Oil & Fuel TC40DA: Oil change nightmare.

[shade tree welder]

This is the story of an oil change in my TC40DA tractor. I changed the oil
in the tractor Sunday, November 7th, 2010. Nothing special I had time and it
needed it. Drained the oil, replaced the filter, filled the oil then I went to
start the tractor and BANG! Then silence. I am a six year Navy veteran;
needless to say my language at this point was not good. So I pull the oil dip
stick and check the oil level and it is full, just like 6.25 quarts always does.
Puzzled, look over the engine and see nothing. So I try to start it again, and
a smaller bang and now a bad knock has developed as the engine runs, also a
large amount of white smoke. As the engine runs the smoke turns bluer and
has the strong odor of unburnt diesel fuel. I shut down the engine.

Obviously, there is some damage to the engine. How the heck did this
happen? What the heck did I do or not do that caused this Am I suffering
early onset Alzheimer's? So I dig up the Owner's Manual and find the
following tidbit at the end of the procedure on the second page ref 01. Now
how many of you have read that and follow that in the manual?

On Monday I stop in at the New Holland dealer, I have a great relationship
with the guys as I did most of their welding for them when I was still running
my welding and fabrication side business. So I show them the Owner's
Manual the mechanics have never heard or read this. The Manager either;
he does some checking and finds the following ref 02 & 03. I spent some
time discussing this with the lead two mechanics, both are great mechanics
and I have learned a lot from them over the years in just discussions with
them. They have me pull the glow plug and inspect them for anything
unusual, but say I should only find light soot on them as a normal condition.
They also let me know that the valve cover and the intake manifold are a
common casting and with that and refs 02 and 03 that explains a lot. So
back to my shop I head. By the way read Ref 02 lists all the models and
affected serial numbers!

 

[shade tree welder]

But the next step is testing compression in the cylinders. I know the cylinder
I am having issues with, #3. I pulled the glow plugs and #3 cylinder had a
wet/oily glow plug. The others just had the typical light soot on them. So I
am picked up one of these; www.harborfreight.com/12-piece-diesel-engine-
compression-tester-93644.html because I believe I have it narrowed down to
bad rings or a bad injector.

I get lots of smoke with a strong diesel odor (I think injector gone bad) and
there is a loud knock with the engine running, dripping injector?
Disconnecting the fuel solenoid and cranking the engine does not reveal any
unusual noises like a rod knock. The smoke gets worse with time as the
engine is running but I am running as little and need be to move it around.
And the smoke is blue, so now I think it might be bad rings and I am burning
oil, so I want to test the compression of each cylinder and see what I get.
Bad rings low compression, bad injector should not give low compression
pressure.

Well due to a family member痴 health issue the tractor has fallen as a second
priority for the week and I do not get back to is until Friday.

Well the compression test did show something;

Cylinder #1 - 605 psig.
Cylinder #2 - 610 psig.
Cylinder #3 - 315 psig.

Okay, went up to the dealer today. The manager is a good guy and I knew
he would be helpful. He finds this to be a bit goofy too. He is going to get
NH to pay for the parts, the tractor is out of warrantee but he is willing to
fight with CNH on this for me. The tractor has 357 hours on it and this is a
known "flaw" in the design. I will be providing the labor. Not to mention they
are swamped in their shop and it would be a few weeks to get to my
tractor. Flaw by the way is my term. He has already ordered the needed
gaskets and new rings for me. And after I get it apart any other new parts
needed, piston, rods, etc. he will also order up. CNH has basically a no
return policy, so we do not want to order anything not needed. Hey if they
are picking up the tab I am not going to push it too hard.

Now with all the warning signs we see all over our products these days, why
is there not a big sticker under the hood with a warning of this?

As I think about this I am possibly worried about having a cracked piston. I
am also worried about having destroyed the cylinder wall. Not looking
forward to having to replace the block. I have also given thought to
modifying the valve cover assembly to eliminate the internal breather and
make it an external breather. But in discussions with the Mechanic at the
dealer he shows me that the most recent version of my tractor the, TC 2310,
has an oil fill location on the timing gear cover. The manager checked and it
will fit my engine, so now I am leaning toward replacing the timing gear cover
and using the lower fill point and then leaving the internal breather alone so
the tractor is still all stock parts. Ref 04 is the upper valve cover, to the
right of my thumb is the breather assembly screwed in the valve cover/intake
manifold casting. Ref 05 is the lower valve cover assembly and houses the
rocker arms and the rocker arm shaft as well as the oil pressure sensor. The
number labels are over the actual intakes into the head and the line go to
the intake and exhaust valves. Ref 06 is the upper and lower valve cover off
the tractor.

 

[shade tree welder]

Well Sunday I finally take enough apart to see what the issue with my engine
truly is; Ref 07 and 08. You can see in the ref 08 picture the red circle
marks where the rod contacted the lower edge of the cylinder wall and
scraped the rod, this would be the knock I was hearing I am guessing also
you can see where the piston skirt was deburring the edge of the cylinder
wall. Surprisingly the only damage to the cylinder wall is the edge see Ref 09.
I will polish up the rough edges with some abrasives I have and do not plan
on replacing the block.

