Oil & Fuel Whats it sound like when you run out of diesel?

Alan L. · May 1, 2005

When I parked by my tractor last night the fuel guage was below empty. When I got home from church today I wanted to mow a couple of passes down the sides of my 700' driveway, and thats all. I had maybe a cupful of fuel in the fuel can and poured that in. I cranked it up and was going to let it warm up while I changed clothes.

While I was in my underwear Mrs. Alan L. hollared that something bad was wrong with the tractor. It did sound terrible, rumbling and knocking, I ran out to the shop in my underwear and killed it.

I don't have any diesel so I haven' tried re-starting it, but do diesels sound pretty bad when they run out of fuel? Seems strange since I poured some in there, plus the fuel bowl appears full.

rpeter · May 1, 2005

When you run out of diesel it sounds pretty quite /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I am sorry; sometimes I just can't help myself. I really can not answer your question because I have never run out.

JerryG · May 1, 2005

Alan,
Sounds like it was starting to suck air as it was running out of fuel.

Egon · May 1, 2005

Yep - the fellows are right. It gets real quiet. It also gives one a chance to check the tank bottom for debri. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Egon

centell · May 2, 2005

Are you sure you did not have gasoline in that can. It happen to someone I know.

Junkman · May 2, 2005

It sounds expensive from the description. You were picking up air with the fuel and the engine was in the through of having a heart attach. Change the filters and put a couple of gallons in the tank... bleed the lines and hope for the best. I doubt that you did any harm, except to your ego for telling us about it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Highbeam · May 2, 2005

It is not good to run out of diesel. A diesel tank low on fuel is a good place for water to condense. Every day at shutdown, my tank gets topped off.

Fill her up and hope it starts without having to bleed each injector line.

aardvark · May 2, 2005

I ran my BX out of diesel once. It sounds like the engine is going to come apart, missing and shaking, and it has no power. You will probably be fine just filling it back up, cranking the engine for several moments (like 8 or 10 seconds on my BX) and it should start up. It will still sound bad for a minute until the injector pump self primes. Once the system has bled out all the air bubbles it will run fine again.

Tom_H · May 2, 2005

Ditto.

And for those of you who've never run out, it's anything BUT quiet while it runs out. It's like the thing's having an epileptic seizure. It is loud, and you'll think the whole tractor is going to fly apart. She is in her death throes, screaming, "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME!!!???"

Jimbrown · May 2, 2005

Well I never ran a diesel out of fuel, But I can tell you for sure when you run an airplane or a helicopter out of fuel it gets real quiet followed by a whole bunch of OHHHHH SHxxxxxxs we are gonna die. But you don't.