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Old 27-12-2018, 18:15   #1
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WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

Our 6.2 litre Ford 2725E produces clouds of white smoke after topping up sump oil. It takes a few minutes to clear but settles to run reasonably cleanly. My informal advice to date has been to check: 1. That the excess fuel (cold start) button is releasing; 2. That the rocker cover breather is not blocked; 3. If not 1 and 2, check condition of valve guides. I'm not on the boat currently and will follow this check list plus investigate any further explanations that may be forthcoming. Thank you in advance for any advice offered.

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Old 27-12-2018, 18:49   #2
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

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Originally Posted by Nifty View Post
Our 6.2 litre Ford 2725E produces clouds of white smoke after topping up sump oil. It takes a few minutes to clear but settles to run reasonably cleanly. My informal advice to date has been to check: 1. That the excess fuel (cold start) button is releasing; 2. That the rocker cover breather is not blocked; 3. If not 1 and 2, check condition of valve guides. I'm not on the boat currently and will follow this check list plus investigate any further explanations that may be forthcoming. Thank you in advance for any advice offered.

Nifty
Hobart, Australia
Valve stem oil seals??
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Old 27-12-2018, 19:02   #3
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

Thank you Unca Bob. That has helped me get onto the right track. Nifty
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Old 27-12-2018, 19:04   #4
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

Thank you for your direct reply which as put me on the right track.
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Old 27-12-2018, 22:49   #5
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

Check your clearances latley? If they’re off, a warming engine could easisly explain the symptoms.
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Old 28-12-2018, 01:50   #6
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nifty View Post
Our 6.2 litre Ford 2725E produces clouds of white smoke after topping up sump oil. It takes a few minutes to clear but settles to run reasonably cleanly. My informal advice to date has been to check: 1. That the excess fuel (cold start) button is releasing; 2. That the rocker cover breather is not blocked; 3. If not 1 and 2, check condition of valve guides. I'm not on the boat currently and will follow this check list plus investigate any further explanations that may be forthcoming. Thank you in advance for any advice offered.

Nifty
Hobart, Australia
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Check your clearances latley? If they’re off, a warming engine could easisly explain the symptoms.
I look forward to the explanation as to how valve clearances could induce clouds of white smoke only after topping up the oil.
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Old 28-12-2018, 02:51   #7
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

I had the 4 cylinder version, turbo charged and intercooled, yes it produced white smoke at speed. Referred to as Dorset and Dover engines in the UK are old spec engines so don't compare them to a later design.

Might be worth having the injectors spray pattern checked to ensure they are actually spraying and not dribbling, also the fuel tank is spotlessly clean, so no water.

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Old 28-12-2018, 02:57   #8
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

Rule of thump used to be:
Black / grey smoke: Excessive fuel
Blue smoke: Oil
White smoke: Water

It just might be possible, that the smoke and the topping up of oil are not related and that colder temperatures or high moisture content in the air make the water vapour in the exhaust better visible.

Does the exhaust smell different than it used to? If yes, does it smell of unburned fuel or of oil?
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Old 28-12-2018, 03:21   #9
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

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Rule of thump used to be:
Black / grey smoke: Excessive fuel
Blue smoke: Oil
White smoke: Water

It just might be possible, that the smoke and the topping up of oil are not related and that colder temperatures or high moisture content in the air make the water vapour in the exhaust better visible.
Good point particularly in a wet exhaust with a cold engine.
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Old 28-12-2018, 06:53   #10
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

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I look forward to the explanation as to how valve clearances could induce clouds of white smoke only after topping up the oil.
Didn’t catch the ‘only after adding oil’. White smoke is generally unburnt fuel (not under load). The two may not be related. It’s the ‘after warming up it goes away’ that points to valves. Could also be water vapour as mentioned above but it would have to be a lot to make enough smoke to really notice. Most likely a combo of injector spray, old valves = tired head.
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Old 28-12-2018, 07:08   #11
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WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

I’m betting dirty injectors, classic symptom of injectors that don’t spray a mist, but spray a stream.
Just adding oil should be just a coincidence. Almost always oil smoke is blueish and doesn’t dissipate and stinks of oil, white smoke that usually dissipates pretty quickly and smells of fuel, is unburnt fuel as in didn’t combust at all.
Black smoke is fuel that is not completely burnt, usually from a lack of air or simply too much fuel.

However it could be from a very low compression cylinder, if the engine consumes quite a bit of oil and is hard to start when cold, then I’d want a compression check, ideally a leak down test as that will not only tell you there is low compression, but why the compression is low.
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Old 28-12-2018, 11:45   #12
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

Whiter smoke can be caused by a sticky injector that clears after a while. I used to have a diesel engine that did that--and sometimes it would do it while the engine was running, then clear again. It usually happened on starting though.

A clean out of the injectors fixed it.
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Old 28-12-2018, 12:04   #13
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

A bunch of conflicting info here. I was always under the impression that momentary white smoke prior to warm up was unburn fuel with the injectors being suspect. The test was always to stick you bare hand into the white smoke and then feel if there is any oiliness on your skin indicating unburned diesel fuel in the exhaust.
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Old 28-12-2018, 17:16   #14
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

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Originally Posted by rbk View Post
Didn’t catch the ‘only after adding oil’. White smoke is generally unburnt fuel (not under load). The two may not be related. It’s the ‘after warming up it goes away’ that points to valves. Could also be water vapour as mentioned above but it would have to be a lot to make enough smoke to really notice. Most likely a combo of injector spray, old valves = tired head.

Nope white smoke is always water wherever it comes from. Try it out at home and heat water up until the "white smoke" appears.
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Old 28-12-2018, 18:10   #15
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Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM FORD 2725E

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Nope white smoke is always water wherever it comes from. Try it out at home and heat water up until the "white smoke" appears.
Funny, I owned an elderly diesel truck for years that would usually release white smoke on cold startup, never did use water. Smelt like fuel, left an oily film on the hand if placed very close to the exhaust and disappeared as the engine warmed.
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