I think I ran my MF out of diesel

[stuckmotor]

Here are the symptoms:
My MF 261 was running but suddenly lacked power, giving it more throttle didn't make it run any faster. After about a minute, it quit all together. The fuel guage doesn't work and I knew it was getting low. Without checking the fuel level with a ruler, I added a few gallons of diesel and it still wouldn't start, so, I put on a new fuel fliter and bled the lines to purge the air as per instructions. It turns over but won't start.

One thing that concerns me is that with all the cautions about high pressure fuel going to the injectors I was expecting a powerful jet to come out when I loosened the injector fittings and spun the engine. All I got was a trickle. Is a trickle to be expected? Any other ideas?

Many thanks,
Stuck

 

[Spanner]

"It won't crank" is different to "It won't start."

 

[stuckmotor]

Thank you, spanner. I need to be clear in what I'm saying.

 

[Spanner]

I see you have clarified in your edit.
So it does crank.
When you ran it out of fuel - You don't actually know it ran right out? Is there any debris in the tank?

If you 'dip' the fuel tank now does your reading correspond to the amount you added? i.e. the 'dip' reading equals the amount added?

Numerous threads to read about ensuring you have good fuel flow from tank, through filter, to Inj.Pump. Squeezy bottle to bypass the filter etc.

Bleeding the injectors - spurts are subective. One mans squirt is another mans dribble. Depends on how far you open the retaining nut etc.

Check/verify fuel supply first after confirming you actually ran out of fuel. If 'dip' shows more fuel than you added your problem may lie further up the line.

 

[cruz54982]

sounds like air to me keep the lines loose and crank some more they can be cranky sometimes .

 

[flyerdan]

The lines to the injectors need to be tight for it to fire off; if you can observe, crank it over while watching the spray/dribble from the loosened fitting. When they look consistent in the pulses, tighten them up and it should start then.

 

[stuckmotor]

Spanner,
I don't know how much fuel I added. If it comes to it, I might drain the tank back into the fuel jug and if the jug overflows then I'll know it at least had a little bit of fuel when I added some. As to whether the fuel in the filter was dirty, I saved it and though I didn't see any water or much trash, I'll pour it into a clear container so I can hold it up to the light and see it better. That will have to wait until daylight. Thanks for mentioning the other threads. I see links to several below this one. It's funny how many times I've told other's to look below for similar threads and forgot to do so myself.

 

[fried1765]

"It won't crank" is different to "It won't start."

I have reread the OP's initial post 10 times.
Where did he say "It won't crank"?

 

[Spanner]

It said "crank" originally. You will see stuckmotor has kindly 'edited' the post. "Crank" now says ''Start".
You can track the edit by the timing of the posts. And you can see my reference in #4.

 

[stuckmotor]

There was a place where I had the option of giving the reason for the edit. I probably should have listed, " Spanner"
His advice about other threads on the topic is also helping. One poster described low power then shut down, just about the way I experienced it. Considering that residual air in the system seems to be the least expensive problem, I hope that's it.