I went to the property for another reason and I was a bit rushed. Just wanted to run the tractor engine while I was doing other things. I agree, it does look like a bleeder and one of the first things I will do when I make it back up there. I also have a full maintenance manual that I can't get my hands on at the moment.
I'll start at the tank and see how it goes, depending on what kind of yuck I find. If I get to the pump and injectors maybe the manual will fill me in on how to do that. In the "bad diesel" thread a few mentioned the Mr. Funnel. Do you have any experience with that?
I was there during a warm spell in the low 70's. Over the years generally 30's 20's but sometimes down in the teens.
Im not sure what `Mr Funnel` is on your State side of the pond. What I have is a large plastic funnel with a very fine guage filter in the bottom. My filter will let diesel or petrol [gas] through, but is that fine it will not let crud or water through. Most agriculture/tractor `shops` sell them here, they are not very expensive. I always use mine when I fill up. Again,what I would do in your situation, is drain your system completely, new diesel filter. new fresh diesel, a gallon or two, through my funnel, then when the tractor started, let it run a bit, then filter the old diesel I had took out. and stick it back in.
I heard about it a few days ago from another thread. It sounds similar to yours, blocking debris and water. So do you think diesel is OK no matter how old it is if contaminates are removed? I'm stressed out about a Caterpillar that is stored outside with a 70 gallon tank. I have always kept the tank full but I don't have the equipment to dispose of that much fuel except in portions.
Provided the diesel that gets to the engine is clear of water and free of any crud, I don't think it matters how old it is. I was brought upon my dads small farm, and it was cheaper for him to have delivered a big tank full at a time. Sometimes that diesel was years old before it see the tractors, and if the price dropped, dad would order more because it was cheap and stick it on top of the old stuff. I had a small fishing boat, and sometimes the diesel had been in drums 8 - 10 years before it was used, Saying that my boat did have a water filter before the fuel filter. But, whenever I used to top up, I used to always put it through my `filter funnel`, and carefully left any crud and water in the bottom of the drums. The older diesel engines will almost run on any type of oil. You can see on Youtube how to make it out of old `fries` and cooking oil. Modern common rail engines are a bit more delicate, but in your case I definately would not be throwing your old diesel away. On my boat I used to add Stihl 2 stroke oil to the diesel. I thought the engine run a bit `oilier` and better, but never had any proof.
