HELP!! Early Mahindra 4500 sluggish, slow to get to rpm, no power with any load

[Miklo]

Okay, so ive been dealing with this for a month now. I cannot figure out whats going on. So let me tell you first what happened, and then what ive done.
I was mowing my pasture on 3/4 of a tank, it ran fine for 2 hours then started acting like it was wanting to bog down (like it would when mowing a thick patch). I disengaged pto and lifted mower and start to drive off, but it was still sluggish and underpowered. So i brought it back to my shop, did some reading on the interwebs and decided to do the following:
--drained the fuel to check for the tank lining particles. There were definitely particles in the fuel
-- changed both fuel filters,
-- i checked for the strainer on the bottom of the tank (which i guess was taken out by previous owner),
--took out all the fuel lines and blow them out (no obstructions),
--removed fuel bowl strainer on fuel injection pump(clean),
--took out fuel injectors and took them apart and cleaned and blew air through (sure, seems okay),
--checked air filters (a little dirty, blew with air) and ran without filters same result.

today i had to run my tractor and try to limp it along to get something off my truck using the fork lifts, which i did, but i noticed the temperature gauge never moved.
could that related? maybe a temp sensor? could my radiator thermostat be stuck open?

anyone have any idea? im at loss, the only thing i can think of is maybe the injectors themselves, which are $350 (ridiculous) each!

 

[Miklo]

oh yeah, i've bleed the lines at the injectors. Turned engine on, cracked lines(on injectors) one at a time until fuel sprayed in my face, then tightened

 

[JerryK]

Have you looked at the air cleaner? Usually loosing power is fuel or air related. I have had rubber air intake tubes collapse over time, and mouse nests/plunged air filters sometimes sneak up on you, too. Only other thing I could think of is possibly a final screen just internal to the injector pump, but usually any tank crud ends at the fuel filters [ and hate to see you have to open up the fuel lines again/re-prime ], or maybe one of your hydraulic control levers not in neutral position. Good Luck, Jerry

 

[oldpilgrim]

isn't there a problem with those models and their woven fuel lines sucking air ? Seems there was a lot of talk about that.

 

[Miklo]

Have you looked at the air cleaner? Usually loosing power is fuel or air related. I have had rubber air intake tubes collapse over time, and mouse nests/plunged air filters sometimes sneak up on you, too. Only other thing I could think of is possibly a final screen just internal to the injector pump, but usually any tank crud ends at the fuel filters [ and hate to see you have to open up the fuel lines again/re-prime ], or maybe one of your hydraulic control levers not in neutral position. Good Luck, Jerry

ive looked at the air filter, and even ran without the air filter without any change in how it ran.

 

[Miklo]

i heard that as well from a mahindra dealership mechanic. When i blew out the fuel lines i plugged one end and felt for any air leaks. I did not notice any air leaks.

 

[oldpilgrim]

i heard that as well from a mahindra dealership mechanic. When i blew out the fuel lines i plugged one end and felt for any air leaks. I did not notice any air leaks.

I don't know, but as I remember, the leak only showed with air going into the hose, not fuel ccoming out. It sucked air but didn't leak fuel somehow.

The line is not pressurized but is a supply line .