TC33D stalled, died

[cstocks]

A weird thing happened to my TC33D this past weekend. It tried to stall on me once and then did stall on me later on at the exact same spot as I was mowing. I do not understand why it died on me.

Here are the details:

My tractor has 116 hours on it. I just had my 100 hour service done at a New Holland Dealership here in Houston. They did the usual... changed filters, changes fluids, greased all zerks, etc. I had put sixteen hours on it since the service work and had absolutely no problems with it.

I had just put a fresh 5 gallon container of diesel in it an hour or so before. I use a funnel with a filter in it so I do not think that trash or water got in the fuel tank. The diesel I put in it came from a Flying J truckstop (Conoco) and the same diesel went into my truck. No problems with my truck's performance after fillup.

I had been mowing for about two hours before the first stall out. I was mowing up and down a highline with some nice grades, not steep but no level mowing. The first time it tried to stall I was backing down to a cattleguard type crossing over a branch at the bottom of a hill. I had never crossed the little bridge before and was only attempting it this time because my cousin's husband said he crossed it regularly on his Kubota L3010. So, I was mowing at an incline near the crossing with the tractor pointed uphill when it tried to stall. I hit the clutch to disengage the mower and it sputtered and picked back up. I revved the motor and all seemed okay. I crossed the pipe bridge, re-engaged the mower and proceeded up the other side of the hill with no incident. I mowed for about 20 minutes and came back across the bridge. I dis-engaged the mower to cross the bridge. After crossing I was sitting just about exactly where I was when it almost stalled on me. I slowed the engine rpms, pushed the clutch in, engaged the mower, let the clutch out and started raising the engine rpms again. When I did this the tractor started bogging down just like the first time. I pushed in the clutch to dis-engage the mower but it did not help this time. The engine just wound down and died. I waited a few seconds and re-started it. It was a little sluggish but started on up. I drove up the hill a little ways and tried the mower again. It did not bog down or die and I mowed for a few minutes before I decided to call it quits for the day, lest it die on me and not start again 1/4 a mile from home. I mowed a little bit the next day but have had no other problems.

I have ruled out the fuel as being the source of the problem since I filtered it and it caused no problems in my truck. I checked all fluid levels and everything checked out. I always monitor my engine temp. when I am mowing and it was normal. The radiator screen and the grill were a little dirty but no more than is to be expected when mowing.

I am stumped. I have not called the dealer to look at it yet. The way my luck runs he will pick it up and look at it and it will not happen for him. Any ideas?

 

[jinman]

<font color=blue>I have ruled out the fuel as being the source of the problem since I filtered it and it caused no problems in my truck.</font color=blue>

I wouldn't rule out the fuel for two reasons:
1) You put the fuel for your tractor from a container using a filter, but that filter will not stop water. The container might have had a little water or condensation inside. It has been so humid in the Dallas area that an empty container could easily have some condensation. Hasn't it been wet in Houston too.
2) Your truck probably has a water separator type filter that is much more complex than our little fuel filter bowls on our tractors. The same amount of water might go un-noticed on your truck.

The symptoms you describe of going uphill sounds so much like a fuel/water problem that I have to assume that's what it is. I'd remove the filter bowl and drain it to be sure...maybe even change the filter again. ...good luck.

 

[JohnMiller3]

<font color=blue>...The symptoms you describe... sounds so much like a fuel/water problem ...</font color=blue>

I agree with Jim...

Everything was running fine... you added fuel... and not so fine...

Believe it or not these diesels (anyone's) just run forever... fuel is the number one problem...

Take Jim's advise... and your problem should be resolved... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[cstocks]

Jinman and John,

I appreciate and value your opinions. While I felt that the fuel was not the problem I have to take the wisdom and experience of your advice to heart since I am a novice tractor owner. I do not have my tractor right now... I left it in Arkansas this past weekend. However, when I go back up in a couple of weeks I will drain the filter bowl and replace the fuel filter. It can't hurt and is as good a starting place to resolving the stalling problem as I could ever think of. It stands to reason that bad fuel would more likely be the culprit than any mechanical malfunction, especially in this new of a tractor with no history of mechanical problems. I will let you know how it turns out in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again for your advice.

 

[Kodiak]

Chris:

As mentioned in other posts here on TBN. Some of the other TC owners have also had problems with the fuel cap not venting properly. Just one more thing you might want to check.

 

[gpertuit]

Have you check the fuel filter bowl? My TC40D stalled this past Sunday. I happened to notice that the fuel bowl only had about a quarter of an inch of fuel in it. I called the dealer on Monday and they had me replace a fuse. This did not solve the problem. The owner’s manual says it is a venting problem. I removed the fuel filler cap and that also did not solve the problem. The dealer is coming out Wednesday for my 50 hour and they will correct it. I’ll let you know how they fix the problem.

George

 

[cstocks]

I would appreciate a report on fixing your problem, gpertuit. I do not have my tractor right now... left it at my uncle's house in Ark. this past weekend... but getting some good advice, which I appreciate. I could call the dealer up there to come and look at it but I wanted to see if I could figure out what was wrong on my own before I envolved them. I will be doing it all on my own soon enough anyway when the warranty expires in another year.

Thanks,

 

[gpertuit]

Hi Chris,

The service tech arrived today for the 50 hour service and immediately went to work on my lack of fuel problem. I found out that there is no electric fuel pump and that the fuel is gravity fed to the filter. He disconnected the fuel line from the filter and fuel did flow, but not at a rate you would expect. He then loosened the retaining nut from the filter just enough to let it vent and fuel started to flow into the bowl. He started tracing the fuel and return line back to the tank and discovered the lines were pinched. I believe this happened when I was moving vegetation and a branch caught the lines from underneath the tractor. The fuel line was restricted but the return line was completely pinched closed. Once he freed the lines Blue was back in business. This may not be your problem but one to file away for another fuel lacking day.

George

 

[cstocks]

gpertuit,

When I am able to look at my tractor again in a couple of weeks I will remember to check the fuel lines as I go through the list of possible solutions I have gotten from the replies to this post. I know I have had a few branches snag here and there and gone places they should not have gone in the past few weeks. For example, a two inch, half rotten pecan limb ramrodded it's way between the left side panel and the fan shroud, almost completely popping the panel off as it jammed it's way past the fan shroud and wedging itself between the alternator and the hydraulic tubing. I don't think that limb is the culprit but that is not to say another limb may not have poked something it should not have poked and created a problem similar to yours.

I appreciate your update as well as all the other suggestions offered in this post. If/when I figure out what is going on I will post an update.

Thanks!

 

[cstocks]

Jim and John,

You were right about the fuel/filter bowl being the problem. I never addressed the problem I was having back in July because the problem did not happen again until this past weekend. Since my tractor has not tried to stall again I have not bothered to pull the fuel bowl and check it's contents.

Well, I got to mowing on an incline again last Saturday for the first time since July and the problem resurfaced. My tractor tried to stall going uphill as well as downhill.

It got worse and worse so I got to thinking about why the problem was occuring only when I traveled on an incline. I theorized that the bowl had just enough crud in the bottom so that the tractor ran okay on level ground but on an incline the sludge covered part of the fuel filter and the fuel pump tried to suck it through the filter.

I drove back to the house and pulled the filter bowl and sure enough the bottom of the bowl was full of a mixture of diesel, water, trash and a glob of who knows what. I did not have a replacement filter so I washed it off with clean diesel and re-used it. I washed out the bowl and, after draining some diesel from the bottom of the fuel tank, replaced the fiter and bowl. I cranked up my tractor and it ran as smooth as silk for the rest of the weekend.

I guess you could say I was a little skeptical of your advice since the problem was not an ongoing thing until this weekend. Now looking back I see that I put too much stock in the ability of the filter funnel to trap the crud and keep it out of my gas tank. This was the first time I have ever pulled the bowl and you could say that my lack of experience played a part in my hesitancy to investigate the problem. Now that I have discovered how easy it is to pull the bowl and bleed the system I will not hesitate to check the filter right away next time I have a similar problem.

I am glad I was able to use this forum to seek advice to solve my problem. Thanks for your help.