Ford 1700 slight smoke from oil case relief tube

Stone4140 · Jul 25, 2014

Hi I am new to tractors. I have a decent knowledge of motors but am totally new to diesel. I just picked up a 1700 2wd that's in decent shape. It starts up perfectly has no smoke from the exhaust and runs perfect. My concern is it smokes/steams from the crank case breather tube. It is not noticeable when moving but when sitting there is a constant stream of thin smoke or steam it is hard to tell. Am I screwed here or is this average wear. Is this an impending problem or manageable? I paid $4000 with 6 implements. So I figure I'm into the tractor for $2500. Any advice or info is greatly appreciated.

jones6780 · Jul 26, 2014

Well it could be just moisture in the crankcase from rain or maybe a coolant leak. Have you changed the oil, is it milky/foamy? Do you have a loss of coolant. It could also be blow-by, which could be from the piston rings or possible the valves. It amounts to compression leaking past the rings or valves. You didn't say how many hours are on it or how hard it was worked, or how hard you will work the tractor. If its blow-by and doesn't affect power and doesn't drip a lot of oil, then I wouldn't worry too much. It can give years of service with a little blow-by. If it is coolant, it needs to be fixed.

andreiwright · Jul 26, 2014

It sounds like coolant leak. Check your coolant reservoir if there are abnormalities on the level like if you add today then after a awhile the level suddenly low. Thats a sure sign that you have coolant leak.

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Stone4140 · Jul 26, 2014

andreiwright said:
It sounds like coolant leak. Check your coolant reservoir if there are abnormalities on the level like if you add today then after a awhile the level suddenly low. Thats a sure sign that you have coolant leak.

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Well the oil is jet black. It is not milky at all. I have seen milky oil in the lower end of outboards and it does not look like anything other than used oil. The radiator fluid does look bubbly after use but I am not sure how that is suppose to look.

Zebrafive · Jul 28, 2014

Try collecting the smoke/steam in a jar and see if it condenses back to water or coolant.
If it only turns out to be smoke as in blow by, I would not worry until you have power loss.
My JD 2030 with over 4000 hours has blow by so bad it makes dust clouds if I am over bare ground.

Stone4140 · Jul 28, 2014

Zebrafive said:
Try collecting the smoke/steam in a jar and see if it condenses back to water or coolant.
If it only turns out to be smoke as in blow by, I would not worry until you have power loss.
My JD 2030 with over 4000 hours has blow by so bad it makes dust clouds if I am over bare ground.

That was a great idea! I tried it and it appears just to be smoke. It left a minor oil sheen on parts of the jar rather than condensation. Good trick. Hopefully it's just manageable blow by. I guess the final order of business is to try to put it to work. Thanks I appreciate the help.