Oil & Fuel MF 165 will only run for 10 mins

captaincoreyb · May 18, 2014

Hello my name is Corey i am new to the site. I thought some of the people here can help me with my problem i am having. The tractor is a MF 165 use it just around the house. Fill the fuel tank up about once a year. The problem i am having: while i start it up for the first time that day the tractor will run 10 to 15 min until it cuts off. when it does cut off it slowly dies out like it is loosing fuel. Right after it cuts off i try to restart it, it does not start. Let the tractor set for 2-5 mins the tractor restarts. Then the tractor runs for 3 mins then cuts off again.

What i have tried: The top of the injector pump was leaking around the rectangular gasket i took the top off and put new gasket on. also new orings on shafts. I originally thought the injector pump was sucking air in by that small leak. i replaced the lift pump. After doing all that i took the tractor for a ride and it kept doing the same thing again. I took the fuel filters down and checked them. They were not really heavy and did not look dirty. But i am going to replace them this week when i get to napa.

Today i am going to take the tank off and drain and check the screen. and blow out all fuel lines.

I just hope the Injector pump is not bad.

If anyone has any tips i would like to hear them!

Thanks!

Coyote machine · May 18, 2014

Welcome to TBN.
Start with your fuel tank and work forward to the injectors. I say this because of your only filling your tank 2x/yr. You could have algae growing in your tank or blocking your tank outlet. Go one step at a time, eliminating any flow/bad fuel problems along the way. Report back results as you find issues. Don't replace anything more like a lift pump until we know what is going on. Try not to assume anything like Injection Pump or similar until troubleshooting is complete.:thumbsup:

BTW, state # hours on the machine, and any recent problems with it.....

oldpilgrim · May 18, 2014

before you do anything else, take off the gas cap and try running it. You described the symptoms of a plugged air vent. It could be something else but start with the simple stuff first.

captaincoreyb · May 18, 2014

The total time is 4673 hrs. The tractor has not had any problems that i can remember. It has been regularly maintained.

I took the tank off. drained the fuel. the fuel was abit cloudy but not to much. i wouldnt think that would be causing the problem. the screen was not stopped up any.
Now im going to blow out all the lines.

I took the fuel cap off and tried to run it. it kept doing the same think. I did that whenit started doing it.

Thanks

Tor Arne · May 18, 2014

The symptoms match what happend to mine it turned out that there were deposits in the pump, the plunges then locked in the end of stroke and did not deliver diesel to the injectors. when the engine was getting colder the tolerances increased so that they could move again.

captaincoreyb · May 18, 2014

Tor Arne said:
The symptoms match what happend to mine it turned out that there were deposits in the pump, the plunges then locked in the end of stroke and did not deliver diesel to the injectors. when the engine was getting colder the tolerances increased so that they could move again.

I am slowly making it there. Checking everything before the pump.

What did you have to do to correct your problem? Did you take it off and rebuild it? Or get a new injector pump?

Corey

Tor Arne · May 18, 2014

Given that I was in the middle of haying I bought a factory reconditioned pump, any time else in the year I had fixed it myself.

captaincoreyb · May 19, 2014

I put the tank back on with new fuel and new fuel filters. started up without the fuel cap and ran really good. There seemed to be alot of pressure coming out of the fuel cap. You would think that it would be a vacuum on the tank instead of pressure. I ran the tractor for a good 30 mins without the cap and it kept on running. it is just hard to idle sometimes, sometimes when i pull the throttle to idle it will die out, but not like it did before.

Im going to try again tomorrow or Wednesday.

Thanks!

Coyote machine · May 19, 2014

captaincoreyb said:
I put the tank back on with new fuel and new fuel filters. started up without the fuel cap and ran really good. There seemed to be alot of pressure coming out of the fuel cap. You would think that it would be a vacuum on the tank instead of pressure. I ran the tractor for a good 30 mins without the cap and it kept on running. it is just hard to idle sometimes, sometimes when i pull the throttle to idle it will die out, but not like it did before.

Im going to try again tomorrow or Wednesday.

Thanks!

The cloudyness you refer to might indicate condensation/water contaminated fuel. Now that it runs better I'd want to put some diesel fuel injector cleaner in your fresh in tank fuel, and use the tractor with the fuel cap in place. Run it through it's paces and hope for better idle results as the injector cleaner possibly frees up any rust and or other contamination in the injection pump and injectors. Check air filter's last replacement too; diesels need clean air to function properly.

captaincoreyb · May 22, 2014

UPDATE: The tractor is now fixed. I have rode the tractor around for a total of about an hour and thirty mins now for the past 2 days. After cleaning the lines and draining the cloudy fuel and cleaning the tank, changing the fuel filters. I think my issue was cloudy contaminated fuel. i put fresh fuel in the tank and fuel injector cleaner and the tractor is running really good now. It acturally smokes some now when it is in a load. Before it never did that.

Also the tank before had pressure on it while it was running. now the fuel tank is neutral....
Thanks for every ones help on here!

Corey