2001 CC Pioneer FE350 smoking

[Aggiesdm]

Originally Posted by CP241

Ok yeah, that’s blueish gray. I’d say it’s burning oil.

Try putting it in neutral and revving the engine. Does it smoke then? Does it always smoke when you’re on the gas pedal? Or only after coasting a bit does it smoke for a minute and then stop if you keep cruising at a steady pedal?

Hi CP241, yes, seem to smoke in neutral a bit, but definitely seems to smoke after coasting and then throttling, but then stops (or decreases significantly) at cruising speed. What are you thinking? This is outta my knowledge base.

[CP241]

If it does it all the time it’s probably stuck oil control rings. But usually when it is a lot worse after sitting a while and first starting up, or after coasting to a stop and then going again, valve seals come to mind. If valve seals are bad enough they can make it smoke all the time but they’d have to be pretty bad.

I’d say it’s time for a tear down and rebuild.

Last ditch effort, you can get a can of the motor medic motor flush. It’s a nasty detergent. Pour a half bottle in the crankcase and drive it around lightly for about 10-15 minutes. Then drain the oil. It will probably puke out lots of nasty stuff. I’d then fill it with the cheapest oil you can find. Run it for 10 minutes and drain it. Then change the filter, fill with new oil and hope for the best.

Best case scenario if your oil control rings are sticking, it can free them up and help a lot.

Worst case scenario it doesn’t do squat for the smoking but it will be a much much cleaner engine on the inside when you go to work on it. this part alone makes it a worthwhile attempt and worth the 5 bucks for the bottle

[Aggiesdm]

Hi CP241 and thanks for all of your input. You can see in the video below that it does smoke when in neutral and it seems to smoke after its been coasting a bit and then throttling. It doesn't seem to smoke as much when I just hammer the throttle, but I need to test that more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSpgdmoY1rw

[Aggiesdm]

Originally Posted by CP241

If it does it all the time it’s probably stuck oil control rings. But usually when it is a lot worse after sitting a while and first starting up, or after coasting to a stop and then going again, valve seals come to mind. If valve seals are bad enough they can make it smoke all the time but they’d have to be pretty bad.

I’d say it’s time for a tear down and rebuild.

Last ditch effort, you can get a can of the motor medic motor flush. It’s a nasty detergent. Pour a half bottle in the crankcase and drive it around lightly for about 10-15 minutes. Then drain the oil. It will probably puke out lots of nasty stuff. I’d then fill it with the cheapest oil you can find. Run it for 10 minutes and drain it. Then change the filter, fill with new oil and hope for the best.

Best case scenario if your oil control rings are sticking, it can free them up and help a lot.

Worst case scenario it doesn’t do squat for the smoking but it will be a much much cleaner engine on the inside when you go to work on it. this part alone makes it a worthwhile attempt and worth the 5 bucks for the bottle

Sounds like a good plan. I'll definitely do that and consider the rebuild if its not resolved.

One a scale of 1-10, how difficult is the rebuild? Do I need an engine stand of some sort or just a tabletop? I'm an upper intermediate mechanic, but I've never had to do a job like that. I'm pretty good if I have Repair manual and/or Youtube videos though.

[raydhd]

You might want to consider changing the valve seal on the intake valve and see if the situation improves. Of course if the valve guide is bad that will be a short term cure.

[CP241]

Originally Posted by raydhd

You might want to consider changing the valve seal on the intake valve and see if the situation improves. Of course if the valve guide is bad that will be a short term cure.

I was thinking the same. However if you’re gonna pull the head to change a valve seal may as well re-ring it while you’re there. Just my opinion anyway. I don’t like the “rope in the spark plug hole” trick and these shrouds are a pain in the A to take off in the cart.

[CP241]

Originally Posted by Aggiesdm

Sounds like a good plan. I'll definitely do that and consider the rebuild if its not resolved.

One a scale of 1-10, how difficult is the rebuild? Do I need an engine stand of some sort or just a tabletop? I'm an upper intermediate mechanic, but I've never had to do a job like that. I'm pretty good if I have Repair manual and/or Youtube videos though.

I did make a FE290 thread here, someone put it in the sticky section halfway through and didn’t tell me that was a cart I bought for $75 I just wanted to make it run around the farm. I never expected to make that cart nearly as nice as I eventually did.

The FE350 will be mostly the exact same process. Just uses different part number parts. Overall the engines are very very similar between the two.

[raydhd]

I would just pull the valve cover off and use the rope trick to pull the valve spring and see if the valve seal still exists. I would then see if the valve is stable in the guide. It is easy enough to see if there is excessive play in the guide. If it feels good put a new seal on and see what happens. Some times when an engine sits around for some time the valve seals harden and fail. I bought a low mileage LTD some years ago and that is exactly what happened. Replace the valve seals and all was good.

[Aggiesdm]

Originally Posted by CP241

I did make a FE290 thread here, someone put it in the sticky section halfway through and didn’t tell me that was a cart I bought for $75 I just wanted to make it run around the farm. I never expected to make that cart nearly as nice as I eventually did.

The FE350 will be mostly the exact same process. Just uses different part number parts. Overall the engines are very very similar between the two.

I read quite a bit of that thread the other day. Very nice job. I'll have to go back through it and really pay attention.

How long did it take you? I'd like to get it done ASAP to clear out my garage (wifey wants it out) and take it to the ranch. If I have all the parts in hand is it a weekend job?

[Aggiesdm]

Originally Posted by raydhd

I would just pull the valve cover off and use the rope trick to pull the valve spring and see if the valve seal still exists. I would then see if the valve is stable in the guide. It is easy enough to see if there is excessive play in the guide. If it feels good put a new seal on and see what happens. Some times when an engine sits around for some time the valve seals harden and fail. I bought a low mileage LTD some years ago and that is exactly what happened. Replace the valve seals and all was good.

Hmm...interesting, but I'm not sure how to do any of that? I'll have to see if there's a YouTube video on that! Thanks