Fuel problems on jcb backho

[dannya]

My 1979 JCB 3CIII backhoe with a 4 cyl perkins diesel has an issue with the fuel system. It all began when I ran it out of fuel and i have since replaced several fuel lines and the filter. I can use the hand pump and fill the fuel filter and it will start and run for several minutes. My first thought is it may be the injector pump, however, after i get it running I crack the injectors and there seems to be no air but it is definitely pumping fuel to the injectors. After running for a while it will start missing and eventually go dead (starving for fuel). I pulled the drain plug off the filter and it is basically dry? I have some understanding for the pump but am not sure of its exact operation and where else to begin with finding my issue. I had thought I was getting air somewhere and that may be the problem, but i don't understand the filter being dry as there is no obvious leak. Any and all suggestions and comments are appreciated. Thanks

danny

 

[horsepuller]

Your problem sounds similar to one I had last year with my 1988 JCB 1400B backhoe. I had moved about 30 yard of sand and the backhoe just quit while at idle. It would not restart. Fuel gauge showed I had fuel in the tank.

While trouble shooting, I decided to drain the tank to check for contaminants in the fuel. I disconnected the bottom tank line fitting, expecting a bath of fuel. I was surprised that nothing came out, not even a drip. I probed the tank fitting with a wire, and got fuel flow, and a bunch of rusty debris.

The tank on this backhoe (and probably on yours) is a tall rectangular welded box that serves as part of the front frame of the backhoe. The fuel supply drains through a small pipe whose inlet is raised about an inch above the bottom of the tank to keep bottom sediments out of the fuel system.

Apparently what had happened is that the inside of the steel tank had rusted and flaked off over the years. This sediment had built up on the bottom of the tank. In normal operation the sediment would stay settled out on the tank bottom. I had been bouncing up and down a small hill moving my sand for a couple of hours and had churned up the sediment. The finer rust particles made a fuel-tight plug in the tank fuel drain fitting.

I cleaned out the rust using a magnet on a stick. I also flushed out the tank. No fuel-related problems since.

I found out later that the backhoe manual recommends keeping the tank as full as possible to avoid condensation (and rust I think).

This may not be your problem, but if you can find and loosen the tank bottom fitting, you will find out, or at least eliminate one possibility. Good luck.

PS: You say in your post that your problem started when you ran out of fuel. Are you sure you ran out? Or is it possible the fuel inlet got plugged without completely running out of fuel? Did the gauge say empty?

 

[BJN644]

I remember a JD backhoe that had a piece of foil from I'm guessing a cap off a bottle of fuel conditioner intermittently blocking the fuel outlet on the tank. That one acted the same way,dry filter and all.