At this point my friend comments, "All that damage just from pouring your oil
in too fast? I respond, "YUP!!!

The last of the parts were ordered today, should be in tomorrow AM.

 

[irvingj]

I am dumbfounded. That is a seriously messed-up design! All because of a quick fix to go to an internal crankcase breather?!?

I wonder how many other engines could suffer the same fate!

I have never worried about pouring oil into an engine, other than trying to keep it from dribbling all over....

It's certainly good that you have such a good relationship with your dealer and he's willing to go to bat for you- give him a pat on the back!

Pics are great, and thanks for posting!!

 

[Thomas]

Great read.
I never would have thought filling to fast would have cause the problem..hmmm..interesting.

 

[mrmikey]

What kind of a engineer would come up with a system like that, should be taken out and shot.
You've got a good dealer there as well.....Mike

 

[Baby Grand]

What kind of a halfa$$ed engineer would come up with a system like that, should be taken out and shot.
You've got a **** good dealer there as well.....Mike

Agree about the engineer. Probably low cost/outsourced. Think of the money they saved.

Also agree about the dealer. Santa might want to leave something special in his stocking this year.

-Jim

 

[Ford850]

What wt oil did you use? It seems odd we haven't heard of this before, so is it that rare, or maybe the type of oil would add to the chances of it happening? You didn't say you checked the oil level after filling it and before starting it. Maybe just that step would have vented it enough to let the oil settle properly?
Very nice documentation too. Thanks.

 

[lhfarm]

Welcome to TBN and thank you for posting. Sorry it had to be with such a serious problem.

I have an 05 TC40DA and it appears the changed happened in 06. No warning in my manual.

I hope you will keep us posted on your progress.

 

[jinman]

Wow! I am stunned. What were they thinking? There should have been all kinds of warnings on that filler. Stunningly stupid! Shame on you New Holland and Shibaura. The note in the Op Man'l is too little, too late. I read my manuals, but I would probably miss this because I've owned a TC45D and would certainly assume oil changing was the same as before. Even people who make cheap engines like B&S and ship them dry know that you have to put labels all over the engine in addition to putting a note in the Op Man'l. In my opinion, this warning should have been put on a big tag and hung on the steering wheel so you could not miss it. NH should have also told their dealers to notify the owner as part of the delivery checklist. I am shocked that this is the first we've heard of this in these forums. I wonder how many people have just barely "dodged the bullet."

 

[shade tree welder]

What wt oil did you use?

10W-30 New Holland Brand Umbra, mainly because I have a **** of a time
finding 10W-30 Service CI or CJ so I have given up and purchase the
NH Umbra, the local Farm and Fleet used to carry Rotella T semi in 10W-30
I used that in my Ford F-350 but that has since gone away. I am in the
Lubricant business as my full time job always have been, I am a chemist by
degree. I was a welder in the Navy. But the night I did it, it was likely cooler
than normal for me to be changing oil outside.

Wow! I am stunned. What were they thinking? There should have been all kinds of warnings on that filler. Stunningly stupid! Shame on you New Holland and Shibaura. The note in the Op Man'l is too little, too late. I read my manuals, but I would probably miss this because I've owned a TC45D and would certainly assume oil changing was the same as before. Even people who make cheap engines like B&S and ship them dry know that you have to put labels all over the engine in addition to putting a note in the Op Man'l. In my opinion, this warning should have been put on a big tag and hung on the steering wheel so you could not miss it. NH should have also told their dealers to notify the owner as part of the delivery checklist. I am shocked that this is the first we've heard of this in these forums. I wonder how many people have just barely "dodged the bullet."

Yup, Big Tags Bigs Warnings all over the place, shoulda coulda woulda... didnt!

 

[Jbrink64]

It definitely is a cost thing. The EPA mandates no venting of crankcases to the atmosphere. Shibaura, who also supplies engines to Cat/Perkins, had to put the breather integral with the intake. It should be on the hose from the filter, provided it's higher than the valve cover. Not being sure of the final install, it goes on the manifold. This has been an issue with the compacts, the larger NEF engines, Izuzu and Mitsubishi engines. As per NH, the oil dipstick needs to be removed, a funnel that is loose in the filler hole, and fill the oil slowly. It is great that NH will cover the parts. Push for a short block, the labor will be less than repairing the old block.

 

[jonyyuma]

I was unable to read the pdf, but this was caused by the new oil being on top of the piston? The scuff at the bottom of the cylinder looks to be acceptable, if there is no crack. I have seen a lot worse chips from cylinders on other engines. It was great that you were able to get replacement parts, and not have to replace the head...Jy.

