smoke out vent tube

[west7323]

smoke comes out of a vent tube on my 2010 when i strain the engine. the tube is on the right side of the engine and it vents straight down to under the engine. is it a serious problem or just an old engine. it does not smoke out the stack when this happens. any thoughts?

 

[kuboman]

smoke comes out of a vent tube on my 2010 when i strain the engine. the tube is on the right side of the engine and it vents straight down to under the engine. is it a serious problem or just an old engine. it does not smoke out the stack when this happens. any thoughts?

Check to make sure it is not antifreeze. It will form a kind of snot in the breather tube if it is getting antifreeze in the oil or burning it.

 

[west7323]

it is a milky white color. is it serious?

 

[kuboman]

it is a milky white color. is it serious?

It means you are likely (definitely) getting antifreeze in the oil. Could be bad head gasket or cracked head. Not good. Sorry!
I am not sure about the engine in that tractor if it has wet sleeves or not. If it does it could be coming from a sleeve gasket or perforation. The fact that it gets worse as you work the tractor leads me to think it is head related but can't be sure.

 

[kuboman]

Oops forgot to mention to check the radiator to see if you are getting soot or exhaust gas in the cooling system. If you are it is the head.

 

[west7323]

the coolant seems to be ok. it looks to be the greenish antifreeze color and the level seems to stay up. the tractor starts and runs good. it also seems to have decent power. the oil seems to be clean too. it does go through a quart or so every 10-15 hours of work. looks like it needs an engine rebuild right? is it ok to run it as long as i keep an eye on the fluids until i get to work on it? thanks for your help.

 

[JDdude]

Trade it for a 2520..

 

[jd110]

Does the coolant level go down? If not, since you say the oil looks clean, you might just have a build-up of condensation in the engine. Or maybe a little rain water got into it somehow? Down the exhaust maybe? I would recommend loosening the oil drain plug after the tractor sits overnight. hold a clean container under it and let a few drips come out of the plug. If there is any water or antifreeze in the oil, it should settle out and be in the bottom of the pan. If no antifreeze, you should be ok. Warm up the engine good and hot and then drain the oil. Refill with new oil and filter and see if steam improves.

 

[west7323]

i will try that. the tractor did sit outside almost all last summer. i did change the oil brfore winter and it sat all winter with clean oil. i used it hard for the first time today. i hope you are right. thanks for the input.

 

[kuboman]

It takes very little antfreeze to make a lot of vapor. If it really is burning it then it is not good for the engine but if you are heading to a overhaul then don't worry too much for a few hours. Not sure where you are but if you can drain the antifreeze and replace with plain water it would be better. Of course that only works if you are where it does not freeze.

From your description of the crap in the vent tube it is antifreeze.

 

[kjung17]

It is not uncommon to get some "smoke" out of crankcase vent tube on a higher hour engine. Especially under heavy load. It would be a good idea to check and monitor your fluids as suggested above. If everything looks alright, you are probably just experiencing a little blow-by under load.

 

[west7323]

so is it possible to not have antifreeze in the oilpan and still have a bad headgasket? i dont seem to be going through coolant. the engine does not overheat either. i always thought a blown gasket resulted in overheating.

 

[kuboman]

It is not uncommon to get some "smoke" out of crankcase vent tube on a higher hour engine. Especially under heavy load. It would be a good idea to check and monitor your fluids as suggested above. If everything looks alright, you are probably just experiencing a little blow-by under load.

You are correct. The kicker on this one is the milky snot in the vent tube. Sure sign of anti freeze.

 

[jenkinsph]

May need some new piston and liners soon, that should make it a new engine so to speak.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

If it starts good, I wouldnt worry about it. Make sure the engine temp is up where it's suppose to be. Too cool engine temp will cause milky condensation in the tube too. I have irrigation engines that do it and never add water.

 

[boomer1025]

smoke comes out of a vent tube on my 2010 when i strain the engine. the tube is on the right side of the engine and it vents straight down to under the engine. is it a serious problem or just an old engine. it does not smoke out the stack when this happens. any thoughts?

If it's not using coolant, then it's not coolant related.
Sounds like normal crankcase vapor for an older engine, since you said it use's a quart of oil in 10 to 15 hrs. All engines new or old have pressure in the crankcase and some brands of oil burn off faster then others. You could try using a different brand of oil next oil change or add some Lucas Oil Stabilizer/Treatment to the oil.
If it has good power & starts good, I'd run it.
One last thing the harder you work an engine the more vapor you'll get out of the vent tube. On newer engines that vapor is drawn back into the intake and burned again.
How many Hrs on this engine ???

 

[Egon]

If the antifreeze keeps it's level the cooling system part should be ok. [as has been stated]

Also the temperature remains within its operating range.

Oil level goes down with use can be quite normal.

If it sits for long periods of time condensation may accumulated in the oil pan. This will vapour off out the crankcase breather as the engine heats up.

One suggestion is the valve oil seals are getting worn and brittle which will allow some combustion vapours by. This will show up at the crankcase breather vent just as you have described. Under load it would be more evident. It may also be where the oil is being used.

The chances are all is good and the tractor can be used.

Please note that I have no mechanical qualifications but do own an adjustable spanner and have scarred knuckles.:laughing:

 

[west7323]

about 6800 according to the meter. i bought the tractor last year. it sat all winter long and started up as soon as i turned the key last week. it does have decent power for a 45 year old tractor. it did smoke out the vapor tube some last year but seemed worse yesterday when i was working her a little. maybe it is condensation in the oil from the winter. i live in syracuse ny so the winter was very cold and long and it sat in the barn for over 5 months. i put it away with clean oil and filter. also checked the oil and it was not milky or foamy. i wonder sometimes if the **** ethanol they put in the gas now screws things up on these older engines. thanks for the input.

 

[jenkinsph]

If it is a gas tractor then it is very possible that the ethanol fuel absorbed water over the winter. The new fuels don't store nearly as well as the old gasoline. Best to make sure the tank is full (less air space inside the tank) and add a stabilizer to the fuel before putting away for the winter.

 

[kuboman]

One way to be sure is to take an oil analysis. Also sitting that long some antifreeze could have leaked in to the crankcase and it is evaporating. One thing I know for sure is that if you are getting a creamed coffee color gel like goo in the breather tube it is antifreeze.:thumbsup: