New Holland/Ford 555E engine oil issues

[LittleBill21]

Since it's a diesel, I dont need electricity for it to run. So what turned it off? All my fuses look good.

that would be a mistake to believe that, unless you have a manual lever to cut fuel, do you push a lever to stall the engine? or do you turn a key? if you turn a key, you need electricity like i said before.

 

[5030]

It may have a fuel cut solenoid and if it does, lack of voltage to it will stop it quick. Look around the pump and see if there are any electrical connectors. If there are, it has a fuel cut solenoid that acts on the fuel rack.

 

[Billrog]

Check the relays , the shut off solenoid won't stop it from turning over it just won't start. The only thing i can think of that will stop it while running is no fuel ( fuel solenoid )

 

[LouNY]

Poor connection someplace is dropping the electrical system out , when it fails the fuel shutoff shuts.

 

[EddieWalker]

there is a solenoid, or something that looks like an electrical sensor that could be a solenoid, on the injector pump. It is the only thing with a wire running to it. Just one wire. There is no power to the wire. Should there be power to it to start the tractor?

 

[LouNY]

Yes it should, many times on the older tractors you can get a bungee on it and pull the fuel on, then when it's time to shutdown unhook it and shut the engine down.

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have a 2wd 1998 New Holland/Ford 555E loader backhoe with 8,500 hours on it. It runs strong and works great considering it's age. I've never had any serious issues with it, just small things like dirty fuel and overheating.

Yesterday I was using it and it just turned off all of a sudden. Totally dead. My first guess was that I had overheated it and not realized it, or that the gauge wasn't working. I waited a few hours and it fired right up again. I parked it and this morning, I cleaned out the radiator, which wasn't bad, I tightened up the fan belt, which was a little loose, but not bad, and topped off the water, which wasn't very low.

I picked up one load of dirt, back dragged it, then picked up a second load of dirt, and just as I started to back drag it, the backhoe turned off. Totally dead. No clicking or any sound when I try to start it.

Now I'm wondering if it's dirty oil. While looking at it, it's definitely dark. I also have some blowby, but I also have too much oil in the crankcase. It's over full and I think that is causing a lot of the blowby. I do not have very much white smoke, but there is a bit of it when I rev the engine. My first thought was that I was careless and over filled the oil the last time I changed it. I think that was 3 years ago. I haven't done very much with it in the last few years, so I figured the oil was fine. I was going to change it this year, but was planning on doing it when the weather got better. I'm going to go to town and get oil and a filter today and see if that solves this issue.

Is it possible for hydraulic oil to get into the engine? In my opinion, my oil is dirty, but it's also very thin feeling. I read on another thread that this can happen, but I'm looking at diagrams of my engine, transmission and pump, and I'm not seeing a path that would allow this to happen.

My hydraulic oil was changed over the summer, and it still looks clear and perfect.

The engine oil is very black. No sign of water or foam.

Except for right now, it always fires right up and runs strong.

Is there a sensor that will kill the engine if the oil is too dirty? What else could be turning off the engine while I'm using it?

Thank you

You may have a couple of problems. I think the guys have covered the shutoff solenoid issue. When they shut off the fuel it does not slowly stop. It quits right now.

Do you have a lift pump that is in the fuel delivery system? If you do and it's a mechanical pump, then the diaphragm might be torn and it will then leak fuel into the engine lube oil and cause the oil level to rise. Make sure that this is not the case. A coolant leak can also raise the oil level but that will show up as a milky color after shutdown.

 

[Cycledude]

I drained the oil. It holds 4.5 gallons. I guess that I got 5.5 or more gallons out of it. Their is no diesel smell. No hydraulic oil smell either. I just smell oil. But it's weird looking. Super black and watery.

I have 12.68 volts at the battery. Now I'm trying to figure out where the wires are to start it.

Since it's a diesel, I dont need electricity for it to run. So what turned it off? All my fuses look good.

What did you use to test for volts at the battery ? A bad battery can still show 12 volts with a multi tester. If you don’t have a load tester I recommend removing the battery and taking it to a autoparts store that has a load tester, they will usually test your battery for free with hopes of possibly selling a new battery.

 

[EddieWalker]

If my battery is bad, would it not have enough power to start the tractor one day, but have enough to start it the next day?

 

[LittleBill21]

eddie, you have a wiring problem somewhere. its that simple. if your not getting even a click when turning the key, and everything is dead, then a major connection somewhere has failed or is intermittent. oil in fuel, injection issues, none of that would stop an engine from attempting to start.

if the tractor has safeties, go through / bypass them till you find where the electricity stopped flowing. thats it.