SEAL 1241589 - Caterpillar

White Smoke Recommended Procedure1. Cold Outside Temperatures ... When the air outside is cold, the cylinder temperature is cooler. Not all the fuel will burn in the cylinders. The fuel which does not burn comes out the exhaust as white smoke. White smoke is normal in cold temperatures until the engine operates long enough to become warm. There will be less white smoke if No. 1 diesel fuel is used.2. Long Idle Periods ... When an engine runs at idle speed for a long period of time, the cylinders cool and all of the fuel does not burn. Do not idle an engine for a long period of time. Stop an engine when it is not in use. If long idle periods are necessary, use No. 1 diesel fuel.3. Low Quality Fuel ... Test the engine using fuel according to recommendations by Caterpillar Tractor Co.4. Air in Fuel System ... With air in the fuel system, the engine will normally be difficult to start, run rough, and release a large amount of white smoke. If the engine will not start, loosen a fuel injection line nut at the cylinder head. With the governor lever in the shutoff position, operate the fuel priming pump until the flow of fuel from the loosened fuel injection line is free of air. Tighten the fuel line nut. Fasten the priming pump and start the engine. If the engine still does not run smooth or releases a large amount of white smoke, loosen the fuel line nuts one at a time at the cylinder head until the fuel that comes out is free of air. Tighten the fuel line nuts. If the air can not be removed in this way, put 5 psi (35 kPa) of air pressure to the fuel tank.
Do not use more than 8 psi (55 kPa) of air pressure in the fuel tank or damage to the tank may result.
Check for leakage at the connections between the fuel tank and the fuel transfer pump. If leaks are found, tighten the connections or replace the lines. If there are no visual leaks, remove the fuel supply line from the tank and connect it to an outside fuel supply. If this corrects the problem, the suction line (standpipe) inside the fuel tank has a leak.5. Fuel Injection Timing Not Correct ... Check and make necessary adjustments as per Testing and Adjusting section of this Service Manual.6. Automatic Timing Advance Does Not Operate Correctly ... Check with engine warm. Use the 1P3500 Timing Light Group. Special Instruction Form No. SMHS6964 gives the test procedure. If the timing light is not available, make rapid "acceleration" (increase in speed) from low idle to high idle. Engine must have smooth acceleration. A timing advance that does not operate correctly can cause delays of the engine acceleration at some rpm before high idle, or possibly cause the engine to run rough and have exhaust noise (backfire) during acceleration. This condition is difficult to find if