how do I re-prime my 384 IH tractor

[scooter001]

how do I get the air out of the diesel line and prime my 384 IH tractor? She blew black smoke and lost power and hasn't run since. Any help would be greatly appreciated...Thanks Scott

 

[Egon]

For starters start by checking the fuel supply right at the tank for a screen, then move onward to the filter, and next to the inlet of the injection pump. If there is a fuel supply at the inlet there should be a nut to loosen on the pump to bleed from while the tractor is cranked over. Or the outlet injector lines can be cracked and the tractor cranked till fuel comes out.

Many folks will drain some fuel off the bottom of the tank bottom to get rid of water. You might be able to do this just by removing and replacing the filter.

 

[Richard]

I would have suspected that blowing black smoke means you had too much fuel, not insufficient

Be that as it may...another phantom for you to be aware of.

I have a glass bowl under my fuel filter on my backhoe. My machine was cutting out ("running out of fuel") and would catch itself. I KNEW I had a full tank so was perplexed.

Long story short, the glass bowl under the filter had filled up to the rim with water. This was evidently choking off the normal flow of fuel through the filter and killing my engine on an intermittent basis.

Although I replaced the filter, all I really "had" to do to fix this specific problem was to drain the water out of my glass bowl.

On the IH 444 that we have, when I need to bleed the lines, I simply take an adjustable wrench and simply crack (barely loosen) the feed lines and turn the engine over. I do not loosen them very much, just enough to break the seal.

I'm still intrigued on the blowing black smoke prior to losing power and quitting.

Makes me wonder if something else is an issue??

Were you there to smell it? Could it have been oil getting into the cylinder or was it black diesel smell?

 

[scooter001]

Thank-you Egon and Richard for your in-sight on mt dilemma. The black smoke smelled of unburnt diesel. This had happened earlier and also loss-ed power,but recovered and smoothed out, so I ran it for about 20 minutes more and she did it again and quit?:confused2:I thought that it would be a spark problem, because of the unburnt diesel? Any more help along these lines would be super. Thanks again...Scott

 

[Soundguy]

I agree.. black smoke is unburnt fuel...

see if you are getting fuel TO the pump before you do anything drastic.

soundguy