puffs of smoke

Are the puffs random? What color are they? Does engine performance change?

take a quick look at your oil capacity level to make sure it does not have to much oil ( or other fluids that might be leaking into oil) in in crankcase and overfilling.

Sounds like you are getting water/anti-freeze into the combustion chamber.

Check the coolant level first to see if it is low. Not proof of anything but a clue. If the crankcase oil is fine bu the coolant is low, (and there are no obvious leaks) it could indicate burning of coolant. That would fit with the color of the smoke.

Do the puffs appear at what one could guess was every fourth puff of exhaust? If so, probably only getting into one cylinder.

A infrared (heat gun) thermometer would be useful here. Warm up the engine as normal. Then increase RPM until you see the white smoke. Let it run a few minutes while monitoring each cylinder’s exhaust manifold with the IR thermometer. The one(s) that are burning coolant will cool down compared to the others. If they all cool down then you know all cylinders are affected.

If this is the case, hopefully it is just a head gasket and not a cracked head or block.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

You have a bad injector. The grey puffs are unburned fuel (white puffs would indicate coolant) and it’s caused by a dribbling injector that’s over-fueling one cylinder, hence the loss of power. The pintle spring in the injector is weak and “floats” at higher engine speeds, or there could just be debris in the injector not allowing the pintle to seat properly. I suggest taking the injectors to a diesel shop to have them pop tested, or just replace them. And always make sure your fuel is clean and free from moisture.

The injector R&R process is very straightforward. They are located on top of the cylinder head and held in by two bolts. You MUST keep everything meticulously clean while doing this.

Not sure what a 454 engine looks like exactly, but here are the injectors on a 284. As Bob said, if this area has any dirt or grease whatsoever, get some spray carburetor cleaner , gunk engine cleaner or similar and clean it spotless before working on it.

When I bought my foton the was a parts package that came with it and there was a extra injector in the kit and other small parts. I guess that you did not get such a kit. If not, I read on this site awhile ago(maybe the old forum) that these injectors are not pricey maybe pick some up and change them out. It might be cheaper than having them gone threw by a diesel shop.

CalMiller wrote:

The smoke is medium

What does “medium” mean?

and blends in with storm clouds.

Cumulus or cumulo-nimbus? Storm clouds have different colors and densities.

I do notice that I am always adding hydraulic oil. I know I have a leak in the external connections near the transfer case. Could there also be a leak of hydraulic oil into the combustion chamber?

Not a chance. However, hydraulic oil can cross-contaminate with engine oil through the hydraulic pump shaft seal. You will know this by an increase in engine oil level.

not sure how these are connected.

They aren’t connected at all.

If I leave the engine running at medium rpm the smoke lasts about 10 seconds and stops and will repeat every 1-2 minutes.

What is the tractor doing when it produces these symptoms? Are you tilling or brush hogging?

 Do any of you have any more ideas with this new information or shall I pursue the path of having the injectors pop tested and cleaned.

There is also the possibility of the rack sticking and not allowing the governor to compensate, and then freeing up and the governor over compensates which would result in temporary over-fueling, and causing black smoke. As David has said, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to change out the injectors to see if it isolates the issue. It’s far cheaper than a fuel injection pump/governor assembly.

How many hours are on the tractor?

Do you treat your fuel with a biocide, sulfur additive, or cetane booster?

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FWIW, and future reference. The Ringlemann chart is used to determine the opacity and color of smoke. This is a tool used in diesel engine diagnosis, and also by the EPA and law enforcement agencies for issuing citations against truckers and industries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringelmann_scale

I just read that article, man would that be a lot left to subjectivity on the enforcing end. Hope they never follow me when I hammer down in the 1996 dodge cummins

DavidPrivett wrote:

I just read that article, man would that be a lot left to subjectivity on the enforcing end. Hope they never follow me when I hammer down in the 1996 dodge cummins

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If you roll coal they will bust you. :yes:

I guess so, but people who tail gate me then get a wall of smoke usually back off. As far as the engine goes it still has all the factory settings on the pump. It is just old tech. which lets it smoke when throttled up. But you know how they work. Do you remember what the percentage over peak fuel efficacy those engine would inject under hard throttle up? I heard that number in high school all I remember it was over 100 percent.

DavidPrivett wrote:

Do you remember what the percentage over peak fuel efficacy those engine would inject under hard throttle up? I heard that number in high school all I remember it was over 100 percent.

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No, I don’t.