We just went to the dealer to check on my tractor since my calls weren't returned.
The service manager was sitting at his desk working so I don't understand why he couldn't call back but anyway....
He tells me they figured it out. He says there was trash in my tank and they took it off and steam cleaned it. He said there was a handfull of dead bugs, dirt and other junk in the bottom.
I'm not sure I buy this at all because by his own admittance, the mechanics there already cleaned the tank twice since this started. Before the injector pump was rebuilt or the lift pump was replaced. I KNOW I cleaned it well enough to drink out of the night that they came out the first time and we found that junk in the filters.
I can buy this idea of trash in my tank causing the problem but what I have a problem with is how is it getting in there and why has it been cleaned three times already by me and the mechanics and it didn't fix it before. If trash was in there again then there is some kind of design flaw in the fuel tank allowing it. Either that of I'm getting sabotaged.
That is an extremely unlikely theory given the nature of the business I am in. My tractor is always parked at night right in front of my garage which is just 15 feet from my bedroom window. I work on US military weapons and machine guns for a living and everyone around here knows I am armed to the teeth 24 hours a day. I have one on my body at all times, my kid has a shotgun in his room and even my wife is armed. God help anybody she ever goes after because her point of impact is always much lower than her point of aim if you know what I mean. Besides all that a good friend and neighbor of mine has been spreading around rumors that I am a retired Navy seal and that I already killed one intruded here. Only a small part of that is true. I was in the Navy.
The sabotage theory is just highly unlikely. Noone in their right mind would trespass on my property. It just doesn't happen.
I have a barrel with a good clean pump and filter on it that is kept in the garage. The nozzle is even capped when I'm not using it. My fuel cap is always on tight and I just can't see how crap is getting in it here. Plus I have filled up my neighbors tractor out of the same barrel every time I use it. He's never had a problem.
If a little bit of trash in the tank has been causing this then it needs to be determined how it got in there first and also how to prevent it from plugging the pickup lines if it does get in there. With this knowledge a change can be made in the tractor to prevent it from ever happening again as this is a design flaw to me. We've manually cleaned it 3 times and according to this theory not good enough. It is a big tank but still there needs to be a way to clean it better if this is going to be a problem. Or a postive way to prevent crap from getting in it in the first place! There also should be a sock filter on the pickup tube if this is a problem. Maybe even an inlet screen. I will surely be adding both to it if this proves to fix it. They have the tank off right now and are steam cleaning it. I was told it would be delivered back to me this afternoon and that they submitted the repair for warranty payment but they don't know if it will be approved. I'll deal with it at that time if it's not.
This has been a major mess for all involved and I'm glad it's looking like the end of it. I hate being mad but I also hate not being able to figure something out like this more than anything. I cleaned that tank good. I cleaned enough bilges and polished enough brass in my life to know what clean is. I just don't understand it.
