Old Fuel in Diesel Tractor

[955Lincoln]

Hello all,

I goofed up and let my tractor sit for too many years and now it won't run. It has heaters, and after the dash light went out it started immediately like it always does. It idled well for about 15 seconds, shut off, and will no longer start. There is a primer lever on the side of the engine. I could feel light spring pressure but it didn't seem to be pumping any fuel. Best guess on the age of the off-road diesel is around 8 years. I siphoned the remaining out of the tank and didn't notice anything odd about the fuel or color. Remote location and I was there for another reason but didn't have the time or tools to do any troubleshooting.

If anyone has ever been through this before I would really appreciate some troubleshooting help and what to bring up with me next time. I have lots of gas experience but no diesel.

Thanks

 

[bmaverick]

Got no clue as to what tractor you have other than it's a diesel.

Diesel is only good for a year. Additives would extend it some.

I quit buying off-road diesel due to the tanks at the filling stations don't get a good turn over. 1 under ground tank of off-road can sit there for 2 or 3 years before it's refilled again. I don't trust the stuff sitting there that long and then in my tractor tank.

The freshest diesel would be at a popular truck stop like Flying J's, Pilot, T/A, Road Ranger etc off an interstate or busy US route.

 

[Roadworthy]

With the age of the diesel, drain the tank. There may be a buildup of crud at the tank outlet. If you can't drain the fuel you'll have to address that problem first. Replace the fuel with fresh fuel. Replace the fuel filter. Bleed the air out of the fuel lines then give it another try.

 

[bmaverick]

With the age of the diesel, drain the tank. There may be a buildup of crud at the tank outlet. If you can't drain the fuel you'll have to address that problem first. Replace the fuel with fresh fuel. Replace the fuel filter. Bleed the air out of the fuel lines then give it another try.

I just hope the injectors didn;t get clogged.

 

[955Lincoln]

Got no clue as to what tractor you have other than it's a diesel.

Diesel is only good for a year. Additives would extend it some.

I quit buying off-road diesel due to the tanks at the filling stations don't get a good turn over. 1 under ground tank of off-road can sit there for 2 or 3 years before it's refilled again. I don't trust the stuff sitting there that long and then in my tractor tank.

The freshest diesel would be at a popular truck stop like Flying J's, Pilot, T/A, Road Ranger etc off an interstate or busy US route.

I happened to catch a recent thread about diesel fuel after I posted mine that covers these issues. It was a small back road station. At the time I was using 5+ gallons per weekend in a larger piece of equipment so it was good savings.

 

[955Lincoln]

With the age of the diesel, drain the tank. There may be a buildup of crud at the tank outlet. If you can't drain the fuel you'll have to address that problem first. Replace the fuel with fresh fuel. Replace the fuel filter. Bleed the air out of the fuel lines then give it another try.

Thanks, I'll take a look in the tank, which is high up, and follow the outlet hose. The fuel filter hangs upside down so I can fill the new one with fresh fuel. The primer lever looks to be after the fuel filter flow wise. Is that mainly for bleeding air if the tractor was run out of fuel? It doesn't feel like it's pumping anything.

 

[Hall00]

If it's been sitting 8 years the fuel hose may have become brittle enough to suck air and starve the pump.

What year/make/model of tractor?

Ignore the "diesel is bad after x amount of time" crowd. Diesel can last for a long time, depending on storage conditions. At this point you don't know what is the issue.

Check if you have a solenoid on your injection pump.

 

[RalphVa]

Present low sulfur diesel would be good for a long time, as there are virtually no bad acters in the fuel after the heavy treatment to get the sulfur out.

You may have some before low sulfur. I'd drain the tank and replace the bowl filter and other filter if there is one. Could get some Chevron Techron to clean out the injectors. That's what I used in the 1983 Benz's tank after it sat for over 4 years. The engine was pinging before Techron added. Not after. Still burned out a valve, probably not fuel related.

 

[955Lincoln]

If it's been sitting 8 years the fuel hose may have become brittle enough to suck air and starve the pump.

What year/make/model of tractor?

Ignore the "diesel is bad after x amount of time" crowd. Diesel can last for a long time, depending on storage conditions. At this point you don't know what is the issue.

Check if you have a solenoid on your injection pump.

Not that it couldn't be bad again, but I replaced it about 10 years ago when I noticed it leaking.

It's a 2001 Carraro TRX6400 with a VM Motori 61HP engine.

Stored out of the weather in a barn. It has a 13 gallon plastic tank and there was about 2 gallons in the tank. Yes, I saw the big difference in opinions plus long term success/failure in the ongoing "diesel fuel" thread.

The starter motor freewheels when i try to start it, meaning the engine is trying to run with very little load on the starter, but stops when I let off of the key. I think whatever the ignition switch controls to allow fuel is working OK or it wouldn't try to start. The silver primer lever is just to the left of the white fuel filter but it doesn't feel like it's pumping any fuel. I actually heard little puffs of air coming out of the air filter when I pump it fast. No clue why it would do that.

 

[955Lincoln]

Present low sulfur diesel would be good for a long time, as there are virtually no bad acters in the fuel after the heavy treatment to get the sulfur out.

You may have some before low sulfur. I'd drain the tank and replace the bowl filter and other filter if there is one. Could get some Chevron Techron to clean out the injectors. That's what I used in the 1983 Benz's tank after it sat for over 4 years. The engine was pinging before Techron added. Not after. Still burned out a valve, probably not fuel related.

Thanks for the Chevron advice! I can't say for sure but it may be low sulfur. I may have heard the attendant complaining about a bad change in the fuel.