Tractor dies after a few minutes of running

[Marine63]

Hello all,

New to the forum as of today. I paid my BX1870 off two weeks ago and the day after becoming the official owner the old girl won't start. The tractor is five years old and has 1887 hours on it.

Here is the long and skinny....
Tried starting it on a very cold day (temps in the high teens). Tractor turned over and idled rough. Went inside to gear up and came back out to a stalled BX. Tried starting it again and it was trying to crank over but it didn't sound like it was getting any fuel. I had heated the glow plugs for a full minute. The original battery died on me during my attempt to get it to turn over again. I replaced the battery and treated the fuel which I feared may have gelled up on me.

Still no joy in Mudville after attempts to start following new battery and fuel treatment. A few days later I made another attempt to start and was successful but I only let it run for a minute and then turned it off. Several days later I started it again and it ran smooth for a few minutes then died.

Fuel filters were replaced two years ago and again, it has a new battery.

Could this be a bad fuel pump? Is it a fuel relay? I have no means of getting the old girl to MB Tractor to have it serviced so I will have to fix myself but am at a loss as to where to begin. I can get to the fuel pump and the filters if needed but have no stinkin clue as to where to find the fuel relay.

Please help this old Marine get the old girl back on her feet.

Thanks in advance. Merry Christmas and Semper Fidelis

 

[D2Cat]

As you mentioned, it sounds like a fuel issue. Did you have summer fuel in when the cold spell got you? If so, have you since removed or diluted that fuel with a winter blend?

I'd get good fuel with winter blend and a new fuel filter before going any further. Probably a real simple problem.

 

[Marine63]

Yes sir.

Summer fuel indeed.

What do you mean by a winter fuel treatment? Would this be in the form of an additive?

Thanks for your quick reply.

 

[D2Cat]

Are you located in the North East? Just guessing....

A summer blend of diesel fuel will begin to gel when the fuel reaches a temp. usually under about 20 deg.F

Here's a link to help you understand. https://nwfuel.ca/whats-deal-winter-diesel/

By the way, welcome to the forum and we all appreciate your service!

 

[thebicman]

Had this issue with fuel gelling with my old tractor. What I eventually did was drain out all the diesel and refilled with winter diesel also treated with an additive. To aid in starting because you have summer diesel in the pump put a heat source near the pump. I used a small space heater. Once you get the tractor running let it run to burn off the old diesel. I've now got in the habit of treating all diesel before filling tractor. Therefore your always protected.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Problem with adding an additive like Power Service (what I use) to a tank of summer fuel is getting it to mix in. You need to start and run the tractor for a while to let the return to tank fuel mix in the additive. Idle is fine but it needs to run. Just adding the additive won't mix it in. You can also drive the tractor around to get the fuel agitated and that will mix it in as well.

Back in the day, I used to use kerosene as winter additive. Probably still works. Not sure though, I'm a Power Service person with a dash of Power Kleen as well.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Flip is raising a very good point. If you have a tractor with divided fuel tanks it can be even harder to get good mixing because of the fuel flow pattern in the newer common rail engines. Basically it is a good idea to plan ahead in the fall.

 

[bearbait]

First off welcome to the forum. Like others have said it shouldn't be anything too serious. First thing I would do is change the filter again if you haven't already. I'm quiet a bit further north than you and I've never used a treatment following the advice of my dealer and I've never had fuel gel. Maybe just lucky I'm not sure. Good luck, looking forward to hearing the outcome.

 

[skeets]

Something else you might want to check is the fuel lines they do after a time become soft and will collapse and shut your fuel off. just a thought

 

[mickeyd]

Another thing it could be is algae build up. I would add a little Biocide to it as well as the Power Service.

 

[mendonsy]

Another possibility is that the breather holes in the fuel cap are plugged causing a vacuum in the tank. Try running it with the fuel cap loose to see if that makes a difference.

 

[CobraTom]

I think many of your have never actually experienced fuel jelling, and I really think its a BAD idea to encourage the original poster to just randomly pour things in his gas tanks such as Algaecide or Power Service.

This is NEVER recommended unless you are filling a Known size tank that you can premix before putting it in your tractor, and even then I would not recommend it. I have heard of people adding anti-gel solutions to near empty tanks and bending rods as a result. It simply is not necessary unless you live in the Yukon or Alaska where you routinely see -18°F (-28°C) or colder.

I have multiple tractors, and multiple diesel vehicles and almost exclusively use #2 diesel even during the winter as my tank is filled in September for the winter, and I have never had a issue with gelling fuel, at least not to the point that it would prevent a start.

It sounds to me like the OP is suffering from another issue.

Now onto your problem
BX1870 is powered by a standard D722 engine, no direct injection, no common rail, no emissions, very simple, so the issue is most likely very simple.

Start of with the fuel pump. Check the fuel pump fuse and if OK, Check fuel pump for operation, its located under the tractor, mid tractor under your footwell.

When working properly the pump vibrates, it is a pulsating magnetic pump. These pumps fail relatively frequently. I have replaced several in even low hour machines, they just get stuck, sometimes a bump with a rubber mallet gets them going again. Typically the symptoms I get from a bad fuel pump is the machine will start without issue, but once you throttle up or it runs out of fuel in the filter, it just stalls.

There is no fuel Pump relay on a BX tractor that I am aware of. I do not believe it draws enough amperage to justify it, but it does have a dedicated fuse.

 

[CobraTom]

Another possibility is that the breather holes in the fuel cap are plugged causing a vacuum in the tank. Try running it with the fuel cap loose to see if that makes a difference.

This is a good idea as well. It does have dedicated breather lines, and it is a return system, but very possible especially with a electric fuel pump

 

[Marine63]

To all who weighed in on my problem I have this to report:

D2CAT suggested that it may be a "summer fuel" issue and I believe he was right.

Problem was solved by:
- siphoning off all the summer fuel
- removing a skid plate to access the fuel filter closet to tank
- replaced the fuel filter closest to the tank
- replaced the fuel filter closest to the engine
- added new fuel with a winter weather additive
- started the old girl up and after a minute or so of sputtering, she turned over strong and stayed running for 15 minutes and more with me running it up and down the driveway and back and forth across my two acres to shake up the contents of the tank.

Of course during the work of replacing the filters, I found a lot of evidence of mouse houses so there is some further cleanup to do.

Thanks for all the feedback and helping this old Marine out in getting the Winter Warrior back on her feet.

Peace

 

[D2Cat]

Not a better feeling then getting something going again by doing it yourself and not costing much!

As Summers begin to fade, remember to let your fuel level drop a bit and top it off with Winter blend. Around here stations begin selling that by October. Buy your fuel from the busiest truck stop nearby, and ask them when their fuel comes in treated. Will save you grief in the future.

 

[Marine63]

Copy that D2Cat and thanks again for the advice as well as all other who chimed in. I agree, it is a good feeling to remedy the problem yourself rather than paying labor charges on top of parts.

And yes, I live in the Northeast (northern Mass just shy of NH border).

To all a Happy New Year....

Semper Fidelis