Branson 3515R - Burning Oil?

[Nickak8]

Hey All,

I have a 2018 3515R. I just went ahead and did a DPF delete (replaced the DPF with a muffler). Everything went fine except I notice blue smoke from my exhaust now. See pic of my new exhaust setup and smoke at 2500 RPMs. More details below.

At startup some smoke but clears up for the most part.
- Idle to about 1500 rpms not much smoke
- 1500 - 2000 bearable but start to notice the blue smoke
- mid 2000s it starts to pick up.
- at 2500 constant billows of bluish smoke

I can't understand how an engine this new could have bad rings or seals, but i'm very concerned at this point.

- Changed the oil at 50 hrs with 5w40 rotella synthetic
- Machine currently has 70 hours on it.
- Have run the tractor approximately 2 hours since the exhaust mod
- Air filter looks good.
- Oil level looks good and oil appears normal.
- Air filter looks good.
- I read online that the crankcase breather valve (PCV) could be stuck and sucking oil from valve cover to intake. Pulled the breather hose, had a little oil in it but not any visibly in the intake(see pic). To confirm i removed the hose completely, plugged the intake port and vented the valve cover to atmosphere. Ran for about an hour and no change. Put hose back on. I assume that rules it out?
- Fuel is pretty fresh. The water indicator ring is not floating so think fuel is good. I always put stabil and a splash of seafoam in my fuel to keep it fresh.

I have the stock dpf setup so i can put it back on in case there is a major issue and i need to take it in for warranty repair. I believe its 7 year on the branson, right? My main concern right now is i believe its burining oil but how do i explain that to the dealer when with the DPF on you can't see blue smoke? I'm hoping its nothing major and can fix myself. I know a decent amount about gas engines but new to diesels. My next thought is to try and test compression on the cylinders but have never removed glow plugs or messed with diesels and am apprehensive about it. At what point have i fiddled with too much that dealer doesn't want to honor warranty.

I would appreciate any help you all can provide.

 

[5030]

I think you are screwed. No dealer will touch it because you illegally modified the emissions system. Have fun.

Least it will help with the mosquito's....

 

[5030]

Understand something. The ECM has recorded an emissions related fault so by replacing the components, it won't matter. All the dealer will do is plug in and it will be apparent you messed with it. You cannot hide it.

 

[MoKelly]

So, removing the emissions stuff caused the blue smoke? Or did the emissions stuff hide the fact there was a problem?

It’s a fair question. It’s not your fault there was a hidden problem.

MoKelly

 

[North to Alaska]

Understand something. The ECM has recorded an emissions related fault so by replacing the components, it won't matter. All the dealer will do is plug in and it will be apparent you messed with it. You cannot hide it.

His tractor has no ECM. It has no computer.

 

[North to Alaska]

I think you are screwed. No dealer will touch it because you illegally modified the emissions system. Have fun.

Least it will help with the mosquito's....

He can put the emissions stuff right back on. They might notice the cut and weld on the exhaust pipe, but I doubt if they will give a rip. Most Branson dealers know about the dpf delete and probably don’t care.

 

[ericm979]

Is it oil smoke or diesel smoke? More fuel makes more power but also makes smoke. (check out a video of diesel tractor pulling for an extreme example). Branson may have tuned the pump for more power after realizing that the DPF would mask it.

Also there's a relationship between soot and NOx.... tuning to reduce NOx increases soot and tuning to reduce soot increases NOx. They might be using the DPF to handle the soot of an engine tuned to meet NOx emissions, so they don't have to do EGR.

Unless there's a problem with it I'd just put the DPF back on and run it.

 

[North to Alaska]

Are you losing power or bogging down in the higher rpms?
this fellow had that problem

Branson 6530R loss of power and white smoke

I bought a 2006 Branson 6530R about 7 months ago. It worked fine for about 2 months but then it started putting out a lot of white smoke over 2,000 RPM. Some days I can get the revs up to 2,600, but with the white smoke starting at about 2,000. Other days, it will sputter and smoke and not...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[K5lwq]

The delete does not void the warranty on the Branson. You do not have to put the filter back on to take it to the dealer.

I would run it for at least 5 more hours to see if it clears up before taking it in for service.

 

[Nickak8]

So, removing the emissions stuff caused the blue smoke? Or did the emissions stuff hide the fact there was a problem?

It’s a fair question. It’s not your fault there was a hidden problem.

MoKelly

Agreed. I don’t not believe exhaust mod caused smoke. I just now notice it without dpf covering it up. Hoping to find root cause.

 

[Nickak8]

He can put the emissions stuff right back on. They might notice the cut and weld on the exhaust pipe, but I doubt if they will give a rip. Most Branson dealers know about the dpf delete and probably don’t care.

I made new flanges and all so it will bolt right back on and look stock. Also both sensors still hooked up, so will be logging exhaust temp and that filter isn’t clogged. I just plugged the differential sensor but actually installed the exhaust temp sensor in exhaust.

 

[Nickak8]

Is it oil smoke or diesel smoke? More fuel makes more power but also makes smoke. (check out a video of diesel tractor pulling for an extreme example). Branson may have tuned the pump for more power after realizing that the DPF would mask it.

Also there's a relationship between soot and NOx.... tuning to reduce NOx increases soot and tuning to reduce soot increases NOx. They might be using the DPF to handle the soot of an engine tuned to meet NOx emissions, so they don't have to do EGR.

Unless there's a problem with it I'd just put the DPF back on and run it.

I get where you are going here but wouldn’t the smoke be black and not bluish if it was running rich/burning fuel? I I saw posts of other members that did the dpf delete and did not notice more smoking which leads me to believe my tractor has an underlying issue. But also like I said I’m new to diesels so appreciate any suggestions.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Nick,

First of all, ignore EVERYTHING 5030 said.

None of it applies. He's "frequently wrong, but never in doubt."

For the rest,

I'm wondering if the underlying issue was masked by the filter trapping the blue smoke from the beginning. And yes, blue smoke is oil, not fuel. I don't think this has anything at all to do with your filter delete. If it was blowing black smoke, I'd be inclined to think that maybe there was a fuel adjustment issue, but not blue smoke.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

K5 has the right suggestion. I'd run it maybe a little while longer, then just take it in to the dealer and have them check the engine.

I'm thinking this smoking issue is going to be behind the real reason your filter was getting plugged in the first place.

 

[5030]

Nick,

First of all, ignore EVERYTHING 5030 said.

None of it applies. He's "frequently wrong, but never in doubt."

For the rest,

I'm wondering if the underlying issue was masked by the filter trapping the blue smoke from the beginning. And yes, blue smoke is oil, not fuel. I don't think this has anything at all to do with your filter delete. If it was blowing black smoke, I'd be inclined to think that maybe there was a fuel adjustment issue, but not blue smoke.

Likewise for you.....

 

[ChrisNEA]

Likewise for you.....

You have a Kubota. I'm sure they're a little different.

Anyways,

Did this ever get resolved?

 

[jim9006]

How much seafoam are you using? I know when I used that stuff in my jeep (gas) it smoked quite a bit (blue) until I ran the tank almost to empty and refiled with fresh gas. Just a thought.

 

[LouNY]

If it was mine I'd run it and just keep a close eye on the oil level.
A diesel can have blue/gray smoke from fuel especially if the engine is running a bit cool.
If you get another 15-20 hours on it with no change in the oil level and not having to add oil,
the smoke would not be oil.
As has been mentioned the Branson does not have a ECM, it does have a data logger for the doc.