Tips for winter deisel operation of Ford 1720

[OldBulldogger]

Thanks for all the advice folks. I did change out the filter this morning. I could not beleive how dirty the old one was. Apparently it had not been changed in some time and was pretty bad. I followed all the advice from you all and the instructions from the operators manual. It is all back together and running great now. Unfrtunately, I ran into a little trouble early on. The shut off valve has a set screw on it that the manual did not mention. As I found out, that screw does need to be backed out before trying to turn the valve. Needless to say, I was trying to shut it off and it was turn harder than I expected but as gummed up as it was, I didn't question it until I went to open it back up later after replacing the filter. With the set screw not turned out, it chewed up the O-ring inside and started leaking fuel out the valve. It was dripping fuel but I decided to try firing it up just the same. Apparently the O-ring was really chewed up and it started sucking air and after firing it up, it died as the pump went dry. Once I figured out the o-ring problem, I made a quick trip to NAPA to get a new ring and got the shutoff valve back together. I did have to bleed the system at the pump and at the injector lines. To my surprise, this was not that big of a deal and I had my tractor back up and running again soon. It is running great now and all is well. Good thing too, we are getting 7 inches of snow tonight. Best part about it is that I still had time to get my 3 point blower on and ready to blow some snow tomorrow morning. Thanks everyone for the advice. This forum is great! :thumbsup:

 

[chopped]

Could you elaborate more on this set screw? On mine I thought the lever was just stuck from crud and used the vice grip method..Sounds like the set screw could be holding it?

 

[OldBulldogger]

The screw is right on top of the valve itself. Mine had a phillips head on it. If you are looking at the valve, it is literally sitting right on top of it. It screws down from the top into a channel in the valve. After I chewed up the O-ring, I had to unscrew the set screw and the whole valve comes out of the valve assembly. After seeing it apart, I can see the screw helps to hold the valve into the assembly. When the valve comes out, you can change the O-ring. From my perspective, if your valve does not want to turn, I would just clamp off the incoming and outgoing fuel lines with a vice grip so the fuel does not run out. Once you have it clamped, I would just proceed right to changing the filter and save yourself the trouble I had.

 

[chopped]

Thanks.. I do the clamp it off. I wasnt aware of the 'o' ring. I figured it was stuck open for ever.lol Was the 'o' ring easy to match up?

 

[LBrown59]

1*You have to be careful with a kero mix with your fuel.No lubricants in kero.
I live in northern NY,gets very cold and my tractor sits outdoors.I have a block heater but seldom use it,
2*make sure you have winter blend fuel and add powerservice(ups the Cetane).quote]
1*That's correct .
2*I can use summer blend down to 15 F which happens very seldom around here so i just use what ever i have on hand at the time.

3*I have heard of putting half kerosene in deisel.
4*They say kerosene won't gel. Has anybody else heard of that?

3* Adding 20 to 30 percent kero to summer blend is the the usual recomendation.
Adding Kero to winter blend is not a good idea because you are adding kero to fuel that has already had the kero added which reduces the lubricity of the fuel .
4*YES : but it will not lubricate your engine either !

5* treat your fuel with a good diesel fuel additive( Power Service, Stanadyne, Howe's etc),
especially if you still have summer blend in the tank.

5*I do it year round for winter and summer blend.

 

[mguitas]

1*You have to be careful with a kero mix with your fuel.No lubricants in kero.
I live in northern NY,gets very cold and my tractor sits outdoors.I have a block heater but seldom use it,
2*make sure you have winter blend fuel and add powerservice(ups the Cetane).quote]
1*That's correct .
2*I can use summer blend down to 15 F which happens very seldom around here so i just use what ever i have on hand at the time.

3* Adding 20 to 30 percent kero to summer blend is the the usual recomendation.
Adding Kero to winter blend is not a good idea because you are adding kero to fuel that has already had the kero added which reduces the lubricity of the fuel .
4*YES : but it will not lubricate your engine either !


5*I do it year round for winter and summer blend.

Thanks for the info. L Brown.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Not sure I understand this last point...when you say that the engine may fire up before you get to the last injector...does this mean that when you get to the last injector/injectors... and it starts before the bleeding on that injector is completed successfully, its not necessary to bleed the last injector/injectors because if the tractor starts, the process is finished.

The engine will fire on on or two cylinders and that's enough to purge the rest of the air out of the remaining injector lines. Once the engine starts runing the bleeding process is over IF you got all the air out of the filter housing(s).

 

[Turbys_1700]

I live in NC so our winters here are much milder...
On my 1720, I plug up the battery trickle charger and don't really do anything else special...
I typically crank up and run my tractor several times a month in the winter anyway to use the FEL and scrape blade...
We hardly ever get below freezing that much...
If I was in a northern climate like you I would utilize a diesel anti gel additive and plug up to a block heater...
On the block heater, you can purchase a timer from Lowes that will cycle on and off...
This would heat up the water for a couple of hours prior to use...
Would save you some coin in electrical costs...
I have one for my truck and use when we have a few mornings in the teens...
Works really well...

 

[OldBulldogger]

Yes, I found the replacement O-ring for mine at my local NAPA Auto Store. It worked great. I actually thought I would have to replace the whole valve assembly but with the new ring in there it is not leaking so I am content to leave well enough alone at this point. Good luck!

 

[OldBulldogger]

Thanks again for all the advice. Since purchasing it, I have put new glow plugs in, added a block heater, and treated the fuel so I am all set for winter. Here is a couple photos. All we need now is some significant snow and it will be playtime! :thumbsup: