Case Diesel 188 Blowby

The 188 Diesel on my 450 Case started smoking excessivly from the Valve Cover vent tube. It does not seem to do this when first started, but gets progressivly worse after warming up. Little or no smoke in the exhaust and excellent oil pressure at idle. Engine runs smoothly and makes good power. No apparent engine oil comsumption.

It first started doing this after being worked fairly hard for about 45 minutes the other week. I'm wondering if this is likely to be from condensation building up over the last few months. It has not been run much for a few months. The engine has only run perhaps 6-8 hours since an oil change so I don't suspect dirty oil causing a problem, but it may have a fair amount of condensation... Engine oil is not milky.

What do y'all think?

Thanks,
John
1968 Case 450

I appreciate your help.
John

one thing i learned the hard way was keeping the fuel line clear. had a plug of sediment cause a fuel starved problem. took a while to find it.

I doubt my compression gauge will be of use on a Diesel. I'm going to run it awhile yet to see if it gets worse or if any other symptoms appear.

Not looking forward to an engine build but as these things go it does not look too difficult. I gather its a matter of pulling the head and oil pan to change out pistons/rings and cylinder sleeves (as needed). In other words it looks like I can rebuild it in the frame. The service manual shows a special sleeve puller but I suspect I can use something else or even make my own. Might be worth doing just for peace of mind. My biggest concern is that I'd run it too far and break a rod or something.

I've had the valve cover off to replace a leaking gasket. The usual sludge but not a large buildup.

Thanks for your help,
John