# Ford 4000 white smoke problems



## Halky (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi Everybody,

Could anyone please help me with the following problem:-

My friend and I have stripped down a Ford 4000 engine for a friend of mine, this engine had gone porous, it was absolutely full of an emulsified oil/water mixture because water had got into the oil.

We cleaned everything up and sent the block for relining & repair, we also sent the head for pressure testing, after the testing of the head, we stripped out the exhaust valves, on doing so we found that one of the rotators had split, the top plate had parted from the shaft part and the shaft part was jammed between the exhaust valve stem and the valve spring, we have replaced the exhaust valves, exhaust springs and we have fitted 3 new rotators, the rotators are now supplied in 2 pieces.

We got the block back from the engineering workshop and began to rebuild the engine, all all bearings were replaced, we installed a new camshaft and new con rods, the con rods were replaced because 2 of the little end bearings were turning loose, the rebuild was completed and everything was done according to the book and best practices.

When we started the engine (which started very easily), we had a lot of white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe, we checked all fuel pipes, injectors and fuel pump for leaks etc, all was ok.

We then took the injectors for testing, all were OK.

We put the injectors back into the engine and tried it again, the smoking was exactly the same, we then removed the exhaust and the exhaust manifold and we could see that number 1 cylinder was running clear but 2 & 3 were blowing out white smoke out and number 2 cylinder outlet was looking wet.

We then changed number 1 injector for number 3 injector and the problem remains the same number 1 clear, 2 & 3 passing white smoke.

I was wondering if anyone on here had experienced anything like this or could anyone please suggest a solution to our problem.

Best regards
Harold


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Howdy Harold, 

Welcome aboard the Ford/New Holland tractor forum. 

Did you put new cylinder sleeves in this engine?? The reason I ask is that these old Ford engines undergo a pinpoint corrosion process called "cavitation" in the cylinder walls. Especially if previous owners did not keep corrosion/rust inhibitor in the cooling system. New sleeves seal off these pinpoint leaks. 

White smoke normally indicates unburned fuel, due to low compression or retarded timing, but a coolant leak into cylinder will also produce white smoke.

Are you certain that you used the correct head gasket? The fact that you noted white smoke coming out of 2 & 3, might indicate communication between these two cylinders. Can you do a compression test? Should be over 400 psi in a diesel. In a new rebuild compression might be a bit low till the rings seat in.


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## Halky (Jan 10, 2015)

Dear Sir,

Many thanks for your rapid response to my query, Sorry, I forgot to mention that we have had cylinder sleeves put into the engine at the engineering workshops, we also had the block pressure tested.

I wish that I had found this forum earlier because after discussions with other people and reading posts on other sites, we have taken the fuel pump to have it overhauled now because we came to the conclusion that it could be a fuel pump overdosing problem, we knew it was unburnt fuel that was making it smoke white and the timing was set up spot on, we filled the engine with oil and before introducing any water into the system we started the engine and run it for approximately 2 minutes and we had white smoke emissions at that point after building up the engine fully we filled the water system, we tried it and it was coughing and spluttering a little with the white smoke coming from the exhaust, at that point, we didn't know which cylinder it was from because we removed the exhaust manifold later.

If it's not too late, we will retrieve the fuel pump on Monday and build the engine back up and do a compression test, your theory that there could be communication between these two cylinders is very interesting and seems to be a better guess than the fuel pump.

My friend Paddy is the expert on tractors and large earthmoving plant, he has built and refurbished all types of tractors, I am only the assistant and he mesmerises me when he strips these machines down, I usually put bolts back into the holes so I can remember where they come from, Paddy just puts all the bolts and brackets into a plastic tub, then he takes them home, cleans them and brings them back cleaned as new and taped together, he knows what size spanner is required for every job and he knows all the torque settings off by heart but this problem is getting to him, he has never had this problem before.

I must say at this point Paddy and I are both retired, we do this work free of charge for a hobby,

Your response really is very much appreciated, thank you.
Best regards
Harold


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## HarveyW (Sep 15, 2014)

Do you know the year of manufacture of the 4000 you are dealing with? If not, get the numbers from a tag under the hood, or stamped into the metal on a flat spot just above and behind the starter. They numbers should be the same in both locations. Someone here will translate them for you.

There were two different head gaskets made for a 3 cylinder 4000 diesel. 

01 Jan 65 - 31 May 69: P/N 82845201, .037" Gasket thickness.

01 June 69 - 1975: P/N 87801653, .056" Gasket Thickness

Note the major difference in gasket thickness. The thicker gasket could reduce compression significantly if used in place of a .037" gasket.

Another problem with these OLD Ford tractors is that engines get swapped out over the years, and unless you know the tractor's history completely, you may not have the original engine or an exact replacement.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Harold,

Additional thoughts:

1. Retarded injection pump timing can cause white smoke in the exhaust. Your 4000 should have a CAV pump. Correct me if I'm wrong. Assuming the pump is worn, you might try advancing the timing by rotating to pump in the + direction to see if that helps. The normal setting for a CAV pump is "0" degrees. I'm assuming that the + direction is advancing the pump timing. I've never done this - my pump has been on the "0" setting for 25 years - has never been touched!

2. You might try re-torqueing the head bolts. 

3. Did you clean out the threaded holes for head bolts in the block to be sure that the head bolts are not bottoming out before applying proper force to the head gasket?


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Double post - deleted


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## Halky (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi Sixbales,

Thank you for your input, the pump is a CAV pump, turning the pump is something else to try.

The head bolts were tightened using a torque wrench then checked again with another wrench.

Yes we did clean out the threaded holes that take the head bolts, we tapped them out and used a high pressure air line to clean the holes out, the bolts had been cleaned previously and a die nut was used to ensure that the threads were free of debris then all the bolts were installed before we put the head on, all were measured with a vernier gauge and there was at least 2mm less in the dimension under the bolt head than the thickness of the cylinder head, plenty of clearance.


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## Halky (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi Harvey,

I have looked at the number on the block and it is C7NN6015-AK, on the tag, it says tractor number B883305, there is another number but it is only partially legible, 19837 so the numbers are not the same.
Thank you so much for the PDF documents.

Best regards
Harold


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## HarveyW (Sep 15, 2014)

The C7NN6015-AK is an engine casting number. The B883305 is the serial number (the "B" indicates manufactured in Basildon, England).

There is a flat spot on the clutch housing just above and behind the starter that should have 3 sets of numbers hand-stamped into the metal (serial no, model no, and mfg date code). These numbers may be covered by paint, grease, dirt, etc.

Try this site:
www.springfieldbiz.com/oaktree/codes_short2.html


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## Halky (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi Harvey,
I have found the 3 numbers, this is how they appear on the casing
Top number D1014
Middle number 0026
Bottom number B883305

Thank you

Best regards
Harold


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## HarveyW (Sep 15, 2014)

Halky,

Model No. D1014 is missing a letter at the end following the "4". It's a Ford Model 4000 tractor, Ag. all-purpose, diesel engine, independent PTO, transmission is not identified. There should be a letter (A,C,E,F,or K) after the "4". Does this tractor have a select-o-speed (SOS) transmission?

Manufacturing code 0026 has an error. The second "0" should be a letter representing a month. Maybe it's a letter "C" instead of a "0". The first "0" indicates a 1970 manufacture.


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## Halky (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi Harvey,

This tractor does not have a select-o-speed (SOS) transmission?
I have called James (the tractor owner) and asked him to check the numbers again, I will let you know the details.
James told me that it is a Ford Force 4000
Where are you located?

Thank you

Best regards
Harold


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## Halky (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi Harvey,

One thing I forgot to mention began to rebuild the engine, all all bearings were replaced, we installed a new camshaft and new con rods, the con rods and camshaft are spurious parts which are easily available here and have always been ok in the past, I just thought I would add this info for clarity.

Best regards
Harold


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Halky,

Did you get this diesel engine running? What was the problem?


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## Halky (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi Sixbales,

Yes, we found the problem, it was what Paddy said it was all along, the camshaft which was a spurious part and not a Ford New Holland part, that was the problem, James, the tractor owner decided to fit a new cam after Paddy told him the original cam was good.
To take it out, Paddy came up with a good idea to avoid taking the engine out again, I made some tapered dowels, we removed the rocker cover, rocker, tappits and cam followers, I tapped the dowels into the cam followers and turned them to wedge them on the engine block,we made a steel rod with a thread to suit the camshaft and act as a counterbalance, we removed the cam and refitted the original one very easily.
Has anyone else done anything like this?

Best regards
Harold


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