Yanmar vio35 Winter Project - Rust & white smoke

Did all the valve seals today. No change still smokes on startup till fully warm. Since Compression is good, I'm pretty convinced this is fuel related, Injectors have been changed and checked. No oil or Antifreeze note ably being used. Are there any checks I can do on the pump itself? I noticed if I cold start it and immediately start running the machine, no smoke, but as soon as machine has no load it starts smoking

Doesn’t sound the best. Might try timing the pump a little.

HarleyHappy said: Doesn’t sound the best. Might try timing the pump a little. Click to expand... Totally agree. 2 degrees retarded will make lots of smoke that will disappear once very hot. Worth checking. Simon C

I just listened to the video again, and I agree that Yanmar doesn't sound right. You guys^^^are the mechanical experts (I mainly just run them). But I have lots of hours on those 3TNVV88/4TNV88's Our Deere 50D (4TNV88) currently has 7500+ hours and sounds a lot 'smoother' than the OP's... Almost like a slight extra 'knocking' (?) sound in the posters video

BC Placer gold said: I just listened to the video again, and I agree that Yanmar doesn't sound right. You guys^^^are the mechanical experts (I mainly just run them). But I have lots of hours on those 3TNVV88/4TNV88's Our Deere 50D (4TNV88) currently has 7500+ hours and sounds a lot 'smoother' than the OP's... Almost like a slight extra 'knocking' (?) sound in the posters video Click to expand... Have seen some that smoke like that for 2-3000 hours and nothing changes. Some blow up a week later. Without knowing the whole history of engine hard to say. Were the washers that sit below the injectors changed out or was 1 left behind and one cylinder has 2 washers. Were the injector nozzles OEM or aftermarket. Were the injectors done properly. Very hard to know without being there. Seen engines before that were timed according to incorrect manual. Have to agree. Are very good little engines normally. Simon C

I’m leaning towards injectors after listening to that engine.

HarleyHappy said: I’m leaning towards injectors after listening to that engine. Click to expand... I have more than one time installed new injectors only to find one no good. I usually remove the exhaust manifold and start up to see which cylinder is dirty firing. Swap injector to another cylinder and see if problem follows. If it follows the injector is junk. If problem does not follow the problem is in cylinder or Fuel pump. Simon C

Simon C said: Totally agree. 2 degrees retarded will make lots of smoke that will disappear once very hot. Worth checking. Simon C Click to expand... Bingo, this was the issue. I took the pump loose advanced the timing a little and white smoke is gone and runs great!

If you had a shop manual on that thing in PDF form, would not hate to see it. Not sure what you had. Simon C

Sounds much better now. Not loaded up.

Sometimes the engines are 1/2 a degree retarded or more from the factory. Then all engine gear trains wear towards retarded. Not too hard to be 1.5 to 2 dergrees retarded and unclean burn when cold. Not noticed as much when hot. Simon C

Glad you got it figure out and fixed. Good info to hang on to also. Thanks for keeping us up to date on it.

When cold, did you have an extended crank at all? I've got a 4500hr Volvo ECR38 with the same engine. It's got an extended crank and smokes when cold, then clears up when warm. I gotta try the +1 ~ 2* of timing too!

Nowhere said: When cold, did you have an extended crank at all? I've got a 4500hr Volvo ECR38 with the same engine. It's got an extended crank and smokes when cold, then clears up when warm. I gotta try the +1 ~ 2* of timing too! Click to expand... Always start with about 1 degree to begin with, and if 2 doesn't change nothing, maybe something else is the problem. Simon C

Just use a scribe and mark a clear starting point.

HarleyHappy said: Doesn’t sound the best. Might try timing the pump a little. Click to expand... Simon C said: Totally agree. 2 degrees retarded will make lots of smoke that will disappear once very hot. Worth checking. Simon C Click to expand... Dang, Ya'll are the BEST, my Volvo is FIXED!!!! My latest auction score, a 2014 Volvo ECR38 with a Yanmar 3tnv88 3 cylinder with 4500 hours, was having trouble starting. It'd crank for a good 20 ~ 30 seconds before the engine started. When it finally caught and started, it would smoke REALLY bad for 5 or so minutes. I found that the glow plugs weren't working and I thought I nailed it after fixing the electrical issue. No change, long cranks and a lot of smoke My mind was going down the path of low compression, valve seals, cracked rings, uugh! I saw the timing adjustment fixed Fordman's issue and thought it'd be an easy place to start on my machine. I scratched a line on the pump housing so I could see my progress. The only mark I saw was on the timing cover with nothing the pump. I wasn't sure which way to rotate the pump (I found it in the manual later, doh!), so I tried the wrong way first. With the first attempt, it took a long time to start and ran TERRIBLE with huge amounts of smoke! Whoops After rotating the top of the pump away from the engine (advancing the timing), it now starts instantly and DOES NOT SMOKE !! It sounds so much better too! Injection pump timing drift seems to be a real thing and my high hour machine sure had some! I don't know how much I advanced the timing, but it seems to be a-ok now. Here's a picture of where the pump was and the final adjustment position. Thanks again!!

Volvo fixed!

Nowhere said: Dang, Ya'll are the BEST, my Volvo is FIXED!!!! My latest auction score, a 2014 Volvo ECR38 with a Yanmar 3tnv88 3 cylinder with 4500 hours, was having trouble starting. It'd crank for a good 20 ~ 30 seconds before the engine started. When it finally caught and started, it would smoke REALLY bad for 5 or so minutes. I found that the glow plugs weren't working and I thought I nailed it after fixing the electrical issue. No change, long cranks and a lot of smoke My mind was going down the path of low compression, valve seals, cracked rings, uugh! I saw the timing adjustment fixed Fordman's issue and thought it'd be an easy place to start on my machine. I scratched a line on the pump housing so I could see my progress. The only mark I saw was on the timing cover with nothing the pump. I wasn't sure which way to rotate the pump (I found it in the manual later, doh!), so I tried the wrong way first. With the first attempt, it took a long time to start and ran TERRIBLE with huge amounts of smoke! Whoops After rotating the top of the pump away from the engine (advancing the timing), it now starts instantly and DOES NOT SMOKE !! It sounds so much better too! Injection pump timing drift seems to be a real thing and my high hour machine sure had some! I don't know how much I advanced the timing, but it seems to be a-ok now. Here's a picture of where the pump was and the final adjustment position. Thanks again!! View attachment 364052 Click to expand... From what I have seen it is usally about 1 degree of timing per 1mm of rotation. Would be good to check how many mm of rotation you moved it, cause if too far it may run very good but could be hard on the top of the piston. It is assuredly moved in the advanced direction, and that is why it runs better. All gear trains wear out towards retarded timing. Simon C