Tan plugs, blue smoke, 60 psi oil pressure on my 51 8n

[Cutty]

Bought this tractor early this year and have put nearly 50 hours on it since then mostly bushhogging my hilly pasture. It runs great but smokes quite a bit. I pulled the plugs yesterday just to have a look (new plugs 50 hours ago) and they were all burning a nice tan color. So do you think its the oil rings or just general wear? According to my oil pressure gauge I have around 25psi at idle (400 rpm) to 60psi at running speed, hot or cold. Someone put on an 80 psi gauge. If my oil pressure is really that high and it's not a bad gauge could that be contributing to my smoking and oil usage? I don't know what oil was in it when I bought it but it was fresh, I have been topping off with 10-40 and now straight 40w. I haven't done a compression test on it yet or played with any atf in the cyls. I figure if the rings were going to free up they would have by now. It starts instantly, idles at 400 and revs to 2200. It pulls great. It doesn't smoke super bad or anything but it does put out the blue smoke. Did someone stretch the spring on the oil pump relief if my pressure is that high or could it be something else?

 

[Bob Harvey]

I'd go with the "if it ain't broke...." philosophy. - However 60 psi oil is HUGE. So either your guage is wonky or someone has messed with the relief spring. Normal 'cutoff' spring should read about 35 - 37 PSI of oil on the guage. HTH

 

[NOXJohn]

Change the oil and filter. If you are still running the oil that was in the tractor when you got it you have no idea how long it has been in there or what type it may be. I would use 10w 40. Don't forget to change the oil in the air filter and clean out any junk. Just for information you should do a compression test. A new oil pressure relief spring is cheap and may change your oil pressure readings. However, if you don't have any leaks due to high pressure I don't think 50 lbs will hurt anything.