FX24D Not running

[mrrooj]

Hey All,

So I wanted to create this because I really don't have a clue as to what I'm doing with this broken down tractor. A little history: my father purchased this tractor when they moved to this property to help with weeding and moving stuff around on six acres. I bought the property from them and inherited the tractor and the weeds. Too little time and knowledge about tractors and maintenance and I ended up running it without enough oil (i think) and abandoning it in the field for a few years.

Shared album - Eric Rujiraviriyapinyo - Google Photos

Now that I have a little more time (and a lot more weeds) I'm trying to get this tractor up and running. What I recall was that the motor overheated so I shut it off and let it cool down, tried starting again, it started but had a noisier than normal motor sound (like stuff banging around in the motor). I ran it some more and then overheated and then I gave up. And it's been sitting ever since.

Six months ago my father visited and called a tractor mechanic and unfortunately I was not there at the time but my father said he was able to get it to crank but not start. He recalls the repair was major and didn't want to go that route.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I don't know much about engines and even less about diesel tractor engines. I'm hoping that I can get some help/opinions on what to do next and I'll try to provide as many photos and video of the process to help other (but mainly for myself) So apologies in advanced as I will ask some really stupid questions.

What it currently does(or doesn't) do:

The starter will turn the motor (very slowly in bursts) but no signs of starting.

What I've done so far:
Dragged it out of the field,
Removed the Loader
Checked the fluids and topped them off
Clean the Fuel filter and bowl
Removed the air filter
Removed the Valve cover
Removed all three injectors
Put a compression tester on each cylinder and recorded the numbers

I don't think I can add links to this forum so here is a gallery of all the photos and videos so far:
Yanmar FX24D - Google Photos

I'm pretty sure something mechanical is messed up from what I remember it sounding like. So I'm going to assume the worst.

I'll follow this post up with the compression test results.

 

[mrrooj]

Compression Test:

Im not sure if i did this correctly but i removed fuel lines from pump to injectors, then removed the connected collars that go back to the tank (is this where the excess fuel goes?) and then removed one injector. Using a diesel compression tool i got at harbor freight i was able to fit it into the existing hole and left the copper washer since it seemed like it needed it to make a good connection. The motor prior to this is cranking really slowly, especially now that the decompression fingers are no long there since the valve cover is off (im guessing you would want to use decomp while compression testing though) you will see in the video i took how its cranking as soon as i can post one.

With the tester in one cylinder and the other two cylinders occupied by the injectors the crank was the same, slow and choppy. The first cylinder (front of the motor) could barely get to 200 psi. Then i took the second injector off and left the first one open and got just over 200 engine cranking was a little better. By the third injector (back of the motor) and with the other two injectors left off so it was open, it cranked to 350ish. Just to see if the open injectors made a difference i retested the first cylinder and got close to 350 again.


1st cylinder:
Shared album - Eric Rujiraviriyapinyo - Google Photos
2nd cylinder:
Shared album - Eric Rujiraviriyapinyo - Google Photos
3rd cylinder:
Shared album - Eric Rujiraviriyapinyo - Google Photos
1st cylinder (with the other two injectors off)
Shared album - Eric Rujiraviriyapinyo - Google Photos


Was this the correct procedure to test?

Is 350 anywhere near where it should be?

Why is my motor cranking so irregular?

Battery is toast so throughout these tests i had it connected to my running truck.

Hopefully the next post i can add photos.

 

[winston1]

Your compression should be 500+psi @ around 300 rpm. You would do with with untested cylinders open to allow rapid rotation. Do not use decompression while testing.

 

[YanmarFever]

The clutch plate may be stuck also, since it sat for so looong.

 

[mrrooj]

Your compression should be 500+psi @ around 300 rpm. You would do with with untested cylinders open to allow rapid rotation. Do not use decompression while testing.

So, assuming my testing injector was seated properly and my test was done correctly, im well below what it needs to be. What are the next steps for finding out why the compression is so low? I can see the valve springs and rocker arms moving in sequence so the motor has not seized up right? Should i be looking at the starter next? or remove the head to see whats going on inside?

 

[mrrooj]

The clutch plate may be stuck also, since it sat for so looong.

Would a stuck clutch plate any anything to do with the motor struggling to turn over? I was able to drag the tractor in Neutral but only in reverse. It seems like the gears are engaged when trying to roll forward (does that make sense?)

 

[HoyeTractor]

Should i be looking at the starter next? or remove the head to see whats going on inside?

I think if it were me I would probably try to get the engine to turn over at a normal speed before I went much further. Maybe try some jumper cables and remove all 3 injectors. All piston rings will bleed off some compression and, the slower the engine turns over, the less compression it will be able build. It is a long shot but at least you could mark that off the list of possibilities. I would probably do a quick valve lash check also before I pulled the head. Another long shot but easy to check.

I would say that probably the last 4 out of 5 of those F20/22/24 engines that came through here with low compression had visibly egg shaped cylinders for some reason.

I don't think powershift tractors are supposed to be towed.

 

[California]

Just thinking about issues, a few diagnostic questions, pretty much repeating what Aaron (Hoye) said:

That clanking when you last ran it: Did you look at the dipstick then, or recently, to verify presence/absence of oil? Cranking now, does the oil light go out after 10 seconds?

Failure to start after long parking can be because the fuel system needs to be bled. Was that done before tearing things down?

Failure to start is often caused by low compression. If the engine hasn't run in a while then oil on the cylinder walls and behind the rings, which help maintain compression, isn't there.

Failure to start can be caused by slow cranking. (Faster cranking wouldn't leave so much time for compression to leak past the rings). Before tearing it down, did it crank noticeably faster using the compression release? Is it faster now with the injectors out? No improvement could be a weak starter.

Did you put the range selector (lever by right ankle) to neutral before towing? Does shifting that to neutral now let it crank faster? If the clutch is stuck so the starter has to turn the transmission, that could explain slow cranking.

Your failure happened suddenly, not over time, so I wouldn't suspect age/wear as the most likely issue. Increasing difficulty to get it started would be the symptom for excessive age.

That noise and the present failure to start can be related, but not necessarily. If it were me I would work on improving starting before tearing anything more down.


And not really a solution here but something I thought about after buying a replacement starter that was spec'd for a larger tractor: That new starter, same physical size but much higher rated KW output, cranks frantically fast. I think it could start a badly worn engine. This might be a cheapskate solution to get several more years use from a worn, hard to start engine before overhaul.

 

[mrrooj]

I think if it were me I would probably try to get the engine to turn over at a normal speed before I went much further. Maybe try some jumper cables and remove all 3 injectors. All piston rings will bleed off some compression and, the slower the engine turns over, the less compression it will be able build. It is a long shot but at least you could mark that off the list of possibilities. I would probably do a quick valve lash check also before I pulled the head. Another long shot but easy to check.

I would say that probably the last 4 out of 5 of those F20/22/24 engines that came through here with low compression had visibly egg shaped cylinders for some reason.

I don't think powershift tractors are supposed to be towed.

Just to recap, my battery is dead so all attempts were done with jumper cables. I did go ahead and try starting it with all three injectors off for comparison:
Shared album - Eric Rujiraviriyapinyo - Google Photos

I tried to capture the RPM in the video under 1,000 does that seem like a reasonable RPM for a good starter?

I found the Hoye article on valve adjustments:
Easiest way to set the valves on your Yanmar
So ill pick up some feeler gauges and give that a try. I attempted to move the flywheel with a socket wrench and it was somewhat difficult to get it to stay where i wanted it. it kept trying to rotate against the pressure. so im not confident that ill have much luck with that, but willing to try.


to answer California's questions:

1.) I did not look at the dipstick when it happened, but im pretty sure the oil light was on at the time. The tractor definitely has oil now. And yes one of the times i was cranking it the oil light did go out. (thats a good sign no?)
2.) Fuel bleed - prior to taking the valve cover off i did clean the fuel bowl, the filter was really disgusting, so i didnot put that back in, but my fuel pump has that lever to pump fuel, so i did open up the lines and pump the bowl full and make sure that fuel was pumping out where it connects after the bowl. I have these nuts with springs behind them are those some sort of air bleed feature?
3.) Yes, prior to teardown it would crank much better with the compression released, it looked very similar to the video i posted above with the injectors out.
4.) Range Selector, the lever by my right ankle is the 4wd lever right? i dont see neutral there Shared album - Eric Rujiraviriyapinyo - Google Photos i tried both on and off but i did make sure the transmission was in neutral. I think you may have something on the clutch being stuck and as mentioned earlier by tractorErnie.

I just tried with my daughter at the seat combinations of clutch on/off and 4wd on/off and again i was only able to get the tractor to freely roll backwards, forward will only roll if we engage the clutch pedal, but it feels like im pushing the transmission engaged, when we take the foot off the clutch it does not roll at all. Can anyone confirm if thats what happens with the clutch is stuck? doesnt really make sense to me, seems like it wouldnt roll either with clutch engaged or not. i tried googling it but not sure what is the best way to test for the clutch and how to unstick it

 

[mrrooj]

To add more info. I tried turning on the fuel and was hoping that it would shooting out of the pump but more like a little dribbles. Might be hard to see from the video but the three nozzles from the fuel pump and kinda dribbling out while cranking and with foot on the gas. Is this cause for concern? Seems like it may not matter if im having cranking issues, but thought i would mention it.
Shared album - Eric Rujiraviriyapinyo - Google Photos