MillSap90
New member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2025
- Messages
- 1
- Tractor
- Massey Ferguson 231 / John Deere 5055E
89 Massey Ferguson 231 one owner since birth. Only been used for bush hogging and food plots.
Over the years, the simple maintenance was always done. Filters, oil, grease, etc. but it started leaking fuel from somewhere on the back or bottom of the injection pump about 10 years ago. Tractor still ran fine and ALWAYS fired on barely a click of the key. I just let it leak.
6 years ago, after a long hard weekend on ole red, it died on me in the field. Tried to bleed off fuel system and check basics but no start. I was short on time and tools and just left it there for a month.
When I got back to it, I put a fresh battery in and after a lot of churning, it fired off and ran completely normal.
In the meantime, I had bought a new tractor. I still cranked ole red here and there but never worked her hard. Cranked and ran like day one.
This weekend I broke ole red out and worked her hard for two days straight. Disking and planting several acres. On the end of the second day, ole red died and I can’t make since of the symptoms. It seems to be the same as the last time she died.
SYMPTOMS:
The tractor had a high idle all of day 2. I checked the throttle linkages and the arm at the pump and it was in the normal idle position. It was idling around 1100-1300rpm.
There were no other symptoms of anything out of the ordinary until 10 seconds before death.
10 seconds before it died, the idle did seem to lose stability and go up and down slightly (as in i was able to notice something was happening) and then clunk.
I took the lift pump off to check the diaphragm and verify fuel flow from the tank and to the filter. I didn’t remove or swap the filter as I am in a remote area with no parts yet. I verified fuel flow to the pump. I bled the lines and fuel filter whilst pumping the lift pump. Then bled the pump and injectors and never got it to fire.
Has anyone run into something similar?
Over the years, the simple maintenance was always done. Filters, oil, grease, etc. but it started leaking fuel from somewhere on the back or bottom of the injection pump about 10 years ago. Tractor still ran fine and ALWAYS fired on barely a click of the key. I just let it leak.
6 years ago, after a long hard weekend on ole red, it died on me in the field. Tried to bleed off fuel system and check basics but no start. I was short on time and tools and just left it there for a month.
When I got back to it, I put a fresh battery in and after a lot of churning, it fired off and ran completely normal.
In the meantime, I had bought a new tractor. I still cranked ole red here and there but never worked her hard. Cranked and ran like day one.
This weekend I broke ole red out and worked her hard for two days straight. Disking and planting several acres. On the end of the second day, ole red died and I can’t make since of the symptoms. It seems to be the same as the last time she died.
SYMPTOMS:
The tractor had a high idle all of day 2. I checked the throttle linkages and the arm at the pump and it was in the normal idle position. It was idling around 1100-1300rpm.
There were no other symptoms of anything out of the ordinary until 10 seconds before death.
10 seconds before it died, the idle did seem to lose stability and go up and down slightly (as in i was able to notice something was happening) and then clunk.
I took the lift pump off to check the diaphragm and verify fuel flow from the tank and to the filter. I didn’t remove or swap the filter as I am in a remote area with no parts yet. I verified fuel flow to the pump. I bled the lines and fuel filter whilst pumping the lift pump. Then bled the pump and injectors and never got it to fire.
Has anyone run into something similar?
