t see. No sense in going through all that again for the price of one more piston/sleeve.

I don’t know enough about overhauling one of these engines, but I would check with Circle G and see if they think you should replace the head bolts. Sometimes head or con-rod bolts are designed to stretch a certain amount when torqued and then are to be replaced if they are ever removed. I doubt that level of sophistication on these engines, but it won’t hurt to ask.

and on that thought of starting fluid when that stuff lit off to do that damage who knows what pressure the head bolts saw. if that is what happened. did you look at the crank bearing surfaces yet?

Sounds to me like you will be an “engine guy” when this is all said and done. 🙂

There will be a specific order for the piston rings, and there will be a top and bottom for each ring. The lowest ring is usually actually a set of two rings with a wavy spacer in between. This one is for oil control. The rest are considered compression rings. Looking at the parts book it looks like the top most ring is one part number and is different from the middle two, which are the same part number.

Typically when you assemble rings you stagger the gap before putting them in the bore. You will need a compression tool to squeeze then down to size as you push them into the sleeves. I think it is standard to apply some engine oil to them and the sleeves before inserting them.

Speaking of sleeves, I believe there is a specific amount that they are supposed to stand above the the block when fully installed. I remember seeing someone reference “deck hight” before but don’t know enough about it to give any advice on the subject.

On a gas engine I overhauled we used a 50/50 mix of engine oil and STP oil treatment as an assembly lube. The theory was that the STP made the oil sticky enough that it stayed put through the assembly process and then was easily washed away when the oil pump took over. Never had any issues with that engine so I have to assume it worked. I don’t know what is recommended for this engine but something like that couldn’t hurt (I would guess).

you should be able to buy assm. lube at any parts store if you do not want to make your own. On placing the gaps of the rings on the piston I make sure that they all are on a different place  even the wipers and as far apart as possible. May be a you tube video could reaffirm my thoughts. just take the info. there as questionable as we know some people are well just idiots.

well time with the kids is priceless. on the steering I wonder if it has air in it , like crack the inlet and get the air out there and then go to the outlets to the cylinders and bleed , might have to rack the steering back and fourth to purge the control valve, if you have not done that already.

I assume you verified the glow plugs are heating?( some diesels need the heaters regardless of outside temps on a cold start)  You might want to verify that your valve clearances are correct.(better a little lose than to tight) And I assume that you did not mess with any pump timing.  Did you get a compression gauge if so use it again to eliminate lack of compression as why it wont light off. (hope not) good luck

Do you have a decompression mechanism? If so, make sure it is connected properly and not locked in the decompress mode. I had difficulty getting it reinstalled properly when I had the valve cover off. The engine should spin freely with decompression open and “chug” on each compression with it closed.

Flooding is a definite possibility based on what you describe. Pull the fuel cut-off and hold it while spinning the engine over. If you have a decompression system and it is working properly, hold that open too while you spin the engine. Doing this should purge the excess fuel from the cylinders and allow you to “start over” on the start sequence.

Valve timing is determined by the gears under the front cover, If you didn’t have that apart it is not likely to be an issue. Did you replace the valve push rods to their original positions?

My tractor likes a little glow plug on the first start of the day, no matter how warm it is outside. The glow plugs are on the left side of the valve cover and are all connected to each other by a copper or brass buss bar. If they are working properly you should see a huge amp draw on the gauge as you hit the key position just before the start.

My start procedure is to hold the fuel cut off and decompression levers, hit the starter and let the engine spin until oil pressure comes up on the gauge. The release the fuel cut off and set the hand throttle to about 1/4 to 1/3 open. The hit the glow plugs for 15 to 30 seconds. Then hit the starter and let it hit max RPM before dropping the decompression lever. That way you have the mass of the flywheel helping to overcome the compression strokes. It usually starts in just a couple of revolutions.

That sensor is for the tachometer. It detects the teeth of the flywheel going by so that it can calculate engine RPM.

I see that you have a mechanical oil pressure gauge. I am betting that is not factory.

Here are some pictures of the glow plugs. They sit between the injectors and the valve cover.

Also there is a good one and one that came apart during removal. That was a long story in itself.

about the timing if you did not pull the pump off or pull the front gear cover off all should be as it was. there is not a timing chain on these it is all gear to gear timed. and yeah the decompression lever has to be right or you will not have enough compression to light it off. I believe it holds the exhaust valve open to assist in cold weather starting, the only  time I use mine is if I want to prime the fuel system it takes much less amps to drive the starter motor.

well that kinda sucks but on the bright side you got the problem on the run with a heli-coil installed, run it enough to say that it is ok but not enough to warp the head and it is redo time cause I do not believe that the heli-coil can be installed with the head on,, sorry. just think how good you will be at this when it is really done.

thinking more about this, I think if you have not done this is to check the head for being warped .We do not know what went on before you got the tractor. It can be done with a good straight edge or a machine shop that does heads. Look at the block too with the straight edge. and the Chinese gaskets are hard , I do not know what you think of using copper kote gasket spray but that might be something you want to look at if there is a very slight warpage not worth a resurfacing job. just a thought.

did you get the threads repaired ok?

so I guess with a new set of threads the head no longer leaks.  we will be here when you start the next project.

yeah if we could just talk fel-pro to make gaskets for these things, on a lighter note makes you wonder why of all the tech. that has been stolen the Chinese did not steal that fel-pro production process  . shhh do not give them any ideas.