Ford 3400

MAli · Oct 24, 2020

hello everyone,

Full disclosure: I am a total noob when it comes to machines but I do have a logical mind therefore I am hoping that I can resolve this issue with your input.

I bought a ford 3400 this summer from an older gentleman. The tractor starts within a second and runs strong. The tractor does smoke a lot at startup and at idle speeds. It smokes to the point where I start to get heartburn just from using it. To me, the smoke looks white and smells like fuel. I installed 3 new injectors, changed the OIL and filter, changed the fuel filter but the tractor still smokes. I took the exhaust manifold off and ran it and record a video. It appears that the smoke is only being produced by 1st cylinder. I just don't have the mechanical know-how to figure out what to do next. I own a MF GC1710 that I bought brand new but I love this Ford way more than my Massey and would like to fix it and maybe restore it in the future.

Thank you in advance. Here is the link to the video

ford industrial - YouTube

Tinhack · Oct 24, 2020

Don't run it like that any more than necessary--To move it to a place to work on it. That's unburned fuel. It will wash-down the cylinder and dilute your oil. Diesel engines need high compression to ignite the fuel. By the sound of your engine, that cylinder has little or no compression. The problem could be a burned/broken valve or a bad piston ring. Without investing in some diagnostic tools, the easiest task to start with would be pull the valve cover and check the clearance on all the valves. If you fine one on that cylinder that is extremely loose, it's probably burned. The firing order should be 1-2-3. You have check the valve clearance at the cylinder firing position. A valve job can give a tired old engine new life. While the head is off, check the cylinders for scoring. Heavy scoring is most likely a broken ring and the piston(s) will have to come out to fix that.

fried1765 · Oct 25, 2020

MAli said:
hello everyone,

Full disclosure: I am a total noob when it comes to machines but I do have a logical mind therefore I am hoping that I can resolve this issue with your input.

I bought a ford 3400 this summer from an older gentleman. The tractor starts within a second and runs strong. The tractor does smoke a lot at startup and at idle speeds. It smokes to the point where I start to get heartburn just from using it. To me, the smoke looks white and smells like fuel. I installed 3 new injectors, changed the OIL and filter, changed the fuel filter but the tractor still smokes. I took the exhaust manifold off and ran it and record a video. It appears that the smoke is only being produced by 1st cylinder. I just don't have the mechanical know-how to figure out what to do next. I own a MF GC1710 that I bought brand new but I love this Ford way more than my Massey and would like to fix it and maybe restore it in the future.

Thank you in advance. Here is the link to the video

ford industrial - YouTube

I sold my 1970 3400 TLB last year, and bought a 13 year old (exceptionally low time) Kubota L48 TLB.
I enjoy the Kubota, but .......I also do miss my Ford 3400.
I bought the 3400 TLB at 16 years old, with 1350 hours, for $10,000.
33 years later it had 1850 hours, was in perfect working condition, and completely repainted. I sold it for $9,000.
For the $23,000 difference, I sometimes wish I had kept the Ford.

Tazz · Oct 25, 2020

Just a note on testing compression on a diesel, it takes a special gauge due to the higher pressure than the one you would use on a car. Many years ago I tried use a car gauge that I was holding in place in the hole where the injector went and the gauge was almost blown out of my hand.

MAli · Oct 26, 2020

Tazz said:
Just a note on testing compression on a diesel, it takes a special gauge due to the higher pressure than the one you would use on a car. Many years ago I tried use a car gauge that I was holding in place in the hole where the injector went and the gauge was almost blown out of my hand.

I bought a diesel compression tester which goes up to 1,000 psi but I can't figure out how to attach the tester to the tractor. My research suggests that I might need an adapter that goes in where the injector goes. I did replace all 3 injectors and I am wondering If I can dismantle the old injector, put it back on and use the high pressure fuel hole to connect the tester. I can cover up the fuel return line with a screw.

MAli · Oct 26, 2020

fried1765 said:
I sold my 1970 3400 TLB last year, and bought a 13 year old (exceptionally low time) Kubota L48 TLB.
I enjoy the Kubota, but .......I also do miss my Ford 3400.
I bought the 3400 TLB at 16 years old, with 1350 hours, for $10,000.
33 years later it had 1850 hours, was in perfect working condition, and completely repainted. I sold it for $9,000.
For the $23,000 difference, I sometimes wish I had kept the Ford.

I hear you. Certain things grow on you and this ford definitely has grown on me. It runs pretty strong and actually has a working hour meter. It only has 1950ish hours. I would like to keep it running for as long as I can.

ovrszd · Oct 26, 2020

We'll get RickB involved here. I think he can diagnose this quickly and will offer solid advice for repair.

RickB · Oct 26, 2020

MAli said:
I bought a diesel compression tester which goes up to 1,000 psi but I can't figure out how to attach the tester to the tractor. My research suggests that I might need an adapter that goes in where the injector goes. I did replace all 3 injectors and I am wondering If I can dismantle the old injector, put it back on and use the high pressure fuel hole to connect the tester. I can cover up the fuel return line with a screw.

You should be able to make that work. A compression test is the next order of business. Pull all injectors, test one cylinder at a time. Re test any low cylinders immediately after adding a little oil to try to isolate whether the loss is from rings or valves. Direct application of air pressure to the cylinder will also let you hear compression escaping; a leak down test so to speak.

Thanks for the prompt and the confidence, Richard.

MAli · Oct 30, 2020

Alright I had no luck with the compression test. I don't know what I was doing wrong or if I got a faulty compression tester. I did take the engine apart out of curiosity/frustration because I couldn't believe how my brand new injectors looked. I didn't even run the tractor for a total of 5 minutes after changing the injectors because the white smoke problem didn't go away. When I was taking the valve cover off, the gasket came apart in about 50 pieces. I managed to carefully take the head off. The head gasket didn't have any apparent damage but it was hard to tell because it was so baked onto the block. I did notice rust on the block right away and also noticed OIL on the cylinder that smokes. I took a bunch of pictures for you guys and would love to get your input on this.

MAli · Nov 8, 2020

so I have changed the head gasket. I installed new rubber valve seals. I lapped all valves gently to make sure everything seated properly. I then made sure to bleed the entire fuel system (Fuel filter, Pump, Hi pressure Lines). The tractor started up after cranking for 20 seconds and I was really disappointed to see that now 2 out of 3 exhaust ports were coughing white smoke. I didn't have the exhaust manifold attached yet because I wanted to see if the cylinder that was producing smoke was no longer producing smoke. Frankly, at this point, I was pretty pissed so I took the tractor out for "Italian tune-up". I ran it really hard under load and it actually cleared up a lot. I took this video after working the tractor for about an hour Ford 3400 - YouTube

The tractor seems to run better and seems more responsive. It also doesn't smoke quite as bad but it still smokes. One has to watch the exhaust carefully to see the smoke escape. What hasn't changed is this diesel smell that is absolutely making me sick. At this point, I am thinking of buying a respirator unless someone can fix this for me. I am in CT.