Starting my Iseki TX2140

I'm wondering what other owners experiences are with starting their Iseki.

Mine has the three cylinder Mitsi engine. I have to pre-heat for around 20 seconds before turning the engine over (ambient temperature is usually around 10 degrees centigrade). Anything shorter, it doesn't really want to know about starting. Sometimes it doesn't start on all three cylinders, but seems to start on one or two before the third starts. This usually indicates an issue with the glow/heater plugs.

I've metered the glow/heater plugs and they're all the same resistance, so should all be working. The tractor has only done around 240 hours, so wouldn't have thought the injectors needed a service. Though having said that, it may benefit new plugs and injector service.

It starts fine after the initial morning start-up.

What's the experience of other owners please?

I have the following Mitsubishi engines - K3A (what you have), K3B, KE70, and KE75. All of them need glow plug activation to start quickly from a "cold" condition, even on summer days. The K3B seems to start easier than the K3A, but I need to confirm all the glow plugs are working on the K3A. The two cylinder engines (KE70/5) seem to not start nearly as well, especially once the temps drop down below 30 deg F. Usually the 3-cylinder engines fire and try to run but you may need to repeat the cycle while the 2-cylinder engines kind of start to fire while you have to hold the starter engaged until they "come up to operating speed" and run on their own. My elevation is around 6200 ft. above sea level and that appears to make it a bit more difficult to start than at sea-level. I'm at the point where if I want reliable starts in colder weather (less than 30 deg. F) I will plug in the block heater if it is equipped with one. I plan on having a block heater on all of them as there are a lot of benefits to having one - primarily so the engine doesn't have to go through the very cold to operating temps so quickly. Of course the drawback is that if you need the tractor quickly and haven't plugged it in it can be frustrating.

I have a KE75 2-cylinder tractor. My tractor is under cover but in an open shed. It had not ran in a week, it was 10 degrees F. this morning, I have a 750 watt block heater on it and I plugged it in for 45 minutes. It started right up without use of the glow plugs. If you have the time a block heater is the way to start an older diesel engine.

10F is mighty cold for us, which is -12C. Luckily we don't see those sort of temps often in the UK. I prefer my 10C (50F).

Another thing I was going to try, is some better quality diesel, as it does sort of run when turning over, but takes a while before it runs with out assistance from the starter motor.

My 1981 TX1500/Bolens G174 became very hard to start and eventually let me down. No amount of glow plug work did any good, but the local tractor dealership mechanic listened to the starter, then reached down and wiggled it. He showed me that the starter was coming apart and jamming, requiring a lot of battery power and producing poor starting torque. A rebuild and the cold starting was fine from then on. He further commented that I'd likely get many years yet out of the little tractor.

Petrol (gas) engines will start with minimal turning providing there's a good spark, where as diesel engines require speed to start as its the rate of compression that makes the mixture explode.

Diesels love a high-speed starter as mentioned, but I have a Bolens G244 (Iseki TS2220F) that turns over at a disappointingly slow rate. Somehow the engine always manages to start relatively quickly. I'd say it seems to roll over at about half the speed of any of the other tractors that have the mitsubishi engines. Not sure if this is typical of that engine/starter or I've got a problem. I should shoot a video and see what others think.

i live up in Maine. just tried starting the tractor the other day. it's been below 0 degrees F every night for the past week. i find if i just put my propane heater blowing on the tractor for about 20 minutes, it cranks over an fires every time. those mitsu diesels hate the real cold temps! mine is a K3A like yours. put the heat to er, she'll fire!!

When I bought my TX1500/G174 there was a gooey patch with some fibreglass mess attached to the rear of the oil pan. I was pretty apprehensive about a leak until I eventually traced the patch to a power cord at the front. The previous owner had obviously glued a heater to the motor to improve cold starting. It works, though not as well as the other tractors' block heaters where the coolant is warmed. Below 0 degrees F, forget it, even with the heater on.

Basically the Bolens has become a garage queen for the winter, snuggling near the box stove in my shop.

My Bolens G154 (Iseki TX2140F) with Mitsubishi KA3 developed a starting issue. It turned out to be a loose adapter fitting on the injector line to injector #2. I have no idea how it became loose. This was not the compression fitting on the injector line, but an adapter type fitting with a spring underneath it. I am unsure what the spring does but tightening the fitting worked like a charm. Back in business.