180 Diesel surging

A.Jackson

Member
Hello all- My Allis Chalmers 180 diesel starts and runs fine until it begins to surge 1-200 RPM at all throttle positions. It runs rough while this happens then the surging usually quits,
only to return again after several minutes. Injector pump was rebuilt 300 hours ago. Filters and fuel OK, but the front injector does have some fuel seepage around it ( not much ). This
injector has been leaking for many years. Thought the engine might be sucking air so I checked the fuel line fittings for tightness - all OK. I'll try some Lucas fuel cleaner or Seafoam
today, but does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!
 
You say nothing about cleaning the glass sediment bowl. Depending on the age of the tractor, the sediment bowl might be directly underneath the fuel tank (hard to service) or off to the right side of the tank (easier to service). Remove the bowl and with petcock clear open, there should be TWO STREAMS of fuel running out of it. Anything less than two healthy streams means the bowls inlet (on top) is plugged with debris. Remove the base to clean or blow backwards into the tank to dislodge blockage, which still leaves it in the tank. Throw away the screen inside the bowl---not needed and plugs too easy. a new clean and tight fuel filter is also in order for a complaint like this. Start at the sediment bowl first.
 
Yep. Looks like blockage alright. I have a stream shooting off to the side and the other is just a drip. Coming out of the top of the sediment filter, I see one line leading to the spin on
filter, and one going up to the tank. Question: by 'remove the base' do you mean the sediment bowl base and also should I take the spin on filter ( which has 10 hours on it ) off and
blow out that line too?

Many thanks! I've owned this tractor for 23 years and would never have thought about that issue in the tank. One more thing, Can I really get rid of that little screen filter n the sediment
bowl. It really is a pain to mess with.
 
The inlet in the top of the sediment bowl is usually the smallest point in the system, so that's where crud, ice, etc. accumulates.

When I made my living as a mechanic, I carried a 3/8" pipe plug in my tool box, and usually on a cold day, would be unscrewing the sediment bowl assembly from a fuel tank, and trying to quickly screw the plug in. That would flush the tank. I would clean the inlet neck of the bowl assembly, then reverse the process, trying to not get soaked again!

I have a combine now where the fitting coming out of the tank is impossible to get at without major surgery. I blew back through it, and it has been fine since. I assume whatever was in there dissolved, or broke up enough, so that it doesn't bother.
 
All fixed! Can't thank everyone enough. There was a tiny bit of sediment in the inlet to the sediment bowl and a pin-head size of what looked like an ancient blue paper towel. Anyway, cleaned it and put it all back together. Bush-hogged for several hours. Runs great!
 
I haven't used a screen in a DIESEL sediment bowl for 40 years. That is the first place they gell in the Winter time. The spin-on fuel filter will catch all the dirt.
 

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