2240 cold start

[willy44]

Hello everyone, here in Michigan it is getting colder as I'm sure a lot of you experienced and the snow is immanent. That being said I bought my 2240 earlier this year when it was warm and I am new to the compact and diesel tractor world. This past week it was below freezing (around 25 degrees) and when I start it up it doesn't run smooth, it pops and acts like it wants to idle fast and I haven't touched the throttle and it is set to idle. I am curious if this is caused by the tractor being a 3 cylinder or if there is something going wrong (injectors, injection pump). Now after it warms up for 10 minutes it quits popping and runs like a champ. I should say that the tractor only has 2100 hours on it and the lift pump was replaced once. The tractor doesn't have any glow plugs but it does have a coolant heater and that helps but I put it in a new pole barn without power otherwise I would use it. The tractor isn't hard to start I am just concerned about what is causing the popping action. Thanks and I hope everyone has a good winter.

 

[fuel doctor]

Hello everyone, here in Michigan it is getting colder as I'm sure a lot of you experienced and the snow is immanent. That being said I bought my 2240 earlier this year when it was warm and I am new to the compact and diesel tractor world. This past week it was below freezing (around 25 degrees) and when I start it up it doesn't run smooth, it pops and acts like it wants to idle fast and I haven't touched the throttle and it is set to idle. I am curious if this is caused by the tractor being a 3 cylinder or if there is something going wrong (injectors, injection pump). Now after it warms up for 10 minutes it quits popping and runs like a champ. I should say that the tractor only has 2100 hours on it and the lift pump was replaced once. The tractor doesn't have any glow plugs but it does have a coolant heater and that helps but I put it in a new pole barn without power otherwise I would use it. The tractor isn't hard to start I am just concerned about what is causing the popping action. Thanks and I hope everyone has a good winter.

You may have bad injectors also the fast idle some idle up till it starts warming up a little. Take pour some automatic transmission fluid in your fuel bout 1 qt to 10 gallon of fuel that will help to clean up fuel system

 

[willy44]

It will pop at high idle too, I can throttle it up and it will still pop just a little father between the pops. I have heard that kerosene will act like ATF fluid in that it burns hotter than diesel and cleans everything.

 

[AKfish]

It will pop at high idle too, I can throttle it up and it will still pop just a little father between the pops. I have heard that kerosene will act like ATF fluid in that it burns hotter than diesel and cleans everything.

Diesel engines are prone to running rough and more difficult to start in cold temps as a result of the fact they require combustion pressure to ignite the fuel. And the flash point - volatility of diesel fuel is much lower than gasoline, etc. Hence, they don't just 'crack' right off.

Kerosene is more volatile than diesel and will ignite quicker; but, it does not provide the same degree of lubrication to the high pressure injection pump or the internal components of the engine that diesel fuel provides either.

IMO - you would be better served to run an extension cord to your tractor and plug in the block heater for an hour or two before you're ready to use it. As well, I think you (and your tractor) would benefit more by including a fuel supplement like PowerService, (there are other brands, too) instead of either AT or kerosene.

The fuel supplement/conditioner can help with moisture, additional lubrication as well as increased cetane.

AKfish

 

[Zebrafive]

My 2030 will not start at that temp without being plugged in. How ever it does not pop.

 

[Tx Jim]

Ditto what AKfish stated about adding fuel conditioner and utilizing coolant heater. I doubt with only 2100 hrs that the injectors are bad.

 

[fieldman12]

Plug it in for a couple hours.Then it should start pretty smooth. If it still runs rough you have some kind of issue. It is possible maybe the popping is actually it not getting good fuel flow from the tank because of some bleed off. Typically they dont make a pop sound though. Verify hoses are tight and have no cracks. Does it have starting issue if warm outside?

 

[willy44]

Im thinking plugging it in is the best option, AKfish thanks for the advice I hadn,t really thought about any fuel supliments, any recomendations as to the best one.Fieldman12 it doesnt have any problems starting or idleing when its warm out, it just takes right off. Is this just a 3cyl problem do you think?

 

[Tx Jim]

Is this just a 3cyl problem do you think?

NO it's not a problem caused from being a 3 cyl engine.

 

[grainger12002]

My 2240 never liked the cold, started up o.k., but acted similar to yours, plug it when you can, helps a lot to have a warm water jacket
I always preferred the 3020 over the 2240 for snow removal, that had over 8,000 on it smoked a bit, but ran great warm or cold

 

[willy44]

Im going to put power to the barn this week so it will be plugged in from now on. I had a chance to buy a 3020 but I went with the 2240 because it had a loader and the 3020 didnt. I was concerned it was a 3 cyl problem because I have opperated but not owned a 4440 and a few other 6 cyl diesel tractors (IH , oliver) and none of them had any problems when cold. Thanks for all the advice it is greatly appreciated.

 

[Tx Jim]

The 4 cylinder engines have either a balancer box(3020) or balancer shafts in (Dubuque/Mannheim/Saran) engines that can fail and cause problems

 

[fieldman12]

You just need to use the block heater and you will be fine. I thought you where trying to say it still did not start great with the block heater plugged in. I went back and read your post again. I read where it was in a new barn with no electric yet.

 

[Zebrafive]

If you know that you will be using the tractor at a certain time, put a timer on the heater and set it to start a couple hours before you want to use it. Rather than plugging it in full time.

 

[buickanddeere]

Hello everyone, here in Michigan it is getting colder as I'm sure a lot of you experienced and the snow is immanent. That being said I bought my 2240 earlier this year when it was warm and I am new to the compact and diesel tractor world. This past week it was below freezing (around 25 degrees) and when I start it up it doesn't run smooth, it pops and acts like it wants to idle fast and I haven't touched the throttle and it is set to idle. I am curious if this is caused by the tractor being a 3 cylinder or if there is something going wrong (injectors, injection pump). Now after it warms up for 10 minutes it quits popping and runs like a champ. I should say that the tractor only has 2100 hours on it and the lift pump was replaced once. The tractor doesn't have any glow plugs but it does have a coolant heater and that helps but I put it in a new pole barn without power otherwise I would use it. The tractor isn't hard to start I am just concerned about what is causing the popping action. Thanks and I hope everyone has a good winter.

Find some way to supply power to the block heater.

 

[willy44]

The timer is a good idea, I might just try it.

 

[rocketfish]

If you know that you will be using the tractor at a certain time, put a timer on the heater and set it to start a couple hours before you want to use it. Rather than plugging it in full time.

That's what I do with my diesel pick up in the winter. I have it set for a few hours before I need to leave for work. Starts easy and I actually have heat!!! My 05' dodge (5.9 cummins) takes forever to warm up!