801 Ford diesel starting problems, and possible blow back?

My tractor starts right up when I put the positive battery cable on battery, any suggestions? It also has oil coming out of where the dip stick goes, when the tractor is running. The dip stick tube is also loose, I can take it out like I can pull the dip stick out. Is this blow back, or do I need to replace the dip stick tube?

The starter issue is either a bad solenoid or a switch issue. The dipstick tube needs replaced.

On the side of the rocker cover there is a round breather, that is supposed to be secured with a wingnut. I suspect that the metal mesh in your breather is clogged pretty bad. Since that is where the blowby is supposed to be released from the inside of the engine, you are probably building some pressure in the crankcase. It needs to get out, and your dipstick tube might be the easiest way for the pressure to escape.

The breather is easy enough to clean: just take it off and soak the metal mesh in carb cleaner or other solvent until no more dirt and oil will come off of it. After the mesh and the breather itself are nice and clean, you just reinstall it, with the hole pointed up, like the arrow on it shows. If you install the breather with the hole pointed down, you get a LOT of oil mess on the side of the engine. You also should make sure the openings in the rocker cover behind the breather are open and unrestricted. The small hole is there for oil to drain back into the engine from the breather.

If your dipstick tube is too loose, you might try enlarging it a little with a swedge or conical prybar from the inside of the tube. But be careful! It might be real easy to get it too large, and it is a whole lot easier to enlarge a tube from inside than it is to make it smaller.

Your problem could be lots worse. Pressure inside a crankcase can cause a horrible oil leak from the rear main seal. And fixing that is much more trouble.

All engines produce at least some blowby. Older engines, especially if they are worn some, produce more blowby than a new, fresh engine. However old tractor engines can run a very long time and produce good power while giving off a lot of blowby. You just have to deal with it, accept the mess it causes, and make sure your oil level stays up where it should be.

In my opinion, an old Ford 4 cylinder diesel isn"t in too bad shape if it will start good in cold weather and has decent power. They smoke some. I think they use about half the fuel to do a given job that a similar gas tractor would.

Your starting problem sounds like a stuck on solenoid or a shorted out starter button on the transmission. You might want to test it by removing the wire from the starter button to the solenoid, to see if that causes the starter to stop turning. If it does, you need a new starter button. If not it is most likely the solenoid. You need to get the right 12 volt solenoid for the diesel when you replace it. Removing the battery cable after it starts will work to keep from burning up the starter, but it might be quite hard on your charging system.

Good luck with your tractor. Learning about diesels is interesting!

Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it a lot.