 

[Jbrink64]

D'OH! I didn't mean to reiterate the info in the first post, stupid iPad didn't show the pdf's. Sorry

 

[JC-jetro]

Shade tree welder,

Wow, I can't believe this.:confused2: This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. So sorry for all the troubles you went thru on such a "non issue procedure",

Why the heck have they not designed a flapper spring loaded check valve to keep the two side separated? why have they not put an alternate oil fill position for the engine. They would have been better off if they went directly to the side of the bottom pan for oil fill, by adding a fill tube and funnel looking contraption and a cap on top. That is not excusable

it would take them less effort to do that than write up the procedure bulletin

 

[Gator6x4]

Wow! I am stunned. What were they thinking? There should have been all kinds of warnings on that filler. Stunningly stupid! Shame on you New Holland and Shibaura. The note in the Op Man'l is too little, too late. I read my manuals, but I would probably miss this because I've owned a TC45D and would certainly assume oil changing was the same as before. Even people who make cheap engines like B&S and ship them dry know that you have to put labels all over the engine in addition to putting a note in the Op Man'l. In my opinion, this warning should have been put on a big tag and hung on the steering wheel so you could not miss it. NH should have also told their dealers to notify the owner as part of the delivery checklist. I am shocked that this is the first we've heard of this in these forums. I wonder how many people have just barely "dodged the bullet."

Jinman years ago when I purchased my first cut ( not blue) the dealer covered this with me in great detail. He advised me too never pour engine oil into a diesel engine using the oil fill location on the valve cover as damage such as described here could occur. The cut I purchased had two fill location one on the valve cover and one on the pump. If memory serves this was also discussed and shouted down on this Web Site some time ago in Oil And Lubricant.

 

[shade tree welder]

It should be on the hose from the filter, provided it's higher than the valve cover. Push for a short block, the labor will be less than repairing the old block.

Actually the damage to the cylinder is minimal and well below the rings, so I am just going to
polish the edges and re-install the new piston and reassemble. I also had the injectors tested
by the dealer and they are in excellent condition.

why have they not put an alternate oil fill position for the engine.

I was unable to read the pdf, but this was caused by the new oil being on top of the piston? The scuff at the bottom of the cylinder looks to be acceptable, if there is no crack. I have seen a lot worse chips from cylinders on other engines. It was great that you were able to get replacement parts, and not have to replace the head...Jy.

I did consider welding removing the internal breather and welding up the hold,
and fabrication a nipple from the valve cover to the air filter housing, which is
mounted directly above the valve cover. But decided not to modify with
custom parts instead I have a new timing gear cover on order from a TC 2310
engine that has an oil fill location on it so this will never happen again.

Jinman years ago when I purchased my first cut ( not blue) the dealer covered this with me in great detail. ... If memory serves this was also discussed and shouted down on this Web Site some time ago in Oil And Lubricant.

I wish my dealer had known that but I was the first here to have the problem
to their knowledge. However, the lastest iteration of this tractor the TC 2310
does have a lower fill point on the timing gear cover, as mentioned that is
my long term solution. I have 2 young boys and soon they will be doing this
type of maintenance. I need to make sure this does not happen again.

I searched high and lo and could not find any other related threads, but
vbulletin is not that search friendly.

 

[shade tree welder]

All the remaining parts were delivered today so tonight starts the
re-assembly. First I will machine a brass drift to remove the wrist
pin from the old piston, I have a new piston kit and rod kit.

I will take lots of pictures and post.

 

[shade tree welder]

BTW, I own another BB that is built around metalworking: welding, fabrication
and machining. I started this discussion over there, prior to bringing it here.
There was some good discussion on diagnosing the problem prior to finding
it that might be a good read for some of you.

I have been lurkin on TBN for a long time just never had much to add until
now. Thanks for the welcome.

NH TC40DA Tractor Rant (Formerly the HF trip thread) - Shop Floor Talk

My beef is that with all the safety warnings plastered everywhere and this
being a known issue why was this not explicitly communicated. I purchased
the tractor new and I am still on the NH propaganda list as we get regular
mailings from them on new equipment. I should have received a letter warning
of this at the minimum.

In general, I have been very happy with the tractor, there are a few little
things that could be improved but all in all I like it. My wife loves its and has
likely put more hours on it than me.

Union Hill Sales and Service, Union Hill, IL is my dealer and has been
outstanding to deal with from day one. And if anyone lives in the Kankakee
Joliet, Pontiac area I suggest you stop in and visit them. (Dunno if I am
breaking any forum rules with the plug or not, if I am just delete the last comment.)

 

[dfkrug]

Sorry to hear of your oil change debacle, SHADE. It is good that you
posted so other NH owners are warned.

What is amazing to me is that your dealer's mechanics have not heard of
this issue, and not hydro-locked other NH tractors in for oil changes.
2 liters/minute is a VERY slow fill rate. I would expect more out-of-
warranty dead NH units would be for sale. (I have been looking for a
NH tractor project.)

I notice that the fill tube on top of the valve cover is quite tall. It seems
to me that this will increase the chance of filling too fast and getting oil
into the intake manifold. It is so crowded under the hood of newer
tractors, I see why makers put a long fill port in there. Others, including
mine, have a 2nd port on the front cover. Too bad Shibaura neglected
that upgrade before this happened.