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I am a fairly new owner of a 45 year old L180 with 700 hours. I ran it out of gas and now I have a problem. I added fuel, bled the system of air at the injector and got it running for a few minutes. After it quit again, I pulled the filter and it was a mess. Figured I had clogged the inject9r pump so I took it apart and cleaned it (thank you You Tube). It still does not pump with any force or volume (same as before I overhauled it). (I took the fuel lines off the pump to determine this. They pump a few drops of fuel an inch or so into the air).
I would gladly haul the tractor to a mechanic but it is across a a little creek with a flimsy bridge which makes that difficult. I can spend 500 and send the pump out for a rebuild, but I could not find any thing obviously wrong when I took it apart so I hate to spend the money if it is something else. I hope someone has some experience with this and can offer some expertise. Thank you reading this long message. Bob
Hi
Boudra,
OK so here is how you should proceed going forward, (and something for you and others to consider in the future).
First thing when dealing with a fuel issue, (regardless of equipment type or color), start at the tank, does it have fuel, (you ran out), refill, (you did), problem not solved, (your case), the next thing you do is pull the fuel line just before the injector pump/carb, do you have plenty of fuel at that point:
If yes then your problem is in the pump/carb/injectors/injector lines/return lines, (yes return lines can be an issue), Jump to bottom of thread.
If No then the issue is between the tank and the pump/carb, (start working backwards, (you did with the filter)
With each step/repair return to the end of the fuel line "BEFORE" the pump/carb, do you have fuel flow:
If yes, you are good to go.
If No then work your way back toward the tank, look for a hole in the fuel line, if none, then look at the lift pump( if there is one, in your case no), if you get no pressure at that point then, (depending on what kind of pump you have if it's electric then make sure it has power, if it is mechanical then crank the engine) if you still do not have fuel then replace the pump, (again in your case not required), now do you have fuel flow at the pump/carb?
Yes, problem solved.
Now, work back closer to the tank, in your case there is a fuel shutoff valve, is it open, if not open it and check for fuel at the injector/carb.
If no then empty tank and remove shutoff valve, in your case there is a filter screen on top of that valve, (given how dirty your filter was I expect this to be your problem), clean/replace the filter screen and or shut off valve, just be sure that the fuel can pass though the filter screen AND the valve, if this part is plugged then before you put it back on make sure you clean out the tank, make sure it is as clean as you can possibly get it, sometimes you may have to take it to someone and have it "boiled" out, (ANY DIRT IN THE FUEL SYSTEM IS NOT GOOD).
Once the tank is clean, and the shutoff valve installed and fuel line connected check for fuel flow at the pump/carg, it should be there by this point, if not then you have a plugged fuel line somewhere.
All of that checking goes much faster than it sounds, lol.
OK so not we go to yes you already had fuel at the pump/carb.
If you indeed have a carb, (which you don't, no diesel does), then yeah you might try taking it apart and cleaning/rebuilding it.
Since you have a Diesel, the next step is put the fuel line back on the pump, then crack open the injector bleed screw, and crank the engine over, do you have fuel there, (this could take a bit of time if there is air in the system).
If no then you have a pump issue, (this is NOT something Youtube can help you fix), the pump, ( I also suggest taking the injectors also) has to be taken to someone that works on injector pumps as a business/living, they have all the proper tools and equipment require to properly repair a pump and injectors.
Injector pumps/injectors require extremely close tolerances for EVERYTHING, they require shims, o-rings, all kinds of things that the average home/farm mechanic isn't prepared to deal with. the pumps and injectors have to be put on special machines to test for the "proper" pressure, spray pattern,
On edit:
(Thanks to
Mark_BX25Dfor pointing out below the extreme pressure these systems require to make them work, the pump has to be able to supply enough "Pressure" to overcome the springs inside the injectors and make them "POP"/open and spray the fuel in the designed pattern, (yes they have a pattern)).
Again this is why we can't just pop open an injector pump or injector and fix it ourselves.
Something else I forgot to address originally, is a pin hole or other "leak" even so small you can't see it even on a return line will cause issues with these systems, if it can get air in "ANYWHERE" in the system it won't work properly and WILL drive you nuts.
I have a Ford F900, (my log truck) sitting right now I have to track down an air leak, it is very hard to start and if I let it idle, it stops running, and I have to crank the battery dead to restart it, also had this issue on an 05 Western Star tractor, the fuel filter had a tiny hairline crack, did show a fuel leak but it sucked air, same thing as my log truck now.
(End edit)
These components are just not something you or I can just take apart and repair, with the exception of "maybe" and outer o-ring or seal that is leaking, and even that depends on how much has to be taken apart to get there, again everything has to be put back together with the utmost precision for everything to work properly.
I know in your case you have already "rebuilt" your pump, and I truly hope it will work out for you, but your whole problem is most likely the shutoff valve with the screen on top of it is plugged, and your tank needs to be cleaned out really bad. just as
PoTreeBoy pointed out.
If that thing has sat around for that long and has condensation/contamination built up and other nasty stuff in the tank then it is possible you have rusted parts in the pump, if so all that has to be replaced and calibrated to the proper specs.
So I would follow the process I just laid out, and hopefully you will have good fuel flow before the pump, and if so and it still won't start then please don't waste your time trying to deal with bad worn out, or plugged up injector pump/injectors, (do you have any idea how tiny the holes are at the end of the injectors).
Once the pump is properly rebuilt it still has to be properly installed, this is where the timