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.

 

[ruffdog]

I think one of the hex screws on top of the filter is to bleed fuel to that point. Are you getting fuel there?

 

[955Lincoln]

I think one of the hex screws on top of the filter is to bleed fuel to that point. Are you getting fuel there?

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.

 

[denchen]

There's sometimes a small amount of water in some diesels. After sitting for a long time the water will settle to the bottom, then when you try and start, this water will be drawn in first. I would go for a full drain down, fill with new diesel and flush through the pumps and injectors before trying to start. Me, I would put the old diesel through a filter and water seperator funnel, then use it after I've run the motor a while.

 

[hosspuller]

How cold is it there? Cold does several bad things to diesels.
1. The fuel gells
2. Any water, freezes blocking lines and filters.

That the engine ran for a short time says, injection pump to injectors was okay. Initial focus should be insuring clean fuel to the injection pump.

 

[955Lincoln]

There's sometimes a small amount of water in some diesels. After sitting for a long time the water will settle to the bottom, then when you try and start, this water will be drawn in first. I would go for a full drain down, fill with new diesel and flush through the pumps and injectors before trying to start. Me, I would put the old diesel through a filter and water seperator funnel, then use it after I've run the motor a while.

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?

 

[955Lincoln]

How cold is it there? Cold does several bad things to diesels.
1. The fuel gells
2. Any water, freezes blocking lines and filters.

That the engine ran for a short time says, injection pump to injectors was okay. Initial focus should be insuring clean fuel to the injection pump.

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.

 

[Hall00]

You don't need a special funnel.

General diesel troubleshooting steps are what should be done now. Anything else is a waste of time and money.

Get a new fuel filter if you haven't. Drain the tank at the lowest point, probably going into the filter. With the hose off, pour some fresh diesel into tank and flush any crud out until you have clean fuel. Then replace filter and try priming.

You may need to crack each injector feed line to get the air out. Google how to do that. Only back off the nut a 1/4 turn or so. The idea is to get all trapped air out of the lines and through the injection pump up to the injectors. There will be bubbly diesel and then solid stream. It might help to have a second person to bump the starter for this, depending on layout.

 

[denchen]

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?

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.

 

[955Lincoln]

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.

 

[denchen]

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.