455 power loss

[RFMike]

Hi,

I just pulled the mower and attached the snow blower to my JD 455 yesterday. As I went down the driveway it ran fine, then started to stall out. I kept it running, but there is a distict power loss. My first thought was gelled fuel, as it has been quite cold, and it has summer diesel in it. I put anti-gel diesel treatment in and warmed it up. It started, ran ok, then power loss again after five minutes. Before I start down the path of replacing filters, etc., does anybody have any thoughts? If this is simple, I can handle myself, but if it is complex, such as worn rings, I am stuck. If it is plugged injectors, I may be able to handle, not sure. Time is an issue, too, as it's supposed to snow here most of this week.

Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

[kennyd]

Starts with the simple stuff first, I would change the fuel filter. How many hours are on this filter?

 

[RFMike]

30-50 hours on the fuel filter. I changed it this summer. 700 hours on the machine. Doesn't mean that it couldn't be the fuel filter; bad fuel can be picked up at any time. Any other thoughts? I'm working on it Tuesday night.
Mike

 

[keerym]

Air filter! Its simple to check, and a likely cause of power loss on a diesel. Have you replaced or cleaned the air filter in some time? If I'm not mistaken, isn't there an air restriction indicator under the hood, near the air filter? This would be able to tell you if thats the problem or not.

 

[RFMike]

I also changed the air filter this summer. There is a status indicator on it, and it reads ok. Good thought, though.

 

[keerym]

Is it possible that you got some contaminants in your fuel or fuel tank? Check your fuel filter, because it doesn't take much to plug one up. There also may be a screen in the fuel tank or in the fuel line before it reaches the primary filter. This screen may also be partially blocked.

 

[RFMike]

Thanks for the reply. Hadn't thought of a fuel line screen. I'll check that. It's always possible contaminants got in the fuel system, especially since I'm not the only one fillling the tank. My wife did a lot of the mowing this summer, due to the number of hours I was working. I think I'll check the filter again, maybe pick up an air filter, too. It's probably good to have a spare, anyway.