YM 240D purchase and questions

[keenlanp]

Folks,
I have been a lurker on the forums for about a year now. Finally scratched a decades long itch last summer and bought a Branson 3015H (love it, just a beautiful little beast of a tractor). Since then I have been checking craigslist and facebook marketplace periodically for implements. I was aware of the dangers, but couldn稚 help myself. About 10 days ago, a gent 2 hours south posted a tractor he thought was a YM 1500 which some misguided soul had at some point in the fairly distant past painted up to look like an Allis D17. He posted a picture of the engine plate and after a little digging, I figured out that it was actually a YM 240D. He bought it at an auction with the intent to fix it up or part it out (wouldn稚 start), but got it home and realized he already had too many projects and too much work and decided to sell it. Long story short, I bought it and the original front mount snowblower for $850. I have always liked the old Yanmars, wanted a tractor with a front mount snowblower, and figured for that price I (hopefully) couldn稚 go wrong. I am semi competent with a wrench and my brother in law is an absolute wizard, so I took the plunge.
Work has been hectic lately so I haven稚 had a lot of time to mess with it, but after charging the battery fully, cleaning the air filter and sediment bulb, it started. Runs rough even for a Yanmar and smokes to high heaven, but I am still encouraged. I have an order of filters, a new seat, a top link, and a few other odds and ends, including a maintenance manual coming in from Hoyes on Weds. The plan is to change all the fluids/filters (clean the hydraulic screen) and drain the fuel tank Weds./Thurs. night and see what that does, then take it to the brother in laws this weekend for him to take a look.

Things are looking good so far (keeping the fingers firmly crossed), but I have a few questions for the experts on the forum:

Considering that that it started the for the first time when I had the decompression lever over in the decomp position, it appears that the decompression lever doesn稚 work. The first few times I tried to start it before I cleaned things out, it also didn稚 seem to make any difference in the rpm the engine was turning at. This along with the weak battery is likely what was keeping it from starting?along with not being started for what may have been a very long time. If I am right, any thoughts what would cause this and how does one go about fixing it?

Do the thermostart reservoirs on the 240Ds automatically fill or do you need to fill them manually?

I have spent a bit of time on the net trying to come up with some info and hopefully a manual for the snowblower but so far no luck. It was built by Ber-Vac and was a Yanmar model YS-60. Does anyone know anything about this model and or have suggestions on where to find a manual?

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[clemsonfor]

First you could have a sticky pump or injectors cause in rough running. Fresh fuel may help lots. If the compression is good it should run well.

The thermostat cup does not refill unless you have the auto filling one that is hooked to the injector return lines through a special cap.

Also the decompression lever is adjusted through the valve cover. It's just some linkages.

 

[California]

Like Clemsonfor said, adjust the decompression visible linkage and see if that works. If that already works properly, you might have to go deeper and adjust the parts inside the valve cover, but there's no reason for those to get out of adjustment. It should be able to spin freely, no resistance from compression, when that mechanism is adjusted properly.

The original Thermostart reservoir has a single hose from the bottom of the cup down to the heating element. Feel around the heating element for warmth after holding the key left for 10~20 seconds, and look into the top of the manifold for a small flame. Those elements burn out or can become clogged so that no fuel is emitted They are similar to a car cigarette lighter. Inexpensive to replace.

For the smoking I would first drain the stale fuel and replace with fresh, and also add Lucas, Power Service, or other 'injector cleaner - Cetane improver' at the maximum label recommendation. This plus simply running the tractor may clean it up. But it's not a modern smog-spec engine, expect exhaust smoke when its working hard.

$850 for 4 wheel drive with snow blower and you got it to run with some tinkering? You stole it! A few thousand $ is closer to what its worth.

We need photos!!!

 

[clemsonfor]

Like Clemsonfor said, adjust the decompression visible linkage and see if that works. If that already works properly, you might have to go deeper and adjust the parts inside the valve cover, but there's no reason for those to get out of adjustment. It should be able to spin freely, no resistance from compression, when that mechanism is adjusted properly.

The original Thermostart reservoir has a single hose from the bottom of the cup down to the heating element. Feel around the heating element for warmth after holding the key left for 10~20 seconds, and look into the top of the manifold for a small flame. Those elements burn out or can become clogged so that no fuel is emitted They are similar to a car cigarette lighter. Inexpensive to replace.

For the smoking I would first drain the stale fuel and replace with fresh, and also add Lucas, Power Service, or other 'injector cleaner - Cetane improver' at the maximum label recommendation. This plus simply running the tractor may clean it up. But it's not a modern smog-spec engine, expect exhaust smoke when its working hard.

$850 for 4 wheel drive with snow blower and you got it to run with some tinkering? You stole it! A few thousand $ is closer to what its worth.

We need photos!!!

Yep and yep!

 

[careyo63]

Linkage to the decompression.At the Valve cover it turns down to the left just like the Handle below the dash. Mine Actually will lock in place at the Full On position. Which just a small amount of force will release it. Setup like that for Maint. purposes is my guess.
Another thing I would do with the excessive smoke is clean the Exhaust out. You can remove it just go easy on the Gasket which for yours I would and clear it out. Your be amassed how much oil and sludge might come out. I clean mine but I just use a wet old T-shirt and there's been a lot more come out than I want to see. Been like that and doing it 10yrs.. or not long after I bought it. You want the exhaust as clear as possible and my bet it's pretty much clogged up. You have it running so it may not be that bad. Set of rings? Hey!!! good find........:thumbsup:

 

[keenlanp]

Folks,
Thanks for the info and suggestions. I will take a look at the decompression linkage and exhaust tomorrow evening after I drain and clean the tank and add some new diesel and injector cleaner. I will post an update after that. I will try to attach a couple images of the new addition sitting in the garage after I got it home. I know we all have our favorites, but it still seems like a crime that someone painted it up like an Allis Chalmers.

 

[clemsonfor]

Cool tractor. It's worth what you paid for it if for parts alone. The fact it runs at all makes it a steal. I gaurentee you when you get it right maybe just working it hard with fresh fuel it will run fine.

Why someone would put AC on the front? Maybe to deceive someone for a sale, but it would only be someone who knows nothing about tractors or the internet to research?

I would get that stupid looking AC decals off as fast as possible... possibly before I even had it running right! Haha

 

[keenlanp]

Folks,
Ok, an update after some more work this weekend. First I removed the Allis Chalmers sticker .
While I am still happy with the purchase, I am discovering more of the "there is a reason it was cheap" issues. As I was changing the fluids, I noticed a hole in the radiator I had missed when I was looking at it before I bought it. My mechanic brother in law also figured out that the smoke and rough running is due to the injector on #2 cylinder being stuck at least partially open. The plan is to patch the radiator and once the injector issue is dealt with work the tractor a bit and see if there still seems to be adequate cooling, if not, I buy a new radiator. As for the injector, we are going to pull that and hopefully a good cleaning will fix the issue. If not, then a rebuild or a new injector is on the agenda.
I am trying to decide if buying an injector puller from Hoye's is worth it or if we should give it a try without. I know that California had a heck of a time getting his out. Has anyone else pulled injectors on a 240 and how rough was it? Any other words of wisdom or advice? Thanks as always for the much appreciated guidance.

 

[clemsonfor]

It's about half and half. "Thepumpguysc" is a pro and rebuilds pumps and injectors. He bought the tool cause he had some he could not remove any other way. Said you would destroy them without it. I have read a few others saying the same thing. Also I have read of some people that could easily remove them or did the old trick to loosen nuts and crank it and they popped out. Me I would try without it and then buy the tool if that didn't work. That is if your in no hurry.
Even for a injector rebuild and a new radiator you still got a heck of a deal.

This gets me thinking if someone regular buys it they could probably use it and then resell it on here to recoup cost. Then the next guy could do it the same if they wanted. It would be cool if we got one that basically would just be shipped around to who needed it. But there a few regulars and it is such an infrequent thing it just seems like new folks who join are the ones who need it.

 

[California]

Folks,
Ok, an update after some more work this weekend. First I removed the Allis Chalmers sticker .
While I am still happy with the purchase, I am discovering more of the "there is a reason it was cheap" issues. As I was changing the fluids, I noticed a hole in the radiator I had missed when I was looking at it before I bought it. My mechanic brother in law also figured out that the smoke and rough running is due to the injector on #2 cylinder being stuck at least partially open. The plan is to patch the radiator and once the injector issue is dealt with work the tractor a bit and see if there still seems to be adequate cooling, if not, I buy a new radiator. As for the injector, we are going to pull that and hopefully a good cleaning will fix the issue. If not, then a rebuild or a new injector is on the agenda.
I am trying to decide if buying an injector puller from Hoye's is worth it or if we should give it a try without. I know that California had a heck of a time getting his out. Has anyone else pulled injectors on a 240 and how rough was it? Any other words of wisdom or advice? Thanks as always for the much appreciated guidance.

Those aren't big-dollar issues so you will still have fair value after fixing them. You might have the radiator rodded out and patched. I think they are toughter than a fragile modern car radiator. I was told mine was rodded just before I bought the YM240 in 2003 and cooling has been troublefree ever since.

I'm glad you found my old post re injector removal. One other thing I would do today is saturate the cavity around the injector with penetrating oil, a day before removal. Part of my difficulty was each injector was an extremely hard pull all the way up out of its cavity, not just breaking it loose. And I should have coated the barrel of each injector with anti-sieze before reinstalling it. Others have told me they had an easier time. You might get lucky.

I've posted before about all the 'deferred maintenance' (a real estate term, = neglect) I had to remedy. I spent a month fixing stuff like the warning lights dangling by my knee and squeaking lug bolts, before the tractor was ready to put in service. Pretty much trouble free, since. All it needed was the maintenance it should have had all along.