rodneumann
New User
For several weeks I could not get my 3000 series 1966 Ford 3 cyl diesel tractor to start. It would not fire a lick. I had been running it for many hours before I left it in the field and then followed by days of rain.
So weeks later I went to start it and it acted like it was out of fuel. It wasn't but I added 5 gallons to a few gallons that were in the tank. I figured a slow leak caused the fuel bowls to leak down...it had sat up about 4 weeks. Or maybe since we had some hard rains...maybe water in the fuel? I drained some fuel from the fuel bowls and got a little crud, but then it was clean. And even though I had no air bubbles weeping from cracked fittings, but rather just good fuel at every place I cracked open, including injector ports on top of the fuel pump body, it wouldn't fire one hit. Zero! A little ether at the nostrils of the air cleaner stack only caused a little bit faster cranking but it wasn't helping draw any diesel through to the injectors it seemed.
Ether sprayed directly into the intake (bad idea) caused such loud detonation I worried I'd caused some damage...so I put the ether away. Don't do that!
I hooked up a battery charger and would intermittently recharge the battery and alternately crank the hell out of it. I had hand pumped the primer lever a lot but when there's no sign of air bubbles, what use is that?
So finally this evening I got it to finally fire! And it started right up finally after hours and hours over a span of two weeks screwing with it. It didn't cough and hesitate hardly at all, it just started (so there must not have been much air in the fuel after all).
I don't know if what I did will apply to anyone else out there, but if it helps then that's good. What I did is: while cranking I just pumped the kill plunger in/out many times rapidly, then followed by pumping the fuel throttle to/fro maximum extent, rapidly, and lo and behold it started running.
What did that do? Was there something stuck inside the fuel pump / injection distributor or something. I had moved the throttle before and had tried pulling and pushing the kill plunger before, but not a vigorous or rapid repetitive motion.
So I hope I remember if this happens again. After totally exhausting the possibilities of non-primed fuel injectors and still will not fire, then go crazy with the throttle and the kill control. Maybe the kill control has nothing to do with it or maybe the throttle had nothing to do with it but it must have dislodged something or I don't know what.
Are there some theories or opinions out there regarding what may have happened to make this action restart my diesel engine.
Isn't there supposed to be some motor oil in somewhere in the injector pump? Maybe it oils the cams or something? Do you put it in from the top where's that big bolt head? Could it be something like that? Low on lubrication in the fuel pump?
By the way, the season is dry hot summer... this was not any "cold" start problem.
So weeks later I went to start it and it acted like it was out of fuel. It wasn't but I added 5 gallons to a few gallons that were in the tank. I figured a slow leak caused the fuel bowls to leak down...it had sat up about 4 weeks. Or maybe since we had some hard rains...maybe water in the fuel? I drained some fuel from the fuel bowls and got a little crud, but then it was clean. And even though I had no air bubbles weeping from cracked fittings, but rather just good fuel at every place I cracked open, including injector ports on top of the fuel pump body, it wouldn't fire one hit. Zero! A little ether at the nostrils of the air cleaner stack only caused a little bit faster cranking but it wasn't helping draw any diesel through to the injectors it seemed.
Ether sprayed directly into the intake (bad idea) caused such loud detonation I worried I'd caused some damage...so I put the ether away. Don't do that!
I hooked up a battery charger and would intermittently recharge the battery and alternately crank the hell out of it. I had hand pumped the primer lever a lot but when there's no sign of air bubbles, what use is that?
So finally this evening I got it to finally fire! And it started right up finally after hours and hours over a span of two weeks screwing with it. It didn't cough and hesitate hardly at all, it just started (so there must not have been much air in the fuel after all).
I don't know if what I did will apply to anyone else out there, but if it helps then that's good. What I did is: while cranking I just pumped the kill plunger in/out many times rapidly, then followed by pumping the fuel throttle to/fro maximum extent, rapidly, and lo and behold it started running.
What did that do? Was there something stuck inside the fuel pump / injection distributor or something. I had moved the throttle before and had tried pulling and pushing the kill plunger before, but not a vigorous or rapid repetitive motion.
So I hope I remember if this happens again. After totally exhausting the possibilities of non-primed fuel injectors and still will not fire, then go crazy with the throttle and the kill control. Maybe the kill control has nothing to do with it or maybe the throttle had nothing to do with it but it must have dislodged something or I don't know what.
Are there some theories or opinions out there regarding what may have happened to make this action restart my diesel engine.
Isn't there supposed to be some motor oil in somewhere in the injector pump? Maybe it oils the cams or something? Do you put it in from the top where's that big bolt head? Could it be something like that? Low on lubrication in the fuel pump?
By the way, the season is dry hot summer... this was not any "cold" start problem.