White smoke 2001 Westerbeke 30B3

Guan

.
Jul 18, 2011
138
Beneteau Oceanis 361 Vancouver
On my third short outing this year while motoring (1hr) suddenly noticed white smoke even on idling and more in acceleration. Everything on engine was normal..power and drive normal, coolant temperature, water exhaust, oil n oil pressure. All ok.
Sail and prayed but still same so returned to Marina.
The next day tied up, restarted engine and everything was normal. Idling to max in gear 2600 revs (that's what's max normally when max tied up) NI white smoke only the normal blackish grey when max throttle.
Internet mentioned many severe causes but those will be permanent problems and performance detectable?
Any ideas what happened?
Should I just ignore?
Thanks Guys...
 
May 1, 2011
4,189
Pearson 37 Lusby MD
Based on my experience, when the mixing elbow clogs up, you get a heap of black smoke and a black, oily sheen on the water.
 
Nov 6, 2006
9,885
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Or if the sea water side of the elbow plugs, the engine overheats. Working that one on mine now.
 

Guan

.
Jul 18, 2011
138
Beneteau Oceanis 361 Vancouver
I did add a 16oz Stanadyne Diesel fuel additives but no such white smoke last outing. So probably not the culprit.
 

WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,039
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
White smoke on my 1980 W50 was caused by improper timing of the injection pump. I had it serviced and when I re-installed it, I did line up the marks I had made on removal. Motor started just fine and even ran at normal rpms and temperatures but blew white smoke. Local mechanic suggested the muffler was flooded with fuel and it would work its way out shortly. But after a 75 mile trip, it was still blowing white smoke.

Nobody could figure it out until I ran into a diesel mechanic who worked on farm equipment. He listened to me talking about the white smoke and asked whether I had pulled the fuel pump. He crawled under the galley sink and adjusted the injection pump three times before the smoke just disappeared. Bolted the injection pump down and I haven't touched it again in the last 8 years.

Although the W30B manual suggests the injectors could have been fouled. The fuel additive may have cleared a slight plugging in the injectors.
 

RitSim

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Jan 29, 2018
406
Beneteau 411 Branford
You don't mention if you are losing coolant or have signs of water in the oil or oil in the coolant.
If you're handy and comfortable with engine mechanics you can check compression with the engine warm.

White smoke may also be a blown/leaky head gasket or worse-cracked head. On my Universal M25 on a previous boat, I had white smoke mildly on starting. I had overheated by forgetting to open the seawater valve at one point. 7 years later I decided to check compression. I removed the three injectors and started the test on the forward cylinder. Had green water spritzing at me from the middle cylinder. In the end, it was a cracked head and a damaged cylinder sleeve. I had the engine bored and replaced the head.
I never had water in the oil nor did I notice that I was probably running on 2 cylinders for some years.

Harbor freight sells an inexpensive compression tester. Testing was fairly easy. Check your engine parts - there may be copper sealing washers under the injectors and aluminum sealing washers in some of the fuel connections, These typically are one-time use seals.

Good luck - let us know what you find.
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Does the white smoke go up and dissipate, or does it lay down on the water and dissipate? Former is steam, later is oil.

Steam is usually insufficient raw water flow. This can occur due to a temporary blockage, like sucking a plastic bag, or a persistent blockage, like sucking grass or sea life.

Pull the hose off the strainer and open the seacock. It should stream freely, like a fire hose. :) If it doesn't, it's blocked. Check the strainer. If these are clear, check the heat exchanger, impeller, etc. One shotgun approach is to find the spec for the pump, figure out the pump RPM per engine RPM (usually 1/2) and catch the exhaust water in a bucket for a minute and check against the spec.
 

Guan

.
Jul 18, 2011
138
Beneteau Oceanis 361 Vancouver
Just a thought for the experts: could a defective exhaust elbow cause this?
Good idea, but just had it checked and replaced new as I already bought parts, although mechanic said old was good.
Would this give problems so soon, old good one was 12year in used. Thanks again
 

Guan

.
Jul 18, 2011
138
Beneteau Oceanis 361 Vancouver
no sign of water as mentioned.
will need mechanic to check your kind suggestions. Tks.