Ran out of fuel - heard a nasty sound

rbargeron · Jul 1, 2015

A couple days ago, I was using the L48 with a logging winch, drawing a big pine log up a long steep hill. Near the top the engine lost power, started to skip, made a knocking sound, slowed down and stopped. There was even a small amount of blue smoke. Not good. It would turn over with the key but wouldn't fire. The fuel gauge said 1/4 full. I was thinking something bad had happened. It was getting dark so I just left it there.

Yesterday it still turned over ok but wouldn't fire. The fuel filter bowl looked full and clear but with the filter removed no fuel came in with the valve on. The gauge was way off - it was out of fuel.

I was still worried about the knocking and smoke. I told a friend about this and he said "it's water". Injecting water into a running diesel makes them knock, skip, and smoke blue. I've run out with other machines but hadn't ever seen that. Apparently there is (was) a small amount of water that found its way into the fuel pickup going uphill with a near-empty tank. Filled up with fuel and with the vent valve open it eventually came back to life and now runs fine - no skip, noises, or smoke. Fuel gauge is working - just not accurate.

ovrszd · Jul 1, 2015

My Brother ran his L3240 out of fuel on a steep hill. His gauge also indicated plenty of fuel. I wasn't present, but he said it also "spark knocked" and blew some smoke. We had a heck of a time getting it primed and restarted. Had to tow it about 1/4 mile to the shop. Finally had to use ether to get it fired up. I gave him the "don't run around low on fuel" speech. After that he never let it get below half a tank.

MoKelly · Jul 1, 2015

ovrszd said:
I gave him the "don't run around low on fuel" speech. After that he never let it get below half a tank.

I will admit I also am paranoid about this issue and never let mine get under 1/2 reading on the gauge.

MoKelly

Fawken · Jul 1, 2015

Diesels are very forgiving and tough. That's not to say they cannot be murdered, but compared to gasoline engines they're like battle tanks.

dragoneggs · Jul 1, 2015

MoKelly said:
I will admit I also am paranoid about this issue and never let mine get under 1/2 reading on the gauge.

MoKelly

Me too... diesel or gas... just that I like to have fuel topped off or close. Don't know why but I will say I never run out of fuel!

newbury · Jul 1, 2015

Fawken said:
Diesels are very forgiving and tough. That's not to say they cannot be murdered, but compared to gasoline engines they're like battle tanks.

Especially when not given enough to drink.
When I replaced glow plugs on my 7.3 IDI van I spent hours cranking it and fiddling with the injectors. Part of the problem was inaccessibility in the van.
Ever since my '78 Rabbit diesel I've had a policy that 1/4 tank was empty.

Plus keeping the tank full reduces moisture.

MHarryE · Jul 2, 2015

Diesels are not as forgiving running out of fuel as gas although newer gas engines don't like it when you run out. Diesels rely on fuel as a lubricant (despite what you hear about low sulfur fuels not being a lubricant, they are). So when you run dry it is like running your engine without oil. Having said that, Kubota's have tougher than average FIPs because from what I've been told, the diesel in Japan is not far from kerosene. This is from our engine group where they need to make the engines run reliably in all countries (no small trick due to diesel variations). Having said that I've run my L5740 out of fuel several times, all except once due to bad fuel plugging the filter and killing the engine. Mine is very easy to bleed and restart.

Fawken · Jul 2, 2015

MHarryE said:
Diesels are not as forgiving running out of fuel as gas although newer gas engines don't like it when you run out. Diesels rely on fuel as a lubricant (despite what you hear about low sulfur fuels not being a lubricant, they are). So when you run dry it is like running your engine without oil. Having said that, Kubota's have tougher than average FIPs because from what I've been told, the diesel in Japan is not far from kerosene. This is from our engine group where they need to make the engines run reliably in all countries (no small trick due to diesel variations). Having said that I've run my L5740 out of fuel several times, all except once due to bad fuel plugging the filter and killing the engine. Mine is very easy to bleed and restart.

Yes in 32 years I ran my little Japanese Ford dry more times than I can remember. None at all in the last 10 years though. It is also easy to purge the air from, but back when I was building this place I'd get so busy I would forget how many hours I was running her. The little gravity tube/ fuel gauge-thingy broke from sitting in the weather after about a half decade. So now I just check it often and don't back out of the shop if it's below 1/4 tank.

ovrszd · Jul 2, 2015

dragoneggs said:
Me too... diesel or gas... just that I like to have fuel topped off or close. Don't know why but I will say I never run out of fuel!

Me neither. I lecture my Wife about this, but she still lags in my opinion. I'll get in her Jeep and find the fuel gauge at 1/4 tank or less. When I mention it she claims to have intended to refill today. So I switched philosophies. I now lecture her about the mechanics of an in-tank fuel pump and how it's cooling system is the fuel. If continually ran low, the pump life will be shortened. This seems to have gotten her attention. She's improving.

oosik · Jul 2, 2015

I keep all my vehicles full. I doubt many here are old enough to remember but during the '50's & '60's part of being prepared "in case of nuclear attack" was to have your vehicle full of fuel. At the time no one questioned this statement - now it seems and is ridiculous.
Anyhow - that theory and years of living in Alaska and not wanting condensation in the fuel tank has me keeping them full.