B2910HST dies out ....

[rswyan]

Not sure offhand what year it is - we bought it new around '03 or '04 I think - it has around 1035 hours on it, it has been worked, but has had all the normal scheduled maintenance, except for two things:

1. engine coolant has never been changed and,

2. the valves have never been adjusted.

Today I was using the backhoe (BH4690B) on the B2910 ..... I finished and just as I was stepping off the backhoe the engine started chugging and sputtering ....

I moved the throttle down from 1800 rpm to the idle position (1200 rpm) and it died out. I was able to restart it and it idled somewhat rougher than normal for a few seconds ...... then I tried to raise the engine rpm and it starting chugging again and died out. No abnormal smoke (it does smoke a little black initially when started for a couple of seconds and when under load and being worked hard)

First thing I checked was the oil - it looked fairly clear/amber in the evening light - which I found a little odd considering there was around 35 or 40 hours on the oil (I changed it at 1000 hours with Rotella T6 Synthetic 5w40) ..... but also there seemed to be some small bubbles on the stick when I pulled it initially .... enough that I stuck and pulled it again - same thing: a few small bubbles on the dipstick. No evidence of water in the oil though.

Next thing I did was pull the air filter - it was surprisingly clean, considering that I've been operating in fairly dusty conditions and hadn't pulled and cleaned it for the last 35 hours. Just a little bit of grass inside the housing and not much dust/dirt at all.

Couple things other things:

This past week I was out working, knocking over trees and digging out stumps ...... at one point I shut the tractor off to take a break. When I went to start the engine the battery was very low - almost dead - the engine turned slowly .... but it did start back up.

The next day when I went to start the tractor the battery was dead enough that it wouldn't turn the engine over - since I was in a hurry to get back to working with it, and due to where I had parked the tractor (couldn't get to it to jump it), I just went ahead replaced it with a Group 51R (original was a Group 55) from Autozone .... but I still have the old battery ..... and I'm not sure it's actually bad ..... (didn't check the voltage while running, although I will tomorrow - if I can get it started)

Next thing, when moving, there is some noise coming from the transmission - it is a whining or growling - something that it has always done to some extent, at various times under certain conditions and/or ground speeds/etc. ..... but it seems a good bit louder than what it normally was in the past .....

Finally, I had the small line (return ?) that goes from the fuel filter back to the fuel tank come off at the tank a few days ago .... admittedly I didn't pay as much attention to this as I should have when I first noticed a drip - I thought that perhaps I had accidently spilled some fuel when I refueled ......

Later, at some point (yesterday afternoon ?) my wife came over to where I was working, she pointed out that something was dripping off the bottom of the tractor .... dunno how long it was like that .... could have been for several days .... :mur:

I stopped the tractor and opened the hood and found the unhooked line and the right side of the engine covered in diesel. I reattached the small line back to the fuel tank and started it back up and continued to work for the rest of the evening and today.

One thing I was noticing this evening after the tractor died - there are two of these small fuel lines running back to the fuel tank - and the two lines pass thru an oblong hole in the rear firewall/heat shield.

What I noticed this evening was that both of these lines were so stretched and under tension that they were rubbing against the bottom of the hole in the heat shield/firewall ...

 

[ronjhall]

I will have to check those lines on my tractor.
I have read on the Duramax forum that I am on. That some of the synthetics do foam or bubble.

 

[ovrszd]

If it were any of my diesels, first I would say it's fuel starved. When was the fuel filter last changed?? Second would be condition of fuel, contaminated with water possibly? I'd use the K.I.S.S. principle and start with things that don't cost much like a new fuel filter. If you think your fuel is pure and the filter is good then I'd check the fuel supply line to make sure it's not pinched, take it loose at the pump and check flow from the tank. After all that, then you are at the pump. You'll probably need a mechanic to check the fuel rail pressure. Hopefully you'll find something simple.

 

[rswyan]

Guys, thanks for the responses - I solved it yesterday - but was too whipped when I came in to write up what I found.

I will have to check those lines on my tractor.

Please let me know what you find as far as the amount of tension or strain that they seem to be under.

I have read on the Duramax forum that I am on. That some of the synthetics do foam or bubble.

Interesting .... I got a better look at the oil in the daylight - it wasn't quite as clear/clean as I thought - you could still see thru it, but it had definitely started to turn black - which is how I thought it should look, considering the hours on the oil.

If it were any of my diesels, first I would say it's fuel starved.

Bingo ! :thumbsup:

When was the fuel filter last changed??

Good question - I'd have to pull my maintenance records and check .... but I know that it would not be an excessively long time (within the suggested maintenance interval)

Second would be condition of fuel, contaminated with water possibly? I'd use the K.I.S.S. principle and start with things that don't cost much like a new fuel filter. If you think your fuel is pure and the filter is good then I'd check the fuel supply line to make sure it's not pinched, take it loose at the pump and check flow from the tank. After all that, then you are at the pump. You'll probably need a mechanic to check the fuel rail pressure.

All very good suggestions - thanks !

Hopefully you'll find something simple.

Yup :thumbsup:

I got lucky - very easy fix: add fuel :confused2:

Here's what happened: The fuel cap assembly consists of three pieces - 1. the large outer/top cap itself, 2. an inner black rubber seal piece that appears to have a vent hole in it, and 3. a white plastic washer/gasket/seal that acts as a retainer for the inner black rubber piece.

Over a year ago I had noticed a problem with the fuel cap assembly - the white plastic retainer had gotten misaligned, damaged (crack in it) and come loose, allowing the rubber and itself to fall out. I put it back together a couple of times when refueling but couldn't get the white retainer to properly sit in the groove where it's supposed to reside.

A couple of weeks ago I sent the wife in to the dealer to pick up a couple of bolts for the bottom holes in the ROPS which had fallen out. I also sent the white retainer along ..... but unfortunately the dealer didn't have it in stock ..... so I just left it out and continued to use the tractor.

Apparently (I assume) part of the white retainer purpose is to provide venting for the tank.

Yesterday morning when I went out the first thing I was going to do was replace the fuel filter. I started to unscrew the fuel filter and it started sucking alot of air ..... so I screwed it back on tight and went to fuel cap on the tank and unscrewed it ......... big vacuum and lotsa sucking there.

When I got the cap unscrewed and the vacuum released, I heard a very distinct "clunk" ..... which I assume was the fuel level sender's float falling down ..... the fuel gauge had been showing over half full when all this occurred ...... which I thought was kinda odd ..... since it had been awhile since I refueled.

The tank was bone dry .... this is the first time I've ever run any diesel out of fuel.

I refueled and hit the key and it fired right up, stumbled a bit and then smoothed right out.

DOH !