Help Getting JD 6400 Started In Cold Weather After Sitting for 5 years

[landrand]

My John Deere 6400 has been sitting in the garage for 5 years with no use. I am now taking the necessary steps to get it back in running condition and put back to work moving snow this winter here in Northern Michigan. Unfortunately, since the weather has turned cold, I have not been able to get the tractor started. Wonder if all the guru's out there can provide recommendations on what I should do to get tractor started.

Here's the steps I've taken so far with no luck.

1. I drained the fuel tank and put in 5 gallons of fresh diesel fuel.
2. I changed the fuel filter.
3. I verified the air intake heater glowplug/element is working when I press in the ignition key.
4. I bought a 300 Watt magnetic oil pan heater and mounted it on the side of the pan. I can't mount it under the pan since the front driveshaft is in the way.

I need to install an engine block coolant heater in the 6400. This tractor was always difficult to start in colder temps so installing the block heater is necessary. Unfortunately, the tractor needs to be in running condition before I can install the engine block heater. I need to get the tractor started both before and after I install the block heater. Since I have to drain the coolant to install the block heater, I may as well flush the system and refill with new coolant. After the engine block heater is installed, I again need to start the tractor and ensure the system coolant has completely filled the engine block before I can put power to the block heater. The JD dealers said that if the block heater isn't surrounded by coolant when I plug it in, it could burn out.

Any advice or recommendations on what to try next would be greatly appreciated.

 

[beenthere]

Have you tried a shot of ether starter fluid)?

Will the battery turn over the engine at a good fast clip?

Can you employ a space heater to get the temp up in the building it is stored in?

What kind of compression are you getting on the cylinders?

How many hours on the engine?

 

[jdinfo]

If you are getting smoke while cranking, you may need to use a little ether to create enough heat in the cylinder to get it started.
If you are not getting smoke, you'll need to bleed air out of the fuel system by cracking the injection lines at the injectors, then crank until you get fuel at the connections.

 

[landrand]

My owners manual says to never use ether to start engine. I did some research and it is also advisable to not use ether with glow plugs. My tractor doesn't have glow plugs, just a glow plug/heater element at the intake.

The tractor has about 3,500 hours.

I have a brand new battery and a spare hooked up in parallel. Both are fully charged when I try to start.

Yesterday, I put tarps over the hood/tires, and put a 1500 Watt space heater underneath for several hours. It got to about 45 deg F. I have a kerosene space heater I'm going to try today. That should put out more heat than an electric heater.

I left the magnetic oil pan heater on overnight, so the oil should be nice and warm when I try starting it later today.

I'll research bleeding the injectors. Never done it before.

Thanks for the help!

 

[ruffdog]

Changing the fuel filter most times mandates the need to bleed the fuel system. Too bad that wasn't done before trying to start. Now, definitely research the correct procedure for that model.

 

[landrand]

If you are getting smoke while cranking, you may need to use a little ether to create enough heat in the cylinder to get it started.
If you are not getting smoke, you'll need to bleed air out of the fuel system by cracking the injection lines at the injectors, then crank until you get fuel at the connections.

Today, I'll look for smoke when cranking. I'm a one man operation, so hopefully I can see smoke while sitting in the cab.

 

[cwbyeng1300]

Old mechanic showed me a cool trick - soak a rag in gas & hold over the air intake - works better (& easier on engine) than ether.

 

[jdinfo]

You can disconnect the wire to the intake manifold heater and then use ether. You will need to be careful to slowly meter the ether in the air filter cannister.
If you get too much it could ether lock on you. If that happens let it set for 10 minutes and try again.

 

[landrand]

Changing the fuel filter most times mandates the need to bleed the fuel system. Too bad that wasn't done before trying to start. Now, definitely research the correct procedure for that model.

The manual says that I just need to let it crank for about 20 seconds after changing the fuel filter and that should bleed the system. I've cranked quite a few times by now. Maybe I need to bleed near the injectors.

 

[ruffdog]

Here is a good thread:

Viewing a thread - JD 6400 tractor - trouble bleeding fuel system