Starting A Diesel,, After Three Years Of Sitting,,,What To Do Special??

[3930dave]

Well covered already.... only other thing I'd do is add some Seafoam or equivalent if you are not draining the fuel tank (I wouldn't drain unless there was major contamination) - mostly to help deal with any moisture, cleaning action as a bonus. Buy more than one fuel filter - good to have a spare anyway, but if there is any "stuff" getting flushed out of the fuel system, your new filter may load up faster than you'd expect.

I too would change all fluids ASAP, starting with motor oil. Good general practice on anything, but esp. with a small diesel, it's important to baseline it with to-spec motor oil.

I've taken to strapping varmint wire (what I call it, mini page-wire in other words....) to the end of intake snorkels - air obstruction is minimal (not building a drag car) and rodents can pile up ridiculous amounts of debris. Can go the other way too.... one guy I know had them chew through the air filter - unfortunately, not caught for a long time.

Rgds, D.

 

[RalphVa]

We had a 1983 240D Benz stored for 4 years while we lived in Singapore. Had it delivered, put a new battery in it, glowed it the required amount of time, and it started. Took several strokes with the clutch pedal to free up the clutch. Had to replace its (later found) leaking master cylinder. The diesel was a bit brown. Engine later burned a valve. Maybe I should have done something different?

Lots of stuff had to be fixed as a result of the storage, but the car was usable upon starting.

Ralph

 

[CADplans]

All the worry was for naught,,,

Well, we went to pick up the 1782 this morning,, armed with chains, binders, cable pullers, tire pump, jumper cables,, etc,,,
we were expecting a fight to get the 1782 on the trailer,,,

I backed up the trailer to the tractor, hit the key to see if it would start,,
it cranked right up!! ,, Actually it started like it had been used the day before,,

I tried to drive it on the trailer,, it would not go up the ramps,,
the chains were spinning on the steel ramps.

We took off the chains, it went right on the trailer.
It is running in both pics,,,

We never saw a wisp of smoke,,
We pulled the tractor up to a wheel stop I had in the trailer, then, loaded the second Haban deck on behind the tractor,,
Literally, there was not 1/2" of extra length,,, the extra deck took the remainder of the trailer.

When we got home, we checked the fuel level, the tank was even full of clear fresh looking fuel.
The "clock" says it has 900 hours,,

Over the weekend, my son-in-law ordered EVERY filter from Amazon, they are due to be delivered today,, (I think he said there are six!!??)

He is excited, this is his 4TH tractor, but, it is the first one he has purchased,
the others came from his dad-in-law,,,,

 

[4570Man]

What did you expect from a Kubota diesel? This isn’t a gas junker.

 

[CADplans]

What did you expect from a Kubota diesel? This isn’t a gas junker.

The more diesels we get, the more I dislike gas engines,,
This is my first Kubota, other than the IH 584, the others are Yanmar,,,

 

[3930dave]

All the worry was for naught,,,

Well, we went to pick up the 1782 this morning,, armed with chains, binders, cable pullers, tire pump, jumper cables,, etc,,.

You do realize.... if you hadn't gone there loaded for bear, 'ol Murph would have made sure you'd need a crane to load it !

Old simple diesels can often be "happy" sitting a while, esp. compared to gasoline motors. It may have been well taken care of, going by the full tank.

Nice addition to the tractor barn !

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

The more diesels we get, the more I dislike gas engines,,
This is my first Kubota, other than the IH 584, the others are Yanmar,,,

I like old diesels, but don't go out and buy a brand-new one with Eyes Wide Shut...... NOX sensors et al are a whole other kettle of bananas......

Rgds, D.

 

[4570Man]

The more diesels we get, the more I dislike gas engines,,
This is my first Kubota, other than the IH 584, the others are Yanmar,,,

My Grasshopper set for 2 years before I bought it. The battery was dead but other than that it fired right up.

 

[pmsmechanic]

The more diesels we get, the more I dislike gas engines,,
This is my first Kubota, other than the IH 584, the others are Yanmar,,,

So out of the 10 vehicles/tractors that we own 2 are gas. A 1947 IHC KB-1 and my quad. Everything else is diesel.