1655 Overheated

Married2Allis

Well-known Member
My neighbor brought home a nice 1655 diesel, some blue smoke on startup until it warms up then exhaust is almost clear. He changed all the fluids including the coolant. Went over one morning and he started it ran and it for about 10 minutes when we noticed exhaust (or steam?) coming out the vent tube that runs down from the valve cover. He shut it off and heard the coolant boiling and steam was coming from the radiator cap. Turns out the bottom hose clamp was loose and radiator had drained out. And ofcourse the temp gauge was busted. Engine block was pretty warm but not hot enough to burn fingers. Motor sounded normal before we shut it down. Waited an hour for it to cool down and refilled the radiator making sure it was topped off. Started back up and ran fine, same blue smoke until warmed up then clear as before -- nothing coming out of the vent. Did not see any coolant in the oil. What could have caused the vapor coming out of the vent tube and would it need to be torn down?
 
Perhaps normal engine blowby. If the engine was
just idling probably didn't hurt anything. May
want to keep a close eye on oil and coolant level
but if all seems normal I wouldn't worry much
about it.
 
The "steam" you saw from the vent tube was likely condensation being boiled out from under the rocker box by the (slightly) overheated head.

So I agree with Kevin - keep an eye on oil and coolant levels but otherwise not worry about it.

Incidentally I see the same thing sometimes from my gas tractors. Following long runs under light load, when they are first worked hard I see white vapor from the crankcase vent tube; it gradually goes away as crankcase condensation gets boiled out.
 
Consequences of overheating can range from vitually nothing to very considerable. Seems you may have got away with the former.

Allowing to cool before adding water avoids cracking. Overheating the oil can reduce its effectiveness. Serious heating of the pistons can cause failure of the item or relaxation of
spring tension of the rings. Oil seals on valves can be toasted, as well. A simple temperature gauge is low cost, compared to the possible engine damage.

I woud be changing the oil filter as a least effort precaution. If gunge has boiled from the valve cover area, I would be inclined to clean out what is left, before it flakes away.
Chance to check those valve seals, as well. They may already be shot, allowing oil through and causing the blue haze.

RAB
 

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