I have an older 2538 that acted like it was running low on fuel

[battlinbear85]

I new to tractors, so this goes out to the mechanics and experts out there. I had been bushogging for about an hour and a half. My tractor was running fine when it started to act up, i killed it and checked the diesel, it was pretty low if not running on fumes. I noticed right when i was stopping the engine some blue smoke coming up from underneath the engine. I figured it was from running on low or poor fuel. I added 5.5 gallons of diesel and tried to restart, it sounded good on the battery end of things, its new and recently replaced. It just would not crank up, i figured it was low on getting fuel or something. So then it was getting dark and so i went inside. Next day I added a little bit of oil in the crankcase about 1/5 of a gallon. Then I tried to restart, but it was not firing, it was like the battery was low or something. It should not be, i went back out and jumped some cables over to the battery. It still wouldn't crank. Any help appreciated. Thanks


Richard L.

 

[battlinbear85]

It was not running hot yesterday when I killed the engine by the way....

 

[battlinbear85]

Ok, so the battery cable was loose. It still won't start, it is turning over though. How do I add fuel directly to the point of firing.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

You need to bleed the air out of the fuel pump. There should be a screw to loosen until fuel comes out.

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

If it was very low on fuel (out) you will need to bleed the air out of the system. Not familiar with Mahindra but will involve finding the bleeder screw on the filter and injector pump. I am sure there are others here can give you exact procedure on this site. Try a search. If you have an owners manual It will have the procedure. I recommend you get an owners manual for a whole bunch of reasons. Including proper operation, maintenance, capacities, lubricants, etc.

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

Might be a good time to replace the fuel filter while you have to bleed it anyway.

 

[battlinbear85]

Im sorry, I have a 4025, don't know where i got that 2538 from... Im trying to post some pictures.

 

[battlinbear85]

View attachment 510295

 

[battlinbear85]

Is the black cap what I need to remove, i did, but it had another screw underneath it, wasn't sure if this was right.

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

Again not familiar with this tractor but the black cap looks like a prime pump you would move up and down to pump fuel to get the air out. I would expect the small plug on the side of the housing to be the air bleed. loosen or remove the plug, move the black knob up and down until good fuel comes out the hole. then tighten the plug and pump until the pumping gets hard. Then try to start it. If successful, great run it at high idle and try to get any more air to clear. If it doesn't start repeat the process then try pumping while someone else cranks it over, It may start. If that fails crack a line at a couple injectors. repeat all of the above until you get fuel at the injector lines that are loose. If you get fuel it may fire on one of the other cylinders or tighten the lines and try. If that fails get some help from someone who knows how to bleed this tractor. be very careful around the lines you loosen at the injectors. the fuel coming out when you crank it will be very high pressure and will penetrate your skin and give you blood poisoning. You may need to loosen the black pump handle by turning it. sometimes they lock down. You should not need wrenches to do that. You really need an owners manual. This procedure will be explained there.