Tractor stopped, found water in diesel fuel, how bad is it?

[DCinVA]

I started my Allis Chalmers 5015 diesel this morning, and as always it fired right up. It ran for about 3 minutes then started knocking, smoking and stalled. I tried to restart but it would not fire. It seemed like it was not getting fuel, so I pulled the fuel bowl and it was full of water, not just a little, but a lot. I cleaned out the bowl, and drained a tank until clean fuel came out, and put it all back together. It still would not start so I tried to bleed the lines to the injectors. I got some bubbles and a bit of fuel at #2, but nothing from #1 or #3. I am pretty sure that some water got into the injector pump. My question is, how bad is this, and where do I go from here? I am a little afraid to pull the pump apart, but that seems like that might be the next step.

Thanks in advance for any advise!

 

[Tx Jim]

Water can coat a fuel filter to where little/no fuel will pass through it. Install a new fuel filter if you haven't already done so.

 

[DCinVA]

Thanks Tx, I pulled the line downstream of the fuel bowl and filter and had good flow of diesel. I also cleaned the bowl and flushed out the filter. The filter will need to be replaced as soon as I can source one. I cranked it again and seemed to have a bit of flow from #2 and #3 but nothing yet from #1. I am concerned that the water may have damaged the pump, or the injectors. I will give it a rest tonight and look at it again in the morning. Sometimes leaving it alone for a while can help.

 

[newbury]

I must have cranked my 7.3 Ford diesel van for an hour or two (just a few minutes at a time) until I got fuel flowing from the "cracked" injectors I could reach.
Took long time to get the air out.

 

[DCinVA]

Thanks to all for the help, special thanks to Harry in Ky who sent me a very helpful PM.

This morning I went out and hooked up the battery charger and let it run for a few hours.
Then I cranked it a bit with the injector lines loosened and had some seepage at #2 and #3. Still nothing from #1.
I tightened up the lines at #2 and #3, warmed up the glow plugs and tried to start it. It seemed to try to fire but would not catch. I let it rest for a few minutes and tried again. It eventually fired up but was only was running on #2 and #3. After a few minutes I noticed a bit of fuel leaking from the #1 line, so I stopped the engine and tightened the #1 line. I fired it back up and it was still only running on 2 cylinders, I let it run for about 5 minutes and eventually it started running on all 3 cylinders. Thankfully everything seems to be fine. I guess that the water that had gotten into the pump and injectors worked its way through and cleared.

The moral of this story is check your water separator on a regular basis. I was doing it annually and don't use the tractor that much, but perhaps it should be done twice a year.

Thanks again for all the support!

Dave in Virginia

 

[3930dave]

Good to hear that worked out for you.

If you haven't already, try and track down the water source - huge amounts in a separator are not normal.

If the tractor sits for a month or 3 at a time outdoors, then check the separator every time you fire it up.

Rgds, D.