3 cylinder ford 4000 diesel starting problem

   / 3 cylinder ford 4000 diesel starting problem #1  

2006gmcdmax

Gold Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2012
Messages
287
Location
Augusta, GA
Tractor
Many but mostly ford diesels or ihc or jds
I have a 69 ford 4000. I have replaced all three injectors fuel filter front injection pump seal all the leaking top cover seals and gaskets. My tractor before was losing prime over night so come to find out the front seal was leaking my oil smelled like diesel. So I fixed that and every leak on te tractor. Wrll I finally got the tractor running and the daggum thing was skipping so I bought all new injectors well of course it had lost prime by then finally faught and faught the SOB got it to crank still was missing. Well my friend reached over and reved it and reved and let it sit. Finally it stopped missing all was good cranked right back up. Next day came to crank it up and the sap sucker of course wouldn't start popped number one injector line had air then number two then three. So none of the worked finally I popped the return line off the back cover had a small piece of trash in it. Put it all back together cranked right up. Next day cranked it same old bs wouldn't crank had plenty of white smoke emmediately for starting. Faught it for a few hours did the same thig again with the return line. Cleaned it out i do t know if it had anything in it but a poked the small orffis hole with a needle. Put it back on and nothing pulled the top cover drained all the diesel fired right up. Past few days cranked right up once again today it cranked right up came back later to crank it up just spun over and over finally I popped the pump top off again didn't bleed the first bit of air fired right up emmediately. Ran it down the driveway and it was missing again so I bleed the lines probably a minute a piece on all three. Went back out hour or two later fired right up. Shut it off cranke it back up again started te same **** thing again cranked over and over finally fired on its own. Can someone please help me before I tote this POS to the scrap yard I'm sick of it it has zero leaks anywhere new filter and runs to good when it runs and fires up too good when it's cold to need rings or a new pump I'm lost please help
 
   / 3 cylinder ford 4000 diesel starting problem
  • Thread Starter
#2  
Forgot to say also when I bought the tractor the man was having to pull out the fuel shut off and leave it pulled it so it wouldn't loose prime and so he could start it the next day
 
   / 3 cylinder ford 4000 diesel starting problem #3  
Have you done a compression check with all injectors out, white smoke while cranking cold means pump is working getting fuel to cylinders. White smoke means can be low compression, timing advanced too much, or both. If compression is low engine may still run fine when fully warmed up.
 
   / 3 cylinder ford 4000 diesel starting problem #4  
I am not sure if those tractors had a thermostart, but sometimes those can give a problem if they are stuck open. If you had the injection pump off to replace the seal, you may be out of time, engine timing, that is. Have you checked out the mechanical fuel pump that pushes fuel to the injection pump? And, you may not have anything leaking out, but it doesn't mean that air isn't leaking in... As much old junky ole stuff we have around here, all the way back to cable lift Caterpillars, I think your engine is fine as long as you can get it to smooth out. So, the possibility for it to run smooth is there, you just have to find the problem. A cracked fuel supply line. Is fuel returning back into the fuel tank while the tractor is running? If you are losing the pressure in the high pressure lines, could be dirty injectors. Run it down to a gallon of fuel, put two cans of injector cleaner in there and a quart of automatic transmission fluid. Won't hurt anything, sometimes my tractor runs on burnt motor oil if that is all I have to fill it with. I have found problems before by running the tractor off of a lawnmower gas tank filled with diesel and held higher than the engine to rule out fuel delivery problems. Reving it up does the tractor no good at all, I don't see what that accomplishes. So, timing, fuel delivery, dirty injectors is where I would start looking. I have a 58 Fordson that is way worse than yours, but I still use it when I need to do something. It had sat for fifteen years and switched owners five times because nobody could get it cranked. A vacuum controlled injector pump took a little understanding, plus I had to beat six of the eight push rods back straight. then there was the stuck valve that took a few weeks to let go. You'll get it, just start eliminating what the problem isn't, and it will be easier to see what it is.
 
   / 3 cylinder ford 4000 diesel starting problem
  • Thread Starter
#5  
I just had the pump rebuilt and its perfect now starts second turnover every time now now time to do my 5000
 
 
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