Old Fuel in Diesel Tractor

[955Lincoln]

Provided the diesel that gets to the engine is clear of water and free of any crud, I don't think it matters how old it is. I was brought upon my dads small farm, and it was cheaper for him to have delivered a big tank full at a time. Sometimes that diesel was years old before it see the tractors, and if the price dropped, dad would order more because it was cheap and stick it on top of the old stuff. I had a small fishing boat, and sometimes the diesel had been in drums 8 - 10 years before it was used, Saying that my boat did have a water filter before the fuel filter. But, whenever I used to top up, I used to always put it through my `filter funnel`, and carefully left any crud and water in the bottom of the drums. The older diesel engines will almost run on any type of oil. You can see on Youtube how to make it out of old `fries` and cooking oil. Modern common rail engines are a bit more delicate, but in your case I definately would not be throwing your old diesel away. On my boat I used to add Stihl 2 stroke oil to the diesel. I thought the engine run a bit `oilier` and better, but never had any proof.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

 

[puzlrock]

Hello all,

I goofed up and let my tractor sit for too many years and now it won't run. It has heaters, and after the dash light went out it started immediately like it always does. It idled well for about 15 seconds, shut off, and will no longer start. There is a primer lever on the side of the engine. I could feel light spring pressure but it didn't seem to be pumping any fuel. Best guess on the age of the off-road diesel is around 8 years. I siphoned the remaining out of the tank and didn't notice anything odd about the fuel or color. Remote location and I was there for another reason but didn't have the time or tools to do any troubleshooting.

If anyone has ever been through this before I would really appreciate some troubleshooting help and what to bring up with me next time. I have lots of gas experience but no diesel.

Thanks

You need PRI-D to treat your fuel. It will keep diesel for years if you treat it. It can also restore diesel. I will send a link and you need to read the information. It is an amazing product, complete fuel system treatment and lubricant.
TheEpicenter.com Emergency Preparedness Food & Survival Supplies

Click on the Power heading and the PRI fuel treatments, it is pretty interesting.

I have used this for years in my equipment and it has never let me down. I live in a remote area and I keep 250 gallons of diesel over long periods and it never gets stale.

I also use PRI-G in my gas engines and I never have to drain any of my saws, mowers, ect. they always start right up in the spring. Forget all that other junk.
I am a heavy equipment mechanic for most of my 72 years (retired now) bet stuff I have ever used, I buy it by the gallon.

 

[farmalldx33]

I had a 1466 sit for 5 years. Put new wiring harness on it and new batteries. Did nothing to the fuel in the tank. Fired up like it ran the day before.

 

[955Lincoln]

I had a 1466 sit for 5 years. Put new wiring harness on it and new batteries. Did nothing to the fuel in the tank. Fired up like it ran the day before.

Thanks for the reply! I'll post back with the problem when I work on the tractor after it warms up a bit.
I got a hold of my technical manual and found out that the primer lever is a part of the fuel pump which is between the filter and injector pump. I'm certain by the feel that the primer was pumping air so that points to the tank and filter to look at first.
Surprised to see that the fuel pick-up is similar to the newer cars with a round plate on top of the tank with 2 lines and the level sensor. The tractor is so darn compact that I may have to take half of it apart if I need to access the plate, so compressed air might do the trick allowing me to load the tractor up and bring it home.

 

[Username Taken]

If it's been sitting 8 years the fuel hose may have become brittle enough to suck air and starve the pump.

What year/make/model of tractor?

Ignore the "diesel is bad after x amount of time" crowd. Diesel can last for a long time, depending on storage conditions. At this point you don't know what is the issue.

Check if you have a solenoid on your injection pump.

If it sat for that long would it be more likely 'gel' up? As in the paraffins in the fuel crystallize? Especially in cold weather?

I'm just spit-ballin' here but, what about maybe adding a butt-load of a GOOD additive that might break that junk up?

 

[D2Cat]

I've started diesel engines that had fuel in them so long it smelled like paint thinner! I never drained that old fuel, just added new. Just lucky maybe.

As described in this thread, drain any fuel you can from the tank, install new fuel filter and fuel, check for air leaks, use your manual primer pump, crack open fuel line at injectors to eliminate all air. If using your starter be sure to not over heat it. Crank the engine for 20-30 seconds a few times then wait for a couple of minutes to keep starter motor cool, or you'll have another problem to fix.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I can't even guess how many gallons of "years old" diesel, I've bought for .50 cents a gallon from homeowners, who have switched from fuel oil furnaces years before, to something else.

I would pump the fuel out, bring it home and run it in my diesels...

I never even once, had a problem with the fuel, and I was sure glad to get it.

SR

 

[Jerry/MT]

Hello all,

I goofed up and let my tractor sit for too many years and now it won't run. It has heaters, and after the dash light went out it started immediately like it always does. It idled well for about 15 seconds, shut off, and will no longer start. There is a primer lever on the side of the engine. I could feel light spring pressure but it didn't seem to be pumping any fuel. Best guess on the age of the off-road diesel is around 8 years. I siphoned the remaining out of the tank and didn't notice anything odd about the fuel or color. Remote location and I was there for another reason but didn't have the time or tools to do any troubleshooting.

If anyone has ever been through this before I would really appreciate some troubleshooting help and what to bring up with me next time. I have lots of gas experience but no diesel.

Thanks

The symptoms you describe imply a fuel restriction. These can be caused by debris in the fuel tank, condensed water freezing in cold ambient temperatures, use of summer blended fuel in cold ambient temperatures (waxes precipitating out of fuel), bacterial sludge in the tank blocking the outlet strainer or various downstream components, non-functioning left pump (if installed) etc
Start at the fuel inlet line to the injection pump and using a container to catch the fuel, open the tank valve. Do you have a gush of fuel or is the flow intermittent or just dribbling? If it is not a gush, then work your way back to the tank outlet until you get full fuel flow and then you have found where the blockage is. If you have a lift pump, make sure it is working to supply fuel. Some have a screen in them that can clog, or they can fail.

Water in the fuel occurs from condensation (assuming you don't leave the fuel cap off) and is the start of bacterial sludge as the microbes live in the fuel/water interface. No Water, n bacterial sludge. You can't eliminate condensation but you can minimize it by keeping the fuel tank full of fuel between uses. Drain your fuel filter regularly and look for water in the drainage. If you have a water separator, drain that also. Treat you fuel as it helps the water accrete on the filter and then slide down toward the bottom to be drained.
If you have a solenoid on the injection pump (IP), Make sure it is functioning properly. There are usually two solenoids; an opening solenoid and a holding solenoid. They are both on when starting and the opening solenoid shuts off in the key switch run position.

Systematically go through the fuel delivery system and you'll find the problem.

Hope this helps.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

We have an old Mack that we got 10 years ago. It had sat for 5 years. Had about 400 gallons of fuel in it. Still runs fine on it. We got it to put a log loader on it. Other truck still held out so never used it until now. Seriously doubt it your fuel maybe you lost prime. I've cranked several old dozers and equipment that has sat 15 years or more. Just opened the fuel cap to see if it had fuel, that's all the attention I gave to the fuel system. Everything always started right up. Make sure your fuel filter is full. Hot battery. Loosen a couple of injector lines and fire it off.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Diesel is only good for a year. Additives would extend it some.

You have never watched Hank and Wiley on the Hamiltonville Farms YouTube channel start and operate diesels that have been sitting for 10+ years using just the fuel left in the tank have you?