engine smoking

[jim3sr 2]

newer WH tractor 310-8 just tried starting and upon starting running sluggish and smoking.Not oil maybe some gas smell and white in color,any ideas?

[The Tuul Crib 7,338]

 Could be a number of things white smoke usually oil black smoke usually running rich. Try adjusting your carb and I would even check the breather on your valve cover. Make sure it's cleaned out .

 

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[Darb1964 1,100]

If the oil level is in the safe for operation and clean, gas is fresh, I would guess it's running lean and you need to adjust the carb

[peter lena 9,143]

question , is the oil in the engine , look like a milky slime? if so the wrong oil has been used, these engines require a flat tappet oil, for cleaning and wear protection, rotella  30 wt , diesel is what you want , i have recovered a few engines with your problems. the combo of a fuel adjustment problem only adds to it. use stabil gas treatment in your fuel , to help clean it out. once its running its important to heat it up thoroughly to let you dump out that  oil. that carb might clean out with the air cleaner removed and your hand over the intake , to make it suck out the debris. this is kind of a regular issue with an engine that has not had  regular service. took me a number of hot oil changes , and carb clean outs to finally get it running well. good luck with it, pete

[Darb1964 1,100]

That is one reason I like this site, learn new things all the time. Thanks Peter L..

[ebinmaine 71,258]

If it has not been done for a number of years and you are burning gasoline with ethanol in it, it's time to do some service work on the fuel system at the very least. Replace the lines. Clean out the carburetor and put new gaskets in it. General tune-up type stuff.

 

Pete raises some great points above.

 

In any situation with any mechanical device it's important to make sure that the maintenance is done before you start troubleshooting. Often  the maintenance alone will end your troubleshooting.

 

[Darb1964 1,100]

Words to live by Eric, maintain provent.

[moe1965 752]

I had a similar issue with smoke at startup. It end up being the float was stuck open dumping gas  when it was parked it started up and ran fine after that I didn't realise this was my issue until it let so mush gas by it soaked the air cleaner and was cloaking it self out.  I started to turn my tank off each time after that and no issues. I plan to rip into the carb soon and fix the float issue soon.  Just a thought. 

[953 nut 58,568]

6 hours ago, jim3sr said:

newer WH tractor 310-8 just tried starting and upon starting running sluggish and smoking.Not oil maybe some gas smell and white in color,any ideas?

Is this a  that is new to you or have you owned it for a while and this problem just started? What ave you done to attempt to cure the problem? Have you been using ethanol free gas and changing the engine oil every 25 hours.

[peter lena 9,143]

i found that using 10-30  oil as opposed to  5-30 , will often start out as a smoking issue , until the engine warms up and the smoking stops. the 5-30 , starts with no smoking issue, because of it quicker heat up and transition to grade 30. today's oils are almost too much for an older design, splash lubrication engine, i think that,s the issue . most important  is the hot oil changes to flush out the oil chemical over kill. on my third oil change the engine cleaned up , using rotella 30 wt , the oil stays clean , no smoke and sounds  like its happy.   this just does not  quickly happen , stay after it, had a similar deal on the carb and fuel , replaced lines , filter, improved routing , seafoam  gas treatment . its takes time . but is so worth it. been there done that , glad to be on this site, buy the way use the slightly used engine  oil on your lubrication points , and under your mower deck , pete