If it’s gelled fuel, how would I get past this? Warming the whole tractor? I know it’s winterized diesel, I’m in NW Colorado and it’s labeled at the pump.
I’m going to drain the fuel again so I remove any 911. Is it a bad idea to use my mityvac to apply vacuum to the exit hose past the bleed screw?
We still have weeks of low temps. I can rig a tarp surround, but a little concerned about running an electric heater.
I sure understand what you are saying ! My thoughts in post #46 are that while you were working in the snow that day when it quit on you that the fuel probably gelled at that point. The symptoms match what I have had when fuel gelled on me twice in the past. If you were running winterized fuel at that point (and it must be from being labeled so at the pump) then I must be wrong and it must be something else. You have the experience in your NW CO environs with that and you probably have reason to trust the winterized label. Down here in "marginal" parts of the country where it very rarely gets cold enough to gel diesel fuel the winterization label cannot be trusted and is often a verbal claim by the gas station with no labels.
The gel effect probably varies quite a bit with how cold the outside air temp (OAT) was/is. Do you know how cold it was when the tractor quit on you? Would have had to be below 15 deg F for gel. My 2 data points where the diesel chugged sputtered & quit on me (and would then restart only for a few seconds) were in one case crossing a mountain ridge (in WV) where the OAT went from about 20 deg down to ~ 11 degrees. The other was an overnight case in northern VT where it went to 10 below zero, I had an engine heater in place and it started right up with ease next morn but then chugged sputtered & quit about 1/4 mile down the road and 10 minutes later. These were both in a VW 4 cyl diesel. The WV fuel was probably NOT winterized and the VT fuel certainly should have been.
Back closer to your situation, I have been struggling to think what I would do. If you are confident that the fuel winterization in your area is adequate (not just marked but adequate) then I'm barking up the wrong tree and it must not have been gel issues. With the severe cold you have mentioned surely others around you there would have gel issues and if not then the winterization must be adequate. For sure I'd ask around in your neck of the woods -- be it tractors, diesel sedans or heavy equipment. People must know.
When thinking "low temp and gel" like you I could not figure out how I would get past it other than to warm up the whole machine somehow (which was why I asked about using another tractor to tow it into a warm work area.) Then the idea of installing an in-line coolant heater in one of the radiator hoses. Understand being concerned about putting an electric heater under a tarp -- if done that would need careful installation and just might not work anyway. I have no opinions about using the mityvac.
Why would you drain the fuel again if it has 911 in it and was almost certainly winterized anyway?
As I mentioned in post #34 the guy named gstrom99 seemed to be right that we saw enough fuel squirting in your video that it ought to run the engine. His idea of opening the injector lines one at a time on the output side of the injection pump should prove once and for all whether you have fuel being injected or not and also serves to flush anything out of the injection pump if it will move the fluid. Nothing much is more picky about moving fluid than an injection pump so if it moves the fuel that says a lot. I would think also that gstrom99's suggestion -- about bleeding each high pressure injection line -- would vindicate the controls and solenoids and whatever that might be stopping flow. Either works or it don't.
In my already-too-long-comment... one last thing, I'd be careful not to do damage to your starter motor. Rest it when you can because this whole incident is putting some abnormal strain on the starter and related.
