T4020 Smoking more than normal

[Bill Jones]

I have a T4020 that has started smoking on cold startup. I had not noticed it until the last week or so. Is this indicative of the air or fuel filter clogging? My eyes and nose tell me that it is unburnt fuel. After the tractor is warm it doesn't smoke unless under a serious load. The tractor has about 450 hours on it, I bought it used last year with about 300 hours. I have new filters for the tractor, but was going to wait till 500 hours to service it.

Any opinions on what to check out or look for?

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have a T4020 that has started smoking on cold startup. I had not noticed it until the last week or so. Is this indicative of the air or fuel filter clogging? My eyes and nose tell me that it is unburnt fuel. After the tractor is warm it doesn't smoke unless under a serious load. The tractor has about 450 hours on it, I bought it used last year with about 300 hours. I have new filters for the tractor, but was going to wait till 500 hours to service it.

Any opinions on what to check out or look for?

Thanks,
Bill

I'd check the outer airfilter first. If you use it in dusty conditions or for mowing, the outer part of the filter can get covered with chaff and dust and restrict airflow. Blow it out from the inside out and you may not have to replace it.

 

[DT86]

What color is the smoke? Black? White? Blue? Each indicates different things.

Glad to see someone here that lives near me. It's a small world after all.

 

[Bill Jones]

The smoke is black or blue-ish. I shook the dust out of the outside filter. I have been wanting to blow it out, but the regulator on my air compressor isnt working and I hate to blow it out with full pressure air.

Can you explain the different colors?

It is indeed a small world. My tractor was purchased from a gentleman in Blackwater Virginia.

 

[DT86]

I will just hit on the basics.

Black is incomplete combustion of fuel. Basically too much fuel and/or too little air going into the engine.

Blue is burnt oil.

White can be a head gasket problem or raw fuel coming through the engine into the exhaust.

On high hour tractors its not uncommon for them to smoke on cold start up. Some smoke very little and others quite a lot, especially as the overnight temperatures drop into the 30s or even colder.