2010 CASE 450 SERIES 3 - Smokes blue, diesel rich under certain conditions. My journey.

[Topper1]

2010 450 series 3
3000 hrs
IVECO 445t/M3 engine.
Bosch injection system

No issues on cold starting or full operating RPM under load. Does not use any oil and never has. Oil remains clear for approx 150-200hrs before beginning to show signs of carbonation.

Summer temps above freezing - some smoke on occasion but nothing appreciable,
Typical smoke duringinital start and warm up phase.

My issue appears most notably in the winter and when outside temps drop below 5*C.
Full load - no smoke
Full RPM - Very minor rich diesel smell which clears when under load.
THE ISSUE - After running hard and idling down a few minutes for a 5 minute coffee, she starts to blow blue visually with a very rich diesel odor & burns the eyes.
Upon acceleration, spit n sputter for 10-30 seconds with a noticeable miss, then clears up and runs like a champ.
Treating the diesel with a heavy dose of seafoam seems to clear it, which leads me to believe it is injector related.

As I have just started digging into this, I have yet to:
- test or replace injectors,
-do a compression test,
-perform cylinder leak down test for potential valve issue.
-check turbo & boost pressure.

I'll update as I have more info on my progress.

.

 

[foton]

sounds like a good plan

 

[Topper1]

A bit more in-depth then I had envisioned.
The joys of old tech steel lines inside of a tight skid steer frame.
Fuel pump & lines tucked in behind out of sight made for some choice words.
Pulled turbo to intake plenum.
Pulled #3&4 valve covers and then #1 & 2 since I was at it.
Pulled & Tested injectors.

My my. the things we find!!!!! 4 injectors. 3 different brands.
Opening pressures spec 260 bar - 3770 psi
#1- 3760 psi (Bosch #432133761) Good pattern & atomization
#2- 3790 psi (Bosch #432133761) Decent pattern & atomization. Very slight leak by under pressure.
#3-3750 psi (Iveco #112122) Good pattern & atomization
#4-3610 psi (?? # 492J446) Jobber of unknown origin Horrible spray patter. Leaking, very poor atomization..

Replaced all 4 injectors with 4 new Bosch #0 432 133 761 for $820CAD. Should pay themselves off inside of 1 season in fuel savings alone.
****NOTE - Cheap is NOT better when it comes to precision machined & calibrated injectors.****
**** opt for clip style copper washers on the return lines if you can source them. Far too touchy with (2)-5mm copper washers ****

- Compressions - Very happy- #1 445psi, #2 455psi, #3 440psi, #4 430psi
- Leakdown test went well. Cylinder 4 leaked down worse then all the others on the exhaust valve I assume from excess carbon build up from unburned fuel.
I removed the other 2 valve covers & checked valve clearances while covers were off. Very minor adjustments.
- Boost pressure NOT CHECKED as there is no test port, although I may drill one in at a later date and add a permanent boost guage beside my other after market gauge pack. (I've never liked dummy lights)
-Turbo is in good shape with no end play and very minimal oil residue on the intake side.

I will update after our next snowfall event, but as it stands right now, the engine idles noticeably quieter and the exhaust seems to burn a lot cleaner running in the shop.
Just another project where I wish I had one extra elbow on that arm. LOL. Old farts can't bend like that anymore.
CHEERS.

 

[Topper1]

Update.
50 plus hours of heavy snow pushing. The old girl is back to what it should be. Or maybe it's all in my head?? LOL
Noticeably better power, cleaner burning, better fuel economy.
It does still smell like rich diesel after idling down in sub zero temps for an extended period, but not nearly as pronounced as it was.. Very little Blue - eye burning smoke.
It used to act up within a minute or two. Now it's more like 10-15 minutes, which is more likely lower cylinder temps at idle. No longer sputters when throttled back up again.
I'd call it a success.
CHEERS

 

[Topper1]

Although the issue was substantially better, I took another dive into the sputter sputter smoke smoke issue. Only happens when hot, after ksb pulled the injection timing off cold advance. Replaced all of the fuel lines, which were worn from vibration. 2 of which were ready to pop holes, and 1 very brittle fitting which crumbled into a hundred bits.
I still had, although minor, sputter sputter, smoke smoke when accelerating from a long idle when hot.
Sought out an old mechanic buddy of mine.
He took 1 look, smelled the exhaust, and proceeded to advance my timing by 2-3*. No dials. No gauges. No special tools.
According to his decades of knowledge, approximately 1mm of rotation = 1* of timing on most of these old school, Bosch VE injection units.
A paint marker and a sharpie mark later, he moved it about 1/8" or 3mm +/- 3* more advance and holy crap. What a difference. Immediate throttle response. Far cleaner burning then before. ZERO sputter. No blue smoke. If anything, 1 quick black puff and off she goes.
After a quick BS session. He said yeah. After xxx hrs it's totally normal to end up with a degree or 2 of retard just from gear lash, pump wear, etc. It's a very common issue with these units.

Loosen the 3 pump bolts. (13mm)
Loosen the injector lines to make pump rotation easier. (17mm plus some choice words)
Rotate with a pry bar.
Tighten everything up.
Test run and check for leaks.

Nearly impossible to get a good angle on the pictures, but you get the jist of it.

 

[haymaker]

The old machanics with loads of experiance are a treasure. Too bad they are so hard to find and very few are still working.
Today if they can't hook it up to a computer and get the answer it becomes a parts change out fishing expedition or they can't help at all.
Thank you very much for the update, I was wondering how it all turned out.

 

[Topper1]

Final Update..
The old girl is back. Runs like a champ. ZERO smoke. The unburnt diesel odor is 100% gone. No more eye burning blue smoke at all. .
I just finished a huge clay fill job with it. 45+ hrs of HEAVY pushing. Nothing but power and black smoke.
The power is back. Fuel economy is back. Throttle response is back.
3 degrees of timing advance made more difference than the injectors and all the other new crap installed.
But it wasn't a waste as it is, after all, just maintenance.

Cheers all.
If she Sputter sputter- smoke smoke.. Advance your timing..
1mm = +/- 1* of timing

 

[cdmccul]

Final Update..
The old girl is back. Runs like a champ. ZERO smoke. The unburnt diesel odor is 100% gone. No more eye burning blue smoke at all. .
I just finished a huge clay fill job with it. 45+ hrs of HEAVY pushing. Nothing but power and black smoke.
The power is back. Fuel economy is back. Throttle response is back.
3 degrees of timing advance made more difference than the injectors and all the other new crap installed.
But it wasn't a waste as it is, after all, just maintenance.

Cheers all.
If she Sputter sputter- smoke smoke.. Advance your timing..
1mm = +/- 1* of timing

Thank you for updating!

 

[Topper1]

Winter 2024 update.
No smoke.. No sputter..
-37*C with a -50*C windchill.
Pushed snow in the bitter cold for 14hrs without issue. (Except 1 hydraulic hose that decided on early retirement).
Cabin heat was awesome. A few years back i added a mini floor heater from princess auto. Bare hands & a sweat shirt all day.