IH 574 weirdness

I went today to look at an IH 574 diesel. Overall it seems to be a good tractor. There is 1 thing that seems quite strange that I wanted some input on. In Low range all 4 gears seemed to operate normally. In High range gears 1 and 2 seemed fine, but in 3rd and 4th gears the engine wouldn't rev back up once I let the clutch out. With the cluch in I would give it about 1/2 throttle, but when I let the clutch out the RPM's dropped way down to the point where it acted like it wanted to stall. I expected the RPM's to then go back up and the speed to increase, but it never did. I actually opened the throttle all the way up with no change in RPM's or ground speed. The tach on the tractor doesn't work, but at 2/3 throttle in High 3rd gear I bet I was doing about 6-7 MPH down the road. When I pushed the clutch back in the engine revved way back up. Any idea why this is happening? Is it a sign of a bigger problem?

Thanks.

Jason

Jason, I would say it was fuel starvation, fuel filter(s) or fuel line is partially clogged. If it is not the fuel filter(s) then the favourite place for that model of tractor to clog is at the outlets at the bottom of the fuel tank. If you look under the fuel tank you will see the outlet at the bottom of each side of the tank. First thing would be to check the shut off valves at the bottom of the tank to make sure they are turn on fully. If the inlet pipe to the primary fuel filter is removed the fuel should flow the full of the pipe. If it doesn't the problem is between the tank and the fuel filter.

Do an archive search on Floridaboy and read about his 674 which is basically same as 574.

How was the parking brake, foot brakes?
Did you smell the crankcase oil dipstick for Diesel fuel smell?

JimB

Thanks for the input on the potential fuel starvation. The foot brakes were OK. The parking brake does not work. I've read previous posts about potential issues with that. How big of a deal is that? If that's a time bomb waiting to go off maybe I should stay away from this tractor.

I looked at the engine oil, but did not smell it. Why?

Thanks.

Jason

Jason, Sometimes it is just a broken parking brake cable. Symptom is parking brake lever pulls to the top with no resistance. The bad parking brake band is parking brake appears to lock on but will not hold tractor on incline. If the parking brake hasn't worked for years then there probably will not be a problem as the chewed up parking brake bits have all been trapped in the hydraulic filter or settled to bottom of transmission. My brother had a summer student working for him one summer and he drove his 684 with parking brake on and that was at least 10 years ago and has not suffered in permanent hydraulic damage. He did change the hydraulic filter more frequently for a while. His solution was to install an eye bolt through floor board and between the two brake pedals and to lock brakes on he puts a pin in the eye of the eye bolt. I don't believe this set up would pass safety standards as parking brakes are supposed to be mechanical only and not rely on hydraulics.

The smell for Diesel fuel in crankcase oil is to see if the front lip seal on the Bosch fuel injection pump is leaking Diesel fuel into the crankcase. This is caused by the new Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel fuel not having sufficient lubricity to lube the older injection pumps. The seal is only $8.00 but have to remove injection pump to replace. The problem can be avoided by adding Diesel fuel conditioner or a tablespoon or so of crankcase oil to the fuel tank everytime you fill the tractor.

JimB

Those tractors never did start out in 3 and 4 in high range try starting out from high 1 and shift up

Stewart

Jason, another simpler cause could be the STOP/START/RUN control cable. Did the owner explain the the START position which is about 1/4 the way up. For first start of the day put the lever in the START position start the tractor let it run on START for 15 to 30 seconds then pull lever all the way to the top to the RUN position.
Also check the fuel control lever on the side of the inject pump that when the STOP/START/RUN lever is in the RUN position the lever is fully forward against the power control adjustment screw. Sometimes the STOP/START/RUN control cable slips on that holder screw and doesn't push the fuel control lever all the way forward and this will reduce the fuel flow to the engine and HP developed.

JimB