Replaced fuel filter on MF 263 now it won't start.

[Farmingsabadhabit]

I have a MF 263, I replaced the fuel filter now it doesn't start. It doesn't seem to have a fuel shut off valve at all but when you have the filter off it just slowly drips so its no big deal. I made sure not to put the o ring in the groove at the top of the filter the o ring is in the houseing. I found the little manual pump on the other side of the tractor but it doesn't seem to do much. I feel like its not pumping because other than that slow steady drip fuel does seem to go into the filter any faster when I move the lever up and down. It only has the one filter and it doesn't seem to have a bleeder screw on the filter. I took a couple bolts off at the fuel pump but there wasn't a steady flow. The 263 doesn't seem as common as some of the other old Masseys. I have a 231 and its no problem everything makes sense. This is not making sense.

 

[thepumpguysc]

Better check the oring again..??

 

[Farmingsabadhabit]

Better check the oring again..??

lol no its not the o-ring but if this keeps up I'm going to check it again. Have you hear of one not having a shut off valve? Is there some sort of automatic shut off that could have been tripped? What about the manual pump should it feel like it has pressure on it when you are pressing it? I heard that maybe you have to turn the motor over a little to get the pump to catch? I don't know why that would matter because its basically just a little diaphragm in there right? I only put about a gallon of fuel in it. Could there not be enough down pressure from the fuel in the tank? I didn't want to put a bunch of fuel in there in case I had to drain it again.

 

[Wagtail]

When you put the new fuel filter on, did you first fill it (the filter) with fuel?

 

[thepumpguysc]

A gallon.??
That won’t even get over the stand pipe in the tank.!! Lol
Put at least 5 gallons in it..
The shut off is at the bottom of the tank..
I would pull the line at the supply pump and back blow it w air to the tank, incase it’s clogged w debris..

 

[Farmingsabadhabit]

Got it running. No it actually does not have a shut off valve. The trick to the manual pump is that you have to bump the engine starting it to get the manual pump in the right position to catch. Once it does the lever has a little more pressure but it's still all but worthless. This model only has one filter and no bleeder screw on the housing. There is another bolt with fuel lines coming off it. I loosened that and pumped the lever till fuel came out. Then I continued down the line to the injector pump but the manual pump didn't seem to really pressurize the system enough to fill the injector pump. So we kept pumping and starting. Also took an air hose and put pressure in the tank. Eventually saw some smoke kept cranking then finally it hit.

 

[Farmingsabadhabit]

Got it running. No it actually does not have a shut off valve. The trick to the manual pump is that you have to bump the engine starting it to get the manual pump in the right position to catch. Once it does the lever has a little more pressure but it's still all but worthless. This model only has one filter and no bleeder screw on the housing. There is another bolt with fuel lines coming off it. I loosened that and pumped the lever till fuel came out. Then I continued down the line to the injector pump but the manual pump didn't seem to really pressurize the system enough to fill the injector pump. So we kept pumping and starting. Also took an air hose and put pressure in the tank. Eventually saw some smoke kept cranking then finally it hit.

Perkins diesels are just bears.

 

[thepumpguysc]

U probably SHOULD put a shut off below the tank..
Those inj pumps are known to leak fuel at the top cover, and with gravity fed inj pumps, the fuel will continue to leak until the tank is empty.. obviously that’s an extreme case but u get the idea..
If u put in a shut off tap, get one that has a filter screen that goes up into the tank..
Good luck with your project and glad u got’r running..

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have a MF 263, I replaced the fuel filter now it doesn't start. It doesn't seem to have a fuel shut off valve at all but when you have the filter off it just slowly drips so its no big deal. I made sure not to put the o ring in the groove at the top of the filter the o ring is in the houseing. I found the little manual pump on the other side of the tractor but it doesn't seem to do much. I feel like its not pumping because other than that slow steady drip fuel does seem to go into the filter any faster when I move the lever up and down. It only has the one filter and it doesn't seem to have a bleeder screw on the filter. I took a couple bolts off at the fuel pump but there wasn't a steady flow. The 263 doesn't seem as common as some of the other old Masseys. I have a 231 and its no problem everything makes sense. This is not making sense.

Did you bleed the fuel delivery system after you replaced the filter?

 

[TractorTech]

Got it running. No it actually does not have a shut off valve. The trick to the manual pump is that you have to bump the engine starting it to get the manual pump in the right position to catch. Once it does the lever has a little more pressure but it's still all but worthless. This model only has one filter and no bleeder screw on the housing. There is another bolt with fuel lines coming off it. I loosened that and pumped the lever till fuel came out. Then I continued down the line to the injector pump but the manual pump didn't seem to really pressurize the system enough to fill the injector pump. So we kept pumping and starting. Also took an air hose and put pressure in the tank. Eventually saw some smoke kept cranking then finally it hit.

The injection pump should have a bleeder on it too, but if you bled out through a line or banjo bolt, you got fuel moving.
Also, like pumpguy said, you need a decent amount of fuel in the tank to bleed.