Deere 2010 gas - engine looses power under load.

Guys, here's the situation I'm hoping you can help with.

My 1956 Deere 2010 loses power under load, mainly when disking. I'll be going along fine and then the engine RPMs drop and the engine starts to stutter. IMO, it sounds and feels like it's running out of fuel. No black smoke or anything to indicate it's flooding, it feels to me like it drank too much fuel and now is starving.

If I press the clutch in, RPMs come back and the engine comes back to life, but as soon as I start again, the problem reoccurs. Sometimes idling the engine for a minute makes the problem go away for a little while.

Other observations that may be significant.

- The problem is inconsistent. Sometimes I can work for an hour with no issues then it will start. Sometimes it starts right away.

- It never happens when I'm just driving around using the loader. It's always under a steady "pulling" load when using the disc.

- Often the problems start when going down a slight hill where the engine "races" a little on start of the downslope.

- I've tried setting the load adjustment screw on the carb and that did not seem to have any impact. Under full throttle, I screwed the adjuster in until the engine stuttered, then out 1 full turn and then 2 full turns. No improvement.

Some help from the Deere experts please. I really need this baby back and running well. I have to get planted by next week. I can't take the tractor into a shop without some major effort to load/haul it, so I want to try everything possible myself first.

Many thanks!

Grouse
 
Inconsistency in the problem makes me wonder about the fuel tank and what is going on with the drain/fuel bowl. Don't know about the 2010 specifically but many
such systems use a standpipe that is made into the bottom of the tank or the fuel bowl assembly. The standpipe could be eaten out to where foreign material is blocking
the drain. The same is possible with the fuel bowl. This is where I would start looking.
 
Does choking it hurt or help?? If it helps it is running lean if it hurts it is running to rich. You also might try pulling the carb drain plug and make sure you have a good steady flow of gas that will fill a pint jar in less then 3 minutes and yes catch the gas to look for dirt/water etc.

Have you done any thing to it like a tune up say in the past month or so. If yes did you change the condenser if you did put the old one aback in good chance you have a bad new one
 
(quoted from post at 14:33:45 06/15/18) Does choking it hurt or help?? If it helps it is running lean if it hurts it is running to rich. You also might try pulling the carb drain plug and make sure you have a good steady flow of gas that will fill a pint jar in less then 3 minutes and yes catch the gas to look for dirt/water etc.

Have you done any thing to it like a tune up say in the past month or so. If yes did you change the condenser if you did put the old one aback in good chance you have a bad new one

Great minds think alike. I pulled the choke yesterday, it made it run worse. But having done the load adjustment, I have to think I'm not that out of whack with the mixture.

At the point where it's acting up, it seems to be starving for gas, but the funny thing is as soon as I hit the clutch and take the load off, she comes roaring back.

If the fuel supply were blocked, I'm thinking it would take longer than that for the fuel flow to catch up?

I'm with you guys, fuel flow COULD be the issue and I'll be checking that, but what is mysterious to me is the engine roaring back to life as soon as I hit the clutch.

Could this be some kind of governor issue?

Many thanks.

Grouse
 
I would be looking at the Governor linkage, springs, etc. I would also remove the governor and make sure the that it not bound up. If you do not have a JD service manual, let me know and I will take a picture of the page and email it to you.
 
Coming back to life could be a governor problem or a sticking linkage problem. One would almost need to be able to watch the linkage while it is running and acting up to see if the governor is opening up the throttle when it needs more fuel to keep the RPM where it needs to be. Also when was the last time you serviced the air cleaner and dumped the mud and water out and filled with fresh oil
 
(quoted from post at 15:46:05 06/15/18) I would be looking at the Governor linkage, springs, etc. I would also remove the governor and make sure the that it not bound up. If you do not have a JD service manual, let me know and I will take a picture of the page and email it to you.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could send me a picture of that page.

[email protected]

I'll certainly check out the fuel starvation issues, but the fact that the problem clears up as soon as the load is taken away by pressing in the clutch has me thinking the governor hast to be looked at.

Many thanks.

Grouse
 

(quoted from post at 15:52:39 06/15/18) Coming back to life could be a governor problem or a sticking linkage problem. One would almost need to be able to watch the linkage while it is running and acting up to see if the governor is opening up the throttle when it needs more fuel to keep the RPM where it needs to be. Also when was the last time you serviced the air cleaner and dumped the mud and water out and filled with fresh oil

Air cleaner was serviced this spring with fresh oil, but you're right, that doesn't mean a nest of ants or whatever hasn't moved in and blocked it up. Good idea, thanks.

You're right, observing the governor would be nice, but almost impossible in this situation. The more I think about it, the more this becomes one of the lead suspects though. It's exactly like the governor is sticking or stuck and not able to provide any fuel when the revs suddenly are increased when going against a hill.


Thaks for your reply.

Grouse
 
(quoted from post at 23:20:48 06/15/18)
(quoted from post at 15:46:05 06/15/18) I would be looking at the Governor linkage, springs, etc. I would also remove the governor and make sure the that it not bound up. If you do not have a JD service manual, let me know and I will take a picture of the page and email it to you.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could send me a picture of that page.

[email protected]

I'll certainly check out the fuel starvation issues, but the fact that the problem clears up as soon as the load is taken away by pressing in the clutch has me thinking the governor hast to be looked at.

Many thanks.

Grouse


Emailed you a few minutes ago
 
One way to do a little governor trouble shooting it this. Fire it up and set the throttle do to the slowest it will run. Then take you hand and try to open up the throttle by grabbing the governor to carb linkage. The governor should fight you when you try this. If you have some help you can also do this to trouble shoot it some. Jack up both rear wheels and have some one on it holding one brake down hard and then use the other brake to put drag on the engine. When they are doing that watch the carb to governor linkage and see if the governor try's to fight the engine slow down cause by the brakes.
 
This will sound odd but I fought a JD 1010 doing this years ago. I finally replaced the ignition coil and that fixed it. All I could figure was heat cause by the harder pulling along with more resistance would cause the coil to break down.

I will second or third checking the governor linage/adjustment first.
 
(quoted from post at 22:13:55 06/15/18) This will sound odd but I fought a JD 1010 doing this years ago. I finally replaced the ignition coil and that fixed it. All I could figure was heat cause by the harder pulling along with more resistance would cause the coil to break down.

I will second or third checking the governor linage/adjustment first.

Given the ignition coil is not that expensive of a part, and that I don't know when it was last changed, I might just get one as a "can't hurt to try" part.

If I'm looking at the right coils, they're $20 to $25. Along with replacing the plugs, sees like a fairly cheap thing to try. Think I may just get one. Thanks for the advice.

Grouse
 
(quoted from post at 05:28:54 06/16/18)
(quoted from post at 22:13:55 06/15/18) This will sound odd but I fought a JD 1010 doing this years ago. I finally replaced the ignition coil and that fixed it. All I could figure was heat cause by the harder pulling along with more resistance would cause the coil to break down.

I will second or third checking the governor linage/adjustment first.

Given the ignition coil is not that expensive of a part, and that I don't know when it was last changed, I might just get one as a "can't hurt to try" part.

If I'm looking at the right coils, they're $20 to $25. Along with replacing the plugs, sees like a fairly cheap thing to try. Think I may just get one. Thanks for the advice.

Grouse



Make sure that you get the correct coil. There's coils for with and with out the resistor. If you measure 12VDC at the coil with the key in on (NOT start) then there is no resistor. If you measure 6VDC at the coil with the key on (NOT start) then there is a resistor.
 
Coils almost never go bad and when they do it will run for an hour or so then quit or start to miss fire. Also when a coil goes bad it gets so hot that if you spit on it, it will steam the spit away as in to hot to touch even for a moment. Another way to test the coil is when it starts to mess up check the spark and make sure it is a good blue/white that will jump a 1/4 inch gap or more
 
(quoted from post at 11:42:42 06/16/18) Coils almost never go bad and when they do it will run for an hour or so then quit or start to miss fire. Also when a coil goes bad it gets so hot that if you spit on it, it will steam the spit away as in to hot to touch even for a moment. Another way to test the coil is when it starts to mess up check the spark and make sure it is a good blue/white that will jump a 1/4 inch gap or more

Yes, probably better to hold off on parts buying until I do more troubleshooting. I'm really hoping some inspection of the governor mechanism will reveal something about the problem.

Many thanks for all the replies.

Grouse
 
Have you done the governor test I told you about and holding the carb to governor rod to see if the governor reacts like it should
 
(quoted from post at 20:21:47 06/16/18) Have you done the governor test I told you about and holding the carb to governor rod to see if the governor reacts like it should

Not yet. Tractor is at my hunting farm, 90 miles away, but it'll be the first thing I do when I get there next week.

I'm hoping there's something pretty obvious wrong with the governor. Either a branch caught the linkage or something is bound up with crud.

The idea of having to take this into a shop is pretty un-appealing because the tractor runs just great driving through the field, etc. It is ONLY a pulling load that trips off the problem and even that is not consistent as in as soon as you start pulling the problem occurs.

Hopefully I can figure out a likely cause, but here's what I'm going to do:

- Inspect all linkage to the governor for some obvious binding, bending, or other damage.

- Pull the carb drain and let some gas free flow through to check flow from the tank.

- Check plugs and air cleaner. Clean air cleaner and plugs and check gap.

- Warm up engine and try load screw adjustment again.

- Test pulling governor against running engine per old's post.

Any other ideas to add to the checklist?

Grouse
 
Sure sounds to me like you have something
rolling around in the bottom of the fuel
tank that rolls over the hole once in
awhile. Hardest one for me to find was a
little piece of stick about an inch long.
Took eight months to find that one. Hope
you have better luck.
 
Make sure any an all pins in the governor to carb linkage are free to spin as they should as in you can twist them by hand. If any of the pins sit real tight that can cause the linage to bind up and then the governor cannot work correctly
 
Possible water in fuel - a bottle of methyl hydrate would help

Restricted or plugged tank vent - try removing fuel cap when it acts up and see if that helps.

Dirty fuel filter not able to provide enough flow for full load operation.

Crud and or water in float bowl.

Dirty rad or low on coolant, overheating under full load, possible vapour lock.

Float level set too low, leaking or sticking float.

Valves out of adjustment.

Vacuum leak that is not affecting running until things warm up and expand/warp.

Damaged/restricted metal fuel line or soft collapsing rubber line.

Check plugs, is it running on all cylinders.

Pick a different gear and try running at various speeds and rpm's, see if it makes a difference.
 
Update: Got time to go up to the farm and work on the tractor today. And the result was...

VICTORY! The sweet smell of mechanical success!

A HUGE thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and gave me ideas that contributed to the checklist that I worked through.

So what was it?

Well, after inspecting the governor linkage and carefully cleaning that area and lubing all the pivot points, everything moved freely and nothing seemed to be amiss so I moved on.

Checked the oil bath air cleaner. Nothing wrong here, nice and clean still.

The fuel hose from the tank to the carb is aftermarket, not the original stetup. I took off the hose at the carb and let it flow into a large glass jar. 1 minute produced a paltry 4 ounce dribble flow! I think we're onto something.

Also, the gas was cloudy and looked very bad. Looks like some water is setting at the bottom of the tank.

Took apart the hose, remove filter and shutoff valve. Bottom line was hose was degraded and there were chunks of black junk blocking the hose, filter, and shutoff valve.

Installed new hose, inline filter, and cleaned all parts. Drained carb and flushed bowl. Ran gas out of the tank until it ran clean and clear. Added ISO to be sure water in the tank was dealt with.

Tested fuel flow again. Now it was flowing at almost a quart per minte. 8 times the flow compared to before.

Put everything together and she ran like a watch. Put 6 hours of disc work in, she never stuttered once.

Again thanks to everyone. I really appreciate the help. I was just so relieved to get work done, I HAD to get my radish/turnip field planted, up here in the tundra we just can't miss the planting window, the season is too short.

I love the smell of mechanical victory!

Grouse
 
Glad you found out your problem!!! Thank You for posting back what you found. That way we can watch out for that issue on other stuff.
 
(quoted from post at 00:54:42 06/26/18) Glad you found out your problem!!! Thank You for posting back what you found. That way we can watch out for that issue on other stuff.

Thanks JD and I appreciate your other replies to my 2010 threads. Not exactly Deere's greatest tractor effort, but this one has 5k hours on the clock and she's still ticking.

One of the main reasons I bought a gas tractor was because of this very scenario--having to fix it myself at the farm. I'm ok around old-school gas stuff and can do many of the basics. Diesel I know almost nothing about. Nearest shop is 20 minutes away and that's AFTER I'd figure out how to load and haul the tractor, so a shop fix scenario is a last resort.

We got over an inch of rain on the radish/turnip mix I planted yesterday, so we're off to a good start.

Many thanks guys.

Grouse
 

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