300U engine drag

Dave H (MI)

Well-known Member
I got the old girl to start this morning. It were not an easy task. Does the same thing now. Fires right up first time you turn the key. Runs about 3-4 seconds then stalls. Won't fire again...just cranks. I noticed the ammeter is at zero all the time now so I cannot tell if it is charging. I THINK it used to work. So I put on jumper cables and give it a whiff of starter fluid. That gets it to fire but it keeps stalling...might be that drag I was talking about is too much for it while it is cold. After several tries, it stays running but you can tell the drag (every 6 seconds) is hard on it. Once it was warmed up, I tried Jim's test and, yes, it is clearly a hydraulic issue. After testing I drove it over to the old dairy barn I am rebuilding. The hydraulics had stopped working altogether when I got there. Won't react up or down, at least for the FH. I ran the tractor at a high idle for 7 hours today powering a cement mixer. Does a great job when it is warmed up.
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Does the choke cable actually move the choke plate to closed? An application of ether indicates it is not getting rich enough. Does it have a generator or alternator? A Hitachi 14231 will fit and make charge really well. Jim
 
My 300u has done the short,intermittent load on/off on the engine before,and it,too, is hydraulic related.Usually I just dead head one or the other of the remotes levers,and it clears itself.
In your pic it appears that you have one remote lever,and it seems too far forward.Does it detent forward,backward,and middle(neutral) ? Also there is a selector with an S and a D on the front of the valve that has an elliptical 9/16ths nut with a roll pin thru it.In the S position it should be in a float position with the lever to the rear.You may try move the selector from D to S and see if that helps.Your fast hitch has this feature also,and it should be in'D'. On mine the problem has always been the auxiliary remote.
My Dad and uncle bought my 300u the year I was born.It has always started hard in real cold weather.You have to fully choke,and leave it 3/4 choked for a few minutes and gradually push the choke in,before it will even try to run clearly.But it won't die. And it has always cranked hard,to the point it barely even turns over.But it will always start.If you leave it choked too long it will start to run rich,and sputter and smoke. You have to operate the choke carefully.So my question is,is your choke completely closing when you pull the knob?And try to start it? Let us know,Mark.
 
On the starting issue I have a 300U and have had stuff growing in the screen at the carb and stuff in the tank plugging the outlet. Maybe the sediment bowl is full of water. You've got to make sure you have a good steady stream of gas at the carb before moving on to possible other problems. If you are getting down below 40 degrees you will need to use the choke to keep it running until it warms up a bit. It is a bit cold blooded. On your surging problem mine does that when its low on oil. Is your oil level OK. There is a screen inside the reservoir that could be getting clogged and a screen that will crush under the right circumstances I believe in the regulator block. I think this one was brought up in your other thread a couple of days ago. Have you checked anything?
 
Charlie is right about the sediment bowl Dave. You said the carb was full of water, but you didn't say if you drained the sediment bowl at the same time, and if you didn't, the bowl is probably full of water, and the gas flows right over the top of the water. Unless the water gets too high, then it will run into the carb as well. How bout this? Is there maybe a little water still in there that could have frozen? With it being down to 15? for those couple nights over the weekend, we still have ice over the ponds today even at 50? all day today.
 
Yes it did when I installed it in the Spring. No reason why I cannot check it again. The alternator on the tractor is a low profile unit like the Hitachi. Fits in nice under the hood. I had nothing to do with that. Might be a Hitachi for all I know. I will likely pull it off and take it to the auto electric shop for a test when I get the time. We worked until after dark yesterday. When I pulled the tractor out on the road to drive down to the shed the lights were very bright. I don't know if this is relative to it charging or not?
 
Yup...choke fully closes. Tractor turns over well. When I bought this tractor several years ago it sat outside all the time and started all winter long. It has a fast hitch and one set of remotes. The original valve for the remotes stripped at the handle and I have not had time to drill in a pin. It's hard sometimes because I have two homes and two shops and stuff is never where I need it. The valve you see is one I had on hand and is different from the original. How it is different I have long since forgotten, but one difference is the location of the handle. Never looked to see if it could be rotated back. I was just happy it worked, then on to another job. Lots of jobs. :)
 
I was hooking onto the mixer when I discovered the hydraulics were out. We ran a long time pouring 160 ft bond beam (plus verticals) and it was nearly full dark when I drove it back in the shed. I might be out there tomorrow but definitely on Friday. I want to check the hydro fluid. I have a combine with a slow leak and if I don't stay on top of it I lose a lot of functions all at once. I will give it a look. No lights in that shed and I was dog tired.
 
Yes, it got wicked cold. I was downtown Chicago the day it dropped and outdoors most of the day. I don't think the sediment bowl has much if any water in it. I have looked at it many times. What is in there looks like gas and there is no line between water/gas nor does it ever freeze. I did not drain it for this reason. I will pull the drain on the carb though and see did more get in there. The tractor has NEVER been outside when not working since I drained the carb last. It's kind of an important unit here. As you can see in the picture, I have two working utilities. The other is the Ford loader tractor behind the mixer. These little tractors do most of the work around here while the 1586 sits in the shed most of the year. The Ford was my first tractor. I bought it new in 1989 when I only had 2 acres to worry about. :)

Anyway, it would help a lot if I could get this 300U back to being as reliable as it used to be.
 
I have a 656 that you must have the gas turned off,pull the choke out and start the tractor,push the choke half way in and turn the gas on before it dies. It run fine but, it will flood cold if the gas is left on, and it has a working solenoid on it.
 

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