Bolens G154 ( Iseki TX2140 ) fuel line broken now won't start after repair

Ilikeurtractor · Jun 5, 2012

Ilikeurtractor,
When isolating the injectors, what do I do to the hard lines? I can't have them open or capped I assume.

No, you won't want to cap them. Just back them off a couple of turns and put a rag or catch pan under the connections to collect the leakage is what I do.

JoeBuyer · Jun 6, 2012

So tighten the one I want then and leave the other two loose? Got it.

284 International · Jun 6, 2012

I think what Ilikeurtractor was saying is that you can isolate what cylinder is making/not making smoke. If the fuel from an injector is leaking out of the hardline, it is NOT making smoke by burning in the cylinder. Having two loose at once means you're looking at what the individual cylinder is doing. No smoke means you have a problem: whether a bum injector, hanging valve, or something is amiss.

So, do it exactly as you say. Have two injector lines loose, and one tight, then work your way through all three injectors. One nice thing about this is it makes good and well certain the lines are bled.

My prediction is you have trouble with the glow plugs. Whether it's a wiring issue or a bad ignitor or two, that's my vote. I bet with some heat, a good battery and some rapid spinning, it will cough to life. Stick with it, and don't resort to ether. You'll get it!

NHmitch · Jun 6, 2012

284 International said:
I think what Ilikeurtractor was saying is that you can isolate what cylinder is making/not making smoke. If the fuel from an injector is leaking out of the hardline, it is NOT making smoke by burning in the cylinder. Having two loose at once means you're looking at what the individual cylinder is doing. No smoke means you have a problem: whether a bum injector, hanging valve, or something is amiss.

So, do it exactly as you say. Have two injector lines loose, and one tight, then work your way through all three injectors. One nice thing about this is it makes good and well certain the lines are bled.

My prediction is you have trouble with the glow plugs. Whether it's a wiring issue or a bad ignitor or two, that's my vote. I bet with some heat, a good battery and some rapid spinning, it will cough to life. Stick with it, and don't resort to ether. You'll get it!

Very good suggestions, and I agree, I have head stories about ether, (starting fluid), ruining these engines. I hope that this works for you, and you can get it running soon! Stevens tractor sells the glow plugs for $25 a piece, and I have bought quite a bit from them for my Bolens, so they are a good company. Let us know how it goes!Glow Plugs

JoeBuyer · Jun 16, 2012

I have this tractor on a remote farm and I was able to get there today and spend an hour or so on it. I will spend more time tomorrow. I was able electrically isolate each glow plug and measure each's current draw. Each immediately drew about 17 amps and settled out at around 11 amps in about 5 seconds. I could not get a socket over the glow plug head due to the valve cover being offset somewhat and not allowing a socket to go on. But with almost equal current draw characteristics, I am not thinking (guessing) glow plugs are my problem. One interesting thing I noted was that after cranking it seems to want to start and even chugs about three times on its own once I stop cranking. I also was wondering what would happen if I moved the throttle to "stop" while cranking. I did this and the smoke stopped and the cranking was more labored. So I believe I have combustion of some sort.

I also loosened up each hard line to each injector to again check if I had an actual stream of fluid pulsing out. I did not see what I expected, where the diesel would spray out of the injector nut. Eventually I took the nut completely off each injector and only a "strong drip" of diesel was coming out of each hard line. Each line was about the same. This is such a small engine I do not know if this is normal flow. It is sounding to me like I have an injector pump problem. There must be a gauge I can buy to check the injector pump pressure. I have the Mitsubishi KA3 engine and I hope I don't need a new pump. I sure would like to get the little guy running.

284 International · Jun 17, 2012

There won't be spray spurting everywhere. There should be distinct pulses of fuel, though. My Satoh's K3A was hard to start when I first got it. It took a couple bleedings and cycles through the opened injectors. The only way I could start it was with a battery booster on high. After operating it for a few hours, though, it starts readily after 5 seconds or so on the glow plugs.

Ilikeurtractor · Jun 17, 2012

JoeBuyer said:
I have this tractor on a remote farm and I was able to get there today and spend an hour or so on it. I will spend more time tomorrow. I was able electrically isolate each glow plug and measure each's current draw. Each immediately drew about 17 amps and settled out at around 11 amps in about 5 seconds. I could not get a socket over the glow plug head due to the valve cover being offset somewhat and not allowing a socket to go on. But with almost equal current draw characteristics, I am not thinking (guessing) glow plugs are my problem. One interesting thing I noted was that after cranking it seems to want to start and even chugs about three times on its own once I stop cranking. I also was wondering what would happen if I moved the throttle to "stop" while cranking. I did this and the smoke stopped and the cranking was more labored. So I believe I have combustion of some sort.

I also loosened up each hard line to each injector to again check if I had an actual stream of fluid pulsing out. I did not see what I expected, where the diesel would spray out of the injector nut. Eventually I took the nut completely off each injector and only a "strong drip" of diesel was coming out of each hard line. Each line was about the same. This is such a small engine I do not know if this is normal flow. It is sounding to me like I have an injector pump problem. There must be a gauge I can buy to check the injector pump pressure. I have the Mitsubishi KA3 engine and I hope I don't need a new pump. I sure would like to get the little guy running.

It would be awfully ironic that the injector pump went out the same time you snagged the fuel line with a branch. You should see more than a drip come out of the injector lines (with some throttle) when they are removed. I would suspect air yet at this point. Air will come out of the discharge side of the pump on it's own (from the pump to the injectors). The feed side can be stubborn to get air out of and will need to be bled.

JoeBuyer · Jun 18, 2012

I wasn't "allowed" to get to this yesterday, being fathers day, so I will get back to it on my next trip out there. Any suggestions on what to try next? Is there any other way to burp the air out of the little guy? I have read about using a hair dryer aimed into the air filter intake to get better quality combustion. I also know they make magnetic block heaters that I could slap onto the block a few hours ahead of trying to start it.

63DH8 · Jun 20, 2012

Didja get it started? 13 years experience as a diesel mech here.

Sometimes it's the simple things that'll bite you in the rear. First, when you bled the system, you should have gotten a strong gravity fed stream from the fuel system at the bleed screws, not a spray, but more of a strong dribble at the very least. If you're getting a few drips every few seconds, you have a clog or some-sort of restriction some-wheres. Do NOT turn the engine over while bleeding the system! You'll only introduce air into the system. If you didn't get a strong gravity fed stream, check to see if the fuel valve is in the "on" position. I know this sounds obvious, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen people not notice they accidently turned the fuel off. Also check the fuel line you installed. It may have something in it. I've seen mud wasps plug hoses that were later used as fuel lines. If this happened in the fuel line between the filter and pump, you may have major problems.

Glow plugs... Use your ohm meter. Remove the lead to the glowplug. Place one lead to the engine block or the negative post of your battery. Place the other on the pigtail end of the glowplug. The circuit should show some resistance. If you get zero, the glowplug needs replacing. If the reading shows you're getting some resistance, go on to see if you're getting juice to the leads where they clip onto the glowplug. I can't tell you what the readings should be because I don't know the values on the plugs and the glowplug preheat signal thing.