4JH3 White Smoke and Lube Oil Consumption

[Rick]

I have a 4JH3 with 500 hrs. It puts out a lot of white smoke on starting but some even after warm up. The owners book says white smoke may be a sign of excessive lube oil consumption and in fact I am losing a quart of oil every 30 hrs or so, much more than any other diesel I owned. Two people have suggested I change oil from Delo 30 to a non-detergent like Castrol GTX. Any comments? Does this problem warrant a service call from the dealer as suggested in the manual? Are there any additives I can use to "unstick" rings or remove cylinder glaze if that is the problem? I would greatly appreciate some advice before risking an expensive service call from the nearest Yanmar dealer which is quite a distance.Rick

 

[Gordon Torresen]

Lube oil

I would stay away from miracle additives or lube oils that are not recommended by the manufacturer, regardless of what your friends say. Try changing to a good 15W40, as recommended by Yanmar, and give it a chance to break in. Proper lubrication will consume some of the oil but a quart in 30 hours might be a little much.