Can this be repaired? If not, does replacement have to be exact OEM?

[ROUSTABOUT]

You shouldn't have any air problems. Just make sure fuel in tank is higher than everything else. Hook it all up. Put fuel in. Loosen a line or two and get flow. Things should still be fine from filter to injector pump
Don't crank it while it's apart. Air is a problem between the inj pump and the injector. If your fuel filter is still primed, should have no problem.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Hello to all the wonderful and helpful tractor folk on here. I am stuck with this "situation" on my 1996 Massey 1250.

About a month ago, I was doing my typical walk-around and noticed a strong diesel smell from the tractor. I saw a diesel spot on the ground (about 5" across) under the fuel filter area. I found a slow drop from the overflow tube. This has NEVER happened before. This tractor has never leaked anything from the engine.
So I changed the fuel filter, bowl gasket, and o-ring up inside the housing. When I was bleeding the air, the valve would not stop a steady drip unless I turned it to about 11 o'clock. It still drips slowly.
And now when I gun the engine a little, there's black smoke at first then it goes away. Is this from too much air from the valve being offset?
Since I'm paying so much attention to the filter housing, I've noticed a seepage of fuel around the valve handle. It's very slow, but it's there.
My thought is that maybe there is an o-ring or gasket behind the valve handle? The one on the tractor doesn't show a gasket like the new one in the photo. There's a screw that looks like it goes directly into contact with the handle, so is that a way to remove the handle and repair a leak? Would a faulty "seat" cause the overflow to leak like a water spigot that drips?
This an image from the web...not from my tractor:

View attachment 739366

This is an OEM replacement, but it's $178 !!!! Holy cow!

I found a different model that looks similar, but is missing the overflow tube stub. And it has 2 other screws that I don't know what for. It's less than $100

View attachment 739367

What do you guys think I could/should do? My budget is tight (living on SS) so the less I spend, the happier this old gal will be

Fuel water separators are universal. Just find one with right flow characteristics. For example I'm pulling out a Racor 900 water fuel separator (super common for like 40 years) and replacing it with a different Racor that includes a priming pump as well as a fuel heater. This one here looks like Racor 500 size.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

Great news!
The fuel line from the tank is right at the butt-end of the tractor and easily accessible. It could be drained into a couple of jugs with little spillage. It elbows out of the tank with a 20" rubber hose that goes into a metal line. It goes right, down, up, left, all under the driver's area (why?). Then it goes into a rubber line before it goes through the firewall and to the filter. I found a video how to split a MF1250 to replace clutch. Apparantly it's made for that.
I think it would be fairly easy for an old lady to replace all the line with new rubber hose and forget about the metal line . I don't have a big enough jack to lift the rear end to get to one of the clamps. So, I going to buy more than enough new line...keep it on hand in case I decide to replace the whole thing.
Is it OK to replace the whole line with rubber? Is it necessary for the line to be metal?

I contacted the place that is selling the OEM unit and got the specs on the size hose and overflow tube to get. Fuel is 3/8" and tube is 1/4" .

So many things I've learned! Am anxious to get it going!!

Thanks again!!!

 

[Old Gray Mare]

You shouldn't have any air problems. Just make sure fuel in tank is higher than everything else. Hook it all up. Put fuel in. Loosen a line or two and get flow. Things should still be fine from filter to injector pump
Don't crank it while it's apart. Air is a problem between the inj pump and the injector. If your fuel filter is still primed, should have no problem.

That's something I'll check with a level. I *think* the tank is higher. That would be nice! It was easy to purge the air when filter was replaced.

 

[WranglerX]

No reason why you can not replace metal line with all rubber.... Just use plenty of zip ties to secure rubber line (to old metal line?) and keep it away from moving parts.... JUst don't pull ties so tight it pinches rubber fuel line...

 

[Old Gray Mare]

No reason why you can not replace metal line with all rubber.... Just use plenty of zip ties to secure rubber line (to old metal line?) and keep it away from moving parts....

That's just what I needed to hear.
Thank you

 

[BobInSD]

Might be time to replace fuel hoses while you are in there. Maybe add a valve.

Bruce

I would second (third?) this. That's just plain, low-pressure, fuel line and replacing it is cheap insurance. Even if it doesn't crack all the way through, I have found that little pieces start to flake off of the inside, which can be annoying or serious business depending on which side of the filter the flaky hose is on. (My experience with this is with gas motorcycles and may not apply to diesel, but I would err on the side of caution.

 

[Tony H]

Looking at first post. First picture... Yes, I believe that removing that screw would let you remove the valve handle.
Rotate the handle counterclockwise to bleed it "AIR", rotate clockwise to "OFF". Straight down is run mode.
Second pic...
Any setup with a shutoff valve and a bleeder system would work.

Leaks out front AND out the overflow when in the OFF position. Sounds like two O-rings pooped out. If this filter is above the fuel tank, you should be able to disassemble without losing too much fuel.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

Update...
I went to O'Reilly's to get supplies and new fuel hose. Good thing I said it was for diesel cuz the guy was almost ready to cut the length of hose. Whoopsie!! Dodged a bullet there!! He called around and no stores had line for diesel. He even went online on his phone looking for some. Tractor Supply (too far away) was the only choice. BUMMER

So, I looked at Rock Auto and YEP, they had what I needed! It's already been shipped via FedEx (yay) and will be here Monday. In the meantime, I'll get Red greased and get some much needed chores done to use up some fuel.

Question...can I use brake cleaner to clean the engine up a bit? And is it OK to leave the side panels off forever? They are sooo annoying especially since the loader frame is "right there" and I'm not so bendy anymore to scootch around the loader frame

 

[3Ts]

As for the side panels, the reasons they are there is:
1) appearance,
2) safety - keeps body parts away from pieces that are moving
3) cooling - Some equipment use side panels to direct air to help cool the engine. (These would be solid panels)

My tractor has (actually had) expanded mesh for side panels so I took them off years ago for easier access.