2606 no start

mostly a ford tractor guy, but we have several old IH pieces of equipment too.

I have a 2606 backhoe- which I gather is basically the same as the 606 tractor. has the diesel- i believe this is the D236 6 cylinder.

Here is the backstory on the machine- my dad bought it off a neighbor 8 years after he died. wouldnt start then, dad got someone to look at it, said we needed an injection pump. found a good used one put it on and has run "good" since. I say "good" because the engine is pretty tired. smokes a lot, if you flip the glow plugs on while its running it will start to run better and smoke slows down. I think the machine was worked pretty hard in its prior life.

current problem- wont start. it ran fine when parked, which was probably back in august? battery fully charged, glow plugs are new (less than 2 years old)

I always run some type of anti gel in my diesel fuel, but it got COLD here the past 2 weeks- so i dont know if i had enough in to protect it down that cold. my thermometer got as low as -6

my neighbor asked me for help moving some large wood 2 weekends ago. it was approx 35 degrees out. I put a radiant heater next to the oil pan to help the machine. glow plugs on for probably 2 minutes. nothing. played around for 30 min or so trying to get machine to start. never an attempt

we got a warm spell a few days later so I tried again. it was 60 degrees. again glow plugs on for a few minutes. motor spins over great, but makes zero attempt to start. not even a cough/spudder/nothing.


so my question- where to start? my immediate thought is to change the fuel filters and throw some diesel 911 in just in case it did gel, but what after that? do i try cracking the injector lines to see if its getting fuel? should i try shutting the glow plugs off and using starting fluid?

First things first...

I am not familiar with that model, but glanced at parts catalog.

It apparently uses a Roosa-Master injection pump with an electric shutoff.

Is there power to the terminal on top of the injection pump when the key switch is "ON"?

If there's power, have a helper cycle the key slowly while you listen at the I.P., there should be a noticeable metallic "click" inside the I.P. as the fuel solenoid cycles.

If OK there, loosen bleed plug on top of rear filter, does fuel come out?

Do the same with the front filter.

If no fuel flow, replace clogged filters or figure out what's restricting fuel flow.

If fuel flows, remove the fuel return line from the top of the I.P. (near the fuel solenoid wire on top of the I.P.), then remove the fitting it attaches to from the pump cover and look for dark "coffee grounds" debris stuck in the opening of the fitting.

If there's debris there, the plastic governor damper ring deep inside the I.P. has failed from heat and age, and broken up, clogging the return. (Not all RM pumps have this, so it may not apply.)

If fitting is clear and open (or not), crank the engine with the fitting removed and there should be a slow flow of return fuel, and possibly air. Does the engine now begin to smoke and maybe start?

If there's a small flow of fuel and no smoke or start, loosen a couple of injector lines to bleed air out of the lines, head and rotor.

Any fuel spray there after bleeding? (WARNING, keep body parts away from any high-pressure fuel spray!)

bob appreciate the ideas. I've done some of that

1- yes its got the 12v wire for the fuel solenoid on the IP.

I tested and confirmed 12v with key on, and yes I can hear a click when the key is cycled.

I have new filters sitting in the garage, my plan is to attack the filters once it warms up

ok so bumping this back up.

it finally warmed up this weekend and I got a few hours to work on this thing.

1- I have power to the injection pump, and I can hear the click when the key is turned on.

I changed both fuel filters, bled both canisters, and cracked the line at the pump, fuel was dripping out. SO i know I have a good flow of fuel to the injection pump

I removed return line and fitting. saw some dirt, but not a lot. cranked engine and got a little bit of fuel out the return line.

cracked 3 different injector lines and all were bone dry.

machine turns over great, but makes ZERO attempt to start.

so, I'm guessing the pump is done?

FWIW- this machine originally had a pump with the mechanical fuel shut off, not electric, someone added this pump in the past. unfortunately this pump does not have a tag on, so I dont know what model it is?

the old mechanical shut off is DBGFC629-54AE. does anyone have a part number for the same pump with the electric shut off?