90WLSP36 Smoke and heat

[mrdonut12]

Chuck,
Although the smoke is getting worse, the weather is also getting
colder. It may just be cold weather that's causing the smoke.
Last winter, mine smoked so bad when started on a very cold day
that it appeared someone should call the Fire Dept. ;o)
I found my engine heater had quit working. I went to NAPA and
bought a 2,000 watt engine heater.
If I pre-heat the engine, it barely smokes at all, but if the
engine is bone-cold when I start it, it can produce significant smoke.
The 3208 has no glow plugs, so it's extremely inefficient on a
cold start and that's where the smoke comes from.
Pre-heat your engine before starting and if that reduces the
smoke significantly, it may not even be broken, just a 3208.
Regarding the engine temp, you need to go to a Cat dealer and get
the "thermostat kit" so you have good quality thermostats (it uses 2).
Running the engine below operating temp isn't good for the engine.
If fact, I believe in changing thermostats about every 3 years as a
maintenance item. A bad thermostat can have a significant impact on
an engine and I don't like risk. Better safe than sorry.

George Witt
81 FC 35
Lincoln, Nebraska

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "williamcharrison"
wrote:
>
> Just recently my bird began to blow blue oil smoke when it was cold.
> This symptom has gradually gotten worse over the last 3 months.
> After warmup the smoke disappeared (after 10 min or so). I took it
> to the local Cat dealer who discovered that the turbo was shot.
> He replaced the turbo ($4000.00 +) and the oil smoke is worse than
> before, what's more, the engine will not heat to above 160 deg.
> whereas before it ran at 190 deg. The dealer says I have to run it
> hard to clean the engine out but I have to get the engine temp up.
> The oil temp also does not go up over 170 deg. Does this sound like
> symptoms of a stuck thermostat? If so, how hard is it to replace and
> what would cause the excessive oil smoke?
>
> Thanks,
> Chuck Harrison
> Akron, Ohio
> 90 WL SP36
>