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Here are the most common problems associated with a diesel engine producing white smoke:

1. Pump to engine timing

2 . Low fuel pressure

3. Bad injectors leaking off

4.  Low compression

5.  Valves out of adjustment

6.  Bad fuel

Fortunately, if your diesel is producing white smoke, the team at Southeast Diesel, can solve your problem and get you back to normal!

Whether you use your diesel tractor daily or once a month, you rely on it to start up and function properly to get the job done. Our team at Southeast Diesel, Inc. has over thirty years of experience servicing and maintain tractors for our customers. Here are a few tips based on what we have seen when we service the fuel system components of the tractor:

1. Fuel Quality: they just don’t make fuel like they used to. This is evident in fuel samples we have seen for tractors, where the cetaine (like octane in gasoline) level is lower than 40. If your tractor is older than a 2003 model, adding fuel additive will raise the cetaine level. Southeast Diesel carries, Stanadyne Performance Formula, a top of the line product.

2. Fuel Level: humidity is not a friend of the fuel system. To avoid problems associated with this, keep your tank on your equipment as full as possible when stored.

3. Fuel Filters: quality filters are the key to keeping contamination out of your fuel. Our team recommends Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) grade filters be used for best results. Southeast Diesel is a wholesale dealer of OEM filters for your tractor and we are adding more maintenance kits every day so you can annual supplies to protect your fuel system and the best part, save you money!

4. Fuel Source: you pay for the fuel, so make sure you are storing it in optimal conditions! Make sure your tanks have quality caps and vents for a proper seal. If you have bulk storage, we recommend a scheduled draining of water and adding our Raycor Tank Filter with a water separator. Our team sees fuel storage becoming critical with the introduction of more common rail fuel systems with higher pressures.

From your Ford 3000 to your John Deere 340, we repair and test them all. We are a Kubota, Yanmar, Cummins, Deutz, and Perkins dealer for all your tractor engine parts.

If you have any questions or need help getting your tractor, equipment, or trucks running call 423-622-1006 or email us at contact@sediesel.com.

Southeast Diesel takes pride in being a TDI (Turbocharged Direct Injection) Specialist. This includes vehicles such as the Volkswagen Passat, made in Chattanooga; to all makes of diesel vehicles containing this technology. Our services for TDI vehicles include and are not limited to the following:

•    Service and parts for engine and performance
•    Standard maintenance to complete engine and chassis service
•    Brakes, transmission, and electrical repair
•    Engine diagnostics
•    Provide specific fuel additives and lubricants for TDI
•    In-house specialty tools designed for your TDI

One of the main things would be to make sure the engine will start cold, this is better to test in the winter when the temperature is cooler. You are looking for the engine to start the first time, unless it is below 40 then it may take the second crank if it is a higher mileage engine. This is testing multiple things, if the injectors have wear it will take longer to crank, also the glow plug system (if the engine is equipped with one) You want to check by opening the hood and touching the coolant hose to test if the vehicle is cold and has not be started that day or has been sitting for at least 4 + hrs.

There are other things to look at and we do test on diesels for you so you have more of an idea of what you are buying.

No, not with ultra low sulfur diesel, it lowers the cetane ratings in our test. The cetane rating is already lower in low sulfur diesel compared to older diesel fuel which had a higher cetane rating which was ok to ad transmission fluid.

All diesel fuel is now ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, if you engine was build before the mid 2000s then you need diesel fuel additive to add some of the lubricity back to you fuel system, to protect the injectors and pump.

All oils have additive packages in them from the oil company. The additive companies do not know what oil you are using, and then you are adding additives that can sometimes counteract and have a reaction. If you are going to use oil additives or any extended oil service we recommend an oil sample. See a sample of our same day (if dropped off by 9 am) oil sample report by clicking here.