Fuel / Stalling problem....... Help!

[BarnieTrk]

NOW, I am currently dealing with - I think - a fuel problem. It was about 28*F the other day when I started the 3-cylinder diesel. I planned on letting it idle @ ~1000rpms for ~10 minutes before driving it and running the loader. By the time the 10 minutes had nearly passed & I had returned to the tractor, the engine was "surging". When I moved the throttle lever, it made no difference to the rpm level, as if it was disconnected. Sooooooo, I shut it off. Later, I removed the fuel filter outer cup and inspected the fuel; I saw no water in the fuel in the cup. I dumped the filter cup and 3/4 filled it with Power Service 911. Diesel 9 Then dumped the remainder of the container in the 8.5 gallon fuel tank on the tractor. I know, that is not exactly according to the product directions, but that is what I did. I plan to start and run the unit tomorrow, so I'll report back here as to how it behaves....... wish me luck! BarnieTrk :steeringwheel:

Well, I did the PS 911 treatment yesterday, and today (42*F) it started, ran fine for about 5 minutes, I took it for a circle about the yard, and within another 5 minutes or so, it started to cut out and finally died. Now it sits in the yard under a tarp.....'cause it's supposed to rain/sleet tonight. I think I'll need to move this problem/discussion to a new thread!

BarnieTrk :muttering:

 

[BarnieTrk]

I'm thinking now that I should remove the fuel filter and retaining cup & drain most or all of the fuel tank out via a funnel beneath the fuel filter housing......... even though the fuel was treated with PS white, the fuel has been in the tank for over 6 months - since May, 2014.

There is less than 10 hours on the fuel filter and it looks fine. So my thoughts are to simply give it a sloshing in some fresh diesel fuel (to rinse out any waxes/gelling maybe?) then reinstall the filter & then add a gallon or two of fresh fuel to the tank and see what happens then.........

.... Anyone with thoughts/suggestions/opinions for me?

Thanks in Advance, Guys!

BarnieTrk

 

[randy41]

i don't think its the fuel itself that's the problem. is all the air bled out of the system?

 

[dave1949]

Any chance there is gasoline in the diesel fuel? Does the engine run hot before it dies?

How much of that May 2014 fuel have you used up before this problem started?

 

[BarnieTrk]

i don't think its the fuel itself that's the problem. is all the air bled out of the system?

Good point -- I didn't loosen the bleed screw after re-attaching the filter cup with the PS-911 added.
I'll do that tonight,,,,then try starting and driving it around a bit. If it does the same thing, then I'll drain the whole shebang and continue with the "Drain & Refuel with Fresh" plan. Oh, and I'll add the step, Bleed Air Out....... Thanks Randy41! :drink:

BarnieTrk :thumbsup:

 

[BarnieTrk]

Any chance there is gasoline in the diesel fuel?

No, the can was dry when I filled it back in May.

Does the engine run hot before it dies?

No, but then I'd say it doesn't run long enough to get hot.....

How much of that May 2014 fuel have you used up before this problem started?

Well, Dave, the tractor came to me back in May with maybe a 1/2 tank of fuel. Then I filled my 5-gallon can, (and added some PS additive). I then added a couple of 3 gallons out of the can (with additive) back in May. I then changed the fuel filter in May/June. The tractor and the partial can of fuel sat in the shed from early June until Thanksgiving. Then, just two weeks ago, I added the remaining two gallons of canned fuel to the tractor fuel tank. That is when the tractor started to do it's surging and then die.

Thanks for the replies, Guys! :drink:

BarnieTrk :muttering:

 

[dave1949]

You have some ideal conditions there for condensation collection and algae growth in the fuel tank. You need to find a regular job for that tractor. :laughing:

It may not be a fuel problem, but I think the chances favor that because you say it surges. You could have sludge or other junk clogging/blocking the fuel line where it leaves the tank. I know you would expect to see evidence of that in the fuel filter but from past posts it seems you may not.

If you can put a pick-up hose down in the very bottom of the fuel tank and pump out from that level; if clean, clear fuel doesn't come out that might tell you something. That's where any amount of collected condensation water would be too, you might see separation in what you pump out after it settles.

 

[BarnieTrk]

Well, here is another thought about my situation......... I spoke with an experienced diesel mechanic at my work this morning - describing my predicament.

My mechanic friend suggested that the PS-911 hasn't done it job entirely yet. He suggested I drop a small hose into the fuel tank and give it some air pressure to stir the fuel around a bit to encourage the 911 to finish clearing out any water that may be in the tank.

Well, in addition to bleeding any remaining air out of the system at the bleed screw - as Randy41 suggested - stirring up the fuel in the tank sounds easy & painless enough & it shouldn't take up too much time to complete.

So Guys,,, does anyone here think the stirring trick is a valid idea / and possible fix?

BarnieTrk :banghead: :muttering:

 

[kirkawilson]

My NH 1920 was experiencing fuel problems last month. My 'tractor guy' recommended a fuel filter change and he came over to help as I read on TBN of many air problems when messing with the fuel system. His filter replacement technique worked great, but it's a 2-man job. I sat on the tractor while he carefully unscrewed the filter bowl to remove the spent filter. He put the new filter on the tractor and held the bowl up against the threads without screwing the bowl in. I cranked the tractor at full throttle until fuel came spilling over the top of the filter bowl (onto the ground) and then he screwed the bowl on hand tight until it sealed. The tractor finally fired and ran extremely rough, even with the throttle wide open. After about 2 minutes at wide open, the tractor RPM started picking up and it slowly smoothed out after all of the air was purged from the lines. Same technique also works good if you run out of fuel.

 

[dave1949]

Well, here is another thought about my situation......... I spoke with an experienced diesel mechanic at my work this morning - describing my predicament.

My mechanic friend suggested that the PS-911 hasn't done it job entirely yet. He suggested I drop a small hose into the fuel tank and give it some air pressure to stir the fuel around a bit to encourage the 911 to finish clearing out any water that may be in the tank.

Well, in addition to bleeding any remaining air out of the system at the bleed screw - as Randy41 suggested - stirring up the fuel in the tank sounds easy & painless enough & it shouldn't take up too much time to complete.

So Guys,,, does anyone here think the stirring trick is a valid idea / and possible fix?

BarnieTrk :banghead: :muttering:

I have no idea, but I hope you let us know if it worked or not.