Deutz Front Seal Leak

woodlandfarms · Sep 25, 2016

Hmmm. So welded the crack in the tub and feel I should have no new oil in the tub. But I do. My engine has been using oil I figured it was just wear but now I am thinking it might be the seal between the engine and the pumps.

Ugh.... If I have to do this I may just do a complete teardown of the machine, send in all the pumps and wheel motors for a rebuild and redo the timing belt as well.

Could be an expensive christmas. Or I just keep my eye on it and it costs me a quart every 20 hours or so.

joshlee · Sep 29, 2016

How many hours are on the Deutz? I just bought a 1430 with the 31hp. So, I'm still learning about this new engine.

woodlandfarms · Oct 2, 2016

Joshlee It looks like it is not my main seal. I spent the day in the rain power washing the tub out. I realize now it is best to power wash after the oil has had a chance to wam up a bit.

For your 1430 here are a few things to know. Deutz engine parts are so expensive you will come to a point where you wonder why PT didn't use Porche engines instead. Sensor on the Deutz are not always Deutz. Any thing that runs to the PT Guages you should double check. Remember it will all be Metric. Deutz is an interference engine, meaning if the timing belt goes, you bend rods. Now from what I can tell it appears that if your belt does go, it will only be the valve rods that get bent. The slugs and piston arms are pretty stout and a tear down is generally not necessary. I had issues with 4 things on my PT. The oil pipes leading to the engine cooler rotted out, typical, and easy to fix, the fuel lines rotted out (again easy to fix) My Thermostat failed, again, easy to fix and it improved my overtemp issues. and I am having an issue with my Fuel Shutoff Valve. The valves have a high failure rate, and are a bit of a PITA to replace (not terrible, just not easy).

I have made two modification to my Deutz. Looking at the oil cooler (I assume you have a 1011 or 2011 Series) you will notice the hood that covers the oil cooler and directs it out the side of the engine. A quick run of the math will get you to realize that the 5 x 14 cooler is venting out a 2x14 hole. That math does not work. I cut a few pieces of pipe and got longer threads and raised that cover plate up a good inch and a half. Second thing I did was I cut the side cover plate up, cutting it down the side close to the rear screw holes. I welded on a couple of hinges, and I welded a washer to the front bolt so I could use my hands to open the side plate up. This is done so cleaning is much easier (well, so you won't get lazy and not open the cover cause otherwise it is a big PITA).

If you need pix let us know.

joshlee · Oct 8, 2016

Thats good to hear its not the seal leaking! Thats saves allot of work. Yeah, stuff sure does collect in those tubs.

This D 2011 doesn't have a thermostat (from what I can tell.) It doesn't appear to have a fuel shutoff valve from the tank to the fuel pump, either? Deutz says to keep checking that filter in the fuel pump during the break in stage (50 hours.) Where is your fuel shutoff valve? Also, after checking that little screen in the fuel pump, do you bleed the air out of the fuel line at the injector? I see the pump has that little bulb for priming.

Thanks for all of the info, its helpful! Now I know things to keep an eye out for. What I was so shocked by with this Deutz engine, is the sound that the starter makes. Do these have some kind of a high speed starter, or something?

ponytug · Oct 9, 2016

The Deutz does have a thermostat (in the oil line), and it does have a fuel shut off aka fuel solenoid.

You don't need to bleed air out of the fuel lines. The excess fuel return washes the air back to the tank.

I'm not sure what you mean by the sound of the starter. Seems pretty normal to me. You might scan through you tube to see if it is the same sound.

All the best,

Peter

joshlee · Oct 9, 2016

Okay, I found the shut off aka fuel solenoid. Thats a pretty neat device. So, that turns of the fuel to the 2 injector pumps, now I just need a shut off valve for the tank so I can clean that screen filter in the primary fuel pump. One other question; I see there is a coupler on the FEL that is a return line and feeds directly into the tank, bypassing the hydraulic oil cooler. My 425 doesn't have that, so I'm not sure what its for? Cold weather hook up?

ponytug · Oct 10, 2016

The direct return to the tank is used in a couple of attachments. The primary one is for the post driver; when the 600lb weight is dropped, there needs to be a low back pressure, high flow return to the tank. Other attachments that have case drains use it as well. I only have two attachments that use it, the post driver, and my semi-home built chipper that uses a motor with a case drain.

When I have cleaned that prescreen on the Deutz fuel pump, I have disconnected the fuel at the inline pre-filter (about 12" before the fuel pump). YMMV. Basically, I use a clear pre-filter to keep the fuel pump screen clean. That way, I can see if anything truly grungy is in my fuel, and reduces the need to be cleaning the fuel pump pre-filter. Shortly after I got the tractor, I changed the filter once in 780 hours- there was a piece of black plastic or rubber in the original filter. At the 500 hour service, the fuel pump pre-filter was clean.

All the best,

Peter

joshlee · Oct 11, 2016

Okay, I figured thats what it was for. Its nice how these wheel motors have case drains, as where my 425 doesn't.

That clear pre-filter sounds like a good idea. Terry was telling there is a screen in the bottom of the fuel tank, too. It has a part number in the PT 1430 book.

Since my feet don't work nowadays, I put these hand controls on the 1430.