Turning fuel up on 8830

ford401

Member
Looking for a few more hps maybe on the 8830. Has anyone turned the fuel up a little bit without breaking stuff? If so how did you do it.
 
I have seen too many piston failures with the Ford 401 when they are turned up at that HP level.
If you are only going to use the increased HP for short times you may be Ok.
 

Would be nice here and there on some heavy ground pulling 24 ft disc, and Ive had to pull the field cultivator out of the ground quite a bit because it will bog.
 
The amount you can turn up an engine safely is inversely proportional to how long you wish to use the extra power. If you only need those extra bursts for short periods of time, you should be able to get away with it. However, if you're looking for more power to pull an implement that is clearly too big for the machine, you're asking for trouble in the long run. It's kind of like taking energy drinks to help you through a long day. Once in a while is fine, but use it every day and most people would die of a heart attack at a young age.

The Ford 401 with the CAV injection pump is no powerhouse. It never was, and never will be. If you want something with guts, trade your tractor for a Genesis model with the 456. Even though it's only 14% more displacement, it will feel like 50% more with that longer stroke and Bosch fuel pump.
 
We pull a 6-18's plow, 24 ft white 256 disc, and field cultivator for a couple hundred acres a year. Do not use the PTO at all on it. Only time the tractor has trouble is in some of the sandier ground when the disc is sunk all the way in and on the clay hills with the plow. So its not all that often. If I were to try to turn it up a bit, which way does the screw go? and what do you think is an acceptable amount to turn it?
 
You turn the screw on the injection pump up or out (counterclockwise) to increase fuel. I can't say with any kind of specificity something like, for example, turn screw 20 degrees for every 10 HP increase desired. I myself would only do this on the dyno, and maybe go from 170 to 190 PTO HP max. Even giving you that much makes me very leery. Don't come back to me and complain after your engine melted down or cracked a piston.

Be advised also that the CAV pump on this tractor is already nearing the limits of its ability to pump fuel, so there might not be much more for it to give.
 
My 8830 was turned up to about 190 on the dyno and when working it hard with the chisel plow or disc it would get hot (both engine temp and egts). So we turned it back down to stock power level and just downshift more when needed. A little extra time lifting or downshifting now is much cheaper than melted pistons tomorrow.
 
As been said already, the 8830 is probably at or near the top spec of what is sensible at it's factory rated power setting. If
you want to add some, and you plan to run it to the limit, you can expect overheating of both EGT and coolant. If you want a bit
more torque reserve for tough spots, that's probably ok.
What hasn't been said I don't think.... is has the seal been broken on the pump and has it already been turned up some? That
would be the first thing I'd look at. If it's still sealed with wire I'd probably feel comfortable going a quarter to half a
turn and probably no more unless you could dyno it like Bern suggested. From what I recollect, one full turn would correspond to
about 15-17% increase in rack travel which should roughly correlate to the same percentage delivery increase.
If it were me I'd keep it under 10%, so half a turn at most.
With the price of fuel today, the coal you're going to roll at full throttle will tend to be costly in more ways than one.

Rod
 
On my farm when faced with your problems I find a different solution than screwing with a perfectly good, fine running
engine....trying to get it to perform above design parameters. Your equipment, your choice.
 

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