Ford 3000 Diesel-Hard to Start

[shovelhead]

Griffin,
My first tractor was also a 1972 Ford 3000. It was usually a bear to start. I had two significant problems, one with the battery, and the other with fuel. That is a BIG battery on the old ford, and my tractor ate 'em up! My tractor was a Belgium made model and it had a Lucas generator on it. I had the generator repaired twice. I should have converted to a single wire alternator, but at the advice of my mechanic, I stuck with the generator. The generator would not sufficiently charge the battery, and with the long cranking time, the battery always seemed to be week.
One of the reasons I had a long cranking time was a fuel problem. The Ford 3000 has a metal fuel tank. It seems like every time I worked the tractor hard or bounced it around, an amazing amount of rust & debris would come loose and clog the fuel filter. I should have cleaned and coated the tank, but after four filter changes, I thought I had endured the worst of it.
Anyway, this may not be the case with your tractor at all, but I thought I'd throw in my experiences. That old Ford was one of my favorite "toys". I have a new tractor in the shed, but I wish I never sold the old Ford. Good luck to you!

 

[wolc123]

It sounds like you may have some bad fuel in the tank. My 2000 acted the same way this spring. Needed a shot of either to get it going every time until I filled the tank with some fresh diesel. After that it started good the rest of the season. Also, rather than going to the expense of cleaning the injectors, try adding some diesel conditioner (gunk, etc). Those old fords respond real well to that stuff. It might not be a bad idea to change the fuel filter but be sure to bleed the system per the manual. Good luck.

 

[Tazz]

TGriffin,
About 2 winters ago I had a total rebuild to factory specs, including new pistons and sleeves, bearings, pumps and rear hydraulics for about $2500. by a tractor salvage place in Montgomery.
The bad fuel comments do have some merrit to them. When was the last time you put in fresh fuel? Or has this been a problem after going thru several tanks? Chevron diesel conditioner with "Techron" works well, usually found at truck stops though.
After the rebuild my 3000 started fast even with a weak battery and had light grey smoke in the exhaust do to fuel that was about one year old. The next tank of clean diesel cleared everything up.
All these stories of problems reminded me of the same things I experienced. But still it's a good strong running tractor.
Tazz

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( it had a Lucas generator on it. I had the generator repaired twice. I should have converted to a single wire alternator, but at the advice of my mechanic, I stuck with the generator. The generator would not sufficiently charge the battery, )</font>

While I agree that lucas should have never made electrical products.. i doubt your 22-25 amp genny 'would not sufficiently charge the battery'.

Even the anemic lucas genny will put out sufficient voltage at 22-25 amps to charge a 12v lead acid battery.

That is.. if the voltage regulator is working. While the genny is .. adequate.. the VR is frail, brittle, and rarely works good. I have to re-pol my lucas genny ( to get the cutout on the vr to pull in ) on my 5000 every time I start it.. Once the cutout contacts close.. it runs like it should. A new regulator for my model is about 25$.. though a 40$ regulator from any B-circuit 12v genny for a ford diesel can be wired in to replace it for painless-hands free use.. That is. hook up arm, bat, and field, and ground the reg.. and the genny.. should work fine.. etc... the lucas regs had a tendency to have sticky contacts making them unreliable, while the gennies, were just a tad underbuilt.. but workable.....

Soundguy

 

[shovelhead]

Soundguy, you pretty much echo what my mechanic had said. He didn't like Lucas (He rode an old Triumph Bonneville with Lucas electrics), but he felt that if Ford designed the tractor with a Lucas generator, that I should stick with it. I believe that a lot of the problems I had with that old tractor was that it slept outside all of its life. While I babied it and took better care than the previous owner, the weather takes its toll. I'm in the process of building a shed for for the new tractor, but meanwhile it sleeps in the garage. I hope Griffin solves his problems and gets to enjoy his 3000 as much as I did mine.

 

[Soundguy]

Weather intrusion on the VR are a #1 problem with sticky contacts.

A vr from a diesel hundred series ( 12v models ) will make that genny work... except that the 12v hundred series regulator may be 30amp limited.. whereas the lucas genny only is capable of putitng out 22-25.. and so you must watch max loads, or the vr will overwork the genny...

Soundguy

 

[Tazz]

Ah, the memories!
I too had the Lucas generator and always believed that Lucas invented darkness.
I rebuilt that Lucas gen. twice due to dust and dirt getting into the brushes and eating them up. Also I bought a new voltage regulator at autozone for a good price. The old one was just too corroded to trust. Same thing, I needed to polorize it a few times, once when new and another when it quit working after the engine rebuild. I also had to run a new wire from the gen to the VR, the original had a break in it somewhere along the line.
If you have a little extra cash on hand you can get a new engine gauge cluster on ebay for have of the factory cost. I found several usefull parts there.

 

[Griffin]

Thanks guys for all the positive input. I plan on trying the inexpensive options first; diesel additive, change the oil... After which I'll test the injectors if needed, or what ever is needed beyond that.

Unfortunately my tractor has taken a back seat to my son's El Camino engine swap project. We dropped the new 350 in over the weekend and plan to start it by next weekend. If all goes well, I will have time to focus on 'Ol Blue the week after. I will be sure to give an update as to what I find.

I really like this old tractor, but I would like it to start when I need it. Three weeks we got a lot of rain and I got my truck stuck in the mud in the south forty (back 2 acres). I went to start the tractor to pull me out and it wouldn't start. This is when I decided I needed some help. As it turns out I had to barrow my neighbor's JD.

Thanks again.
Griffin