Oil & Fuel Water in my diesel?

[BellyUpFish]

Im "fairly new" to tractor "ownership." My father has a Massey 4243 I get to use, so a couple days ago I used the tractor the move some trees to a burn pile, put her up for the night and wanted to use it the next day to clean up said burn pile..

Needed some diesel, so I ran to a nearby gas station and grabbed 15 gallons and poured it in the tractor and off to work I went, well it had rained the previous night and was just too muddy to do anything so I quit.

Well, pops went to do some work today and the thing is acting fairly oddly.

Low, very low on power. Throttle response is next to zero. Doesn't seem to matter where you put it, it takes forever to respond and then it wants to sorta run out the top of the RPM band.

So, the tractor was parked.

Does this sound at all like water in the diesel? Apparently the gas station I got the diesel from to begin with is suspect.

Tomorrow I'm draining the fuel, replacing filters, draining the lines as best I can and looking for a Racor.

Good times.

 

[Wagtail]

My first question would be about what the fuel bowl indicates. I'm not familiar with the 4243 (other than what TractorData.com tells me) but on my rig, if there's water present, a red ring floats up and is visible through the bowl.

If you suspect water... after having all of the fun you're planning for tomorrow, I'd throw in a 'biocide' treatment into the tank too. Aside from killing any biological nasties that may foul the tank, many treatments will also clean the valves & injectors. I'd recommend a brand but I don't know what's available in the US.

 

[davesl708]

As Wagtail mentioned. Us an additive to clean the system out. Power Service has several treatments to get the bad stuff out. There are other brands as well.
Also, might be a good ideal to get a Mr. funnel to clean the fuel before it gets into the tank.

 

[Egon]

Drain the tank and let the diesel sit till it separates with the water on the bottom. Then syphon the diesel out and discard the dirty portion. Also drain filters and injector pump. Add a stabilizer to the newly filled tank.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Low power and poor throttle response are not necessarily water in the fuel. When is the last time you changed the fuel filter and drained the water separator(if you have one)? Make sure you have adequate fuel flow from the tank. There's a strainer in there that can clog. Since you live in a warm, humid climate, water condensation in the tank can occur and you can minimize this by keeping the tank full. There are several problems caused by water in the fuel. Bacteria can live at the water/fuel interface and can cause a snotty looking crud to form in the fuel tank that clogs the strainer and the filter(s). This will reduce fuel delivery and limit power output. Also, any water that gets to the injector pump can cause damage to the pump components.
So clean your fuel system from tank to injectors, try to keep your fuel tank as full as possible to minimize condensation, treat your fuel with an additive with a biocide, drain the water out of the filter and/or water separator regularly and you can minimize these fuel contamination issues.

 

[Shaneard]

Stupid question here, are you sure you got diesel from the store? I know some stores have green nozzles on their gas pumps. Smell your cans, do they smell like diesel or gas? Water will make it skip, it won't make it run the RPM's up.

 

[BellyUpFish]

Stupid question here, are you sure you got diesel from the store? I know some stores have green nozzles on their gas pumps. Smell your cans, do they smell like diesel or gas? Water will make it skip, it won't make it run the RPM's up.

I don't think the fuel is actually making the rpms run high, it's just making the throttle response terrible. I didn't explain that very well.

I wish I could say I put gasoline in it, but this was diesel. Stand alone diesel pump away from all the gasoline.

 

[Musdalen]

I don't think your problem is water either. At least in a gas engine that would not explain what you are seeing. A clogged fuel line or filter, perhaps, but not water.

 

[BellyUpFish]

Low power and poor throttle response are not necessarily water in the fuel. When is the last time you changed the fuel filter and drained the water separator(if you have one)? Make sure you have adequate fuel flow from the tank. There's a strainer in there that can clog.

Fuel filter was changed 3-4 years ago. Apparently my dad has had this issue in the past, just not as bad and a fuel filter sorted it out.

Fuel filter is going to be replaced, I'll see about the tank strainer as well.