Oil & Fuel L6060 trash in fuel tank

[Complete Turf Care]

My L6060 has 82 hours on it now. My son in law was using it and said it ran out of fuel. It was low, but not empty. We added fuel and it ran fine for about 20 minutes then seemed to be starving for fuel again.

I changed the fuel filter. I've had this sort of thing happen before when I got trash in the filter from my steel transfer tank. That's a whole other issue for another thread.

Anyway, the tractor still would not run with the new filter. I noticed that no fuel was getting to the water separator. We pulled the inlet hose off of the water separator and blew air into it back into the tank then reconnected the hose and the separated filled up with fuel.....

That means there is trash in the tank. UGH.....

On the L6060 there are actually 2 tanks that are connected by a hose that is about 2". I think that if I remove this hose (which looks to be fairly easy) I can drain the tanks.

It will be a couple of days before I can get back on this, but I'll post updates when I can.

 

[Wagtail]

Put an 'inspection camera' down into the fuel tank to confirm.

Auto parts stores usually sell them... especially ones that can be immersed in fluids. These cameras have other uses, so having one is not a 'one off' purchase.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I had the same issue with debris in an old steel bulk tank. It appeared to be mostly rust scale. I don't know whether it came from my tank or the fuel delivery truck. In any case, I installed a spin on fuel filter on the tank hose and the problem disappeared. The steel tank eventually rusted through and was replaced with a poly unit. I still use the filter though.

I'm not sure why but the fuel tank fill pipe is much longer and larger in diameter than necessary on my L6060. If you try an inspection camera, it will need to be at least 36" long. When fueling, there is plenty of room around the fill nozzle for dirt and debris to enter. I caught a leaf from blowing in once when fueling on a windy day.

Please keep us posted on how you make out flushing your tank and also what type of debris is involved.

 

[MHarryE]

You blew back through the line and I assume now are running but need to clean out the junk. Since your tractor is quite new, there is a chance the plug was manufacturing debris. When they machine holes in the tank after molding, the tooling can leave debris that, due to static charge, is difficult to clean. We took the outlet line off one and blew a wad of fine plastic cuttings about 6 inches long from the tube.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Thanks for the replies. My plan is to rig up a 12 volt pump and suck as much fuel out as I can. Then remove the crossover hose and see what else I can get out.

There is a 'check' valve in the crossover hose to prevent fuel from moving back from the left tank to the right tank. The right tank is where it is filled, and the left tank is where the fuel is sucked up to the filter.

I will post my progress.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I was able to work on this project today. First, I found an old tank with a 12 volt pump on it. I cleaned it out and ran a little bit of old diesel through it. Then I stuck the suction into the right tank and sucked out what I could. I probably got 5 or 6 gallons out.



Then I removed the guard that protects the crossover hose that connects the left and right tanks.


Next, I slipped my old spray tank under where the crossover hose connects to the left tank. Remember, there is a check valve near the right tank that prevents fuel from moving from the left to the right tank, but it allows fuel to move from the right to the left. Then I slipped the hose off of the left tank and let it drain into my spray tank. This is where a little diesel spilled. I only got a few drops on my lips.....



Then I went to the water separator and blew air back into the left tank. This is what we had done to get the tractor running again. After blowing air, I ran some diesel back into the left tank from my spray tank. Actually, I did this twice.



I also ran a bit of fuel through the right tank. I did stick a camera into the left tank while I had the crossover hose off, but that didn't work at all.
This pic is a bit of what I found in the little tub after pushing some fuel backwards through the left tank. However, the crossover hose is not connected all the way on the bottom of the left tank. It is about 1" above the bottom, so there is no way to completely drain it unless I would completely remove it. I did not want to attempt that just yet.



And this last pic is what was in the bottom of my spray tank after I pumped all the fuel back into the tractor. You can see a few tiny specs of dirt in the bottom. I ran it for about 20 minutes in the shop and had no issues. I don't know for sure if I have solved my problem yet. Overall this project was fairly easy, especially with the spray tank.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Consider installing an inline oil lifter on the discharge of the transfer tank to prevent this from happening again.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I do have a filter on the discharge of the transfer tank. And I change it fairly often. Sometimes it looks like mud in the clear plastic bowl that holds the filter.

I wonder if this is rust, or is it fungus that forms in diesel tanks? I'm going to start another thread with this question.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I used the tractor for about 5 hours yesterday with no issues. At the end of the day, I did refuel it from my transfer tank.

Hopefully the issue is resolved.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I put a few more hours on it today. Still no problems.:confused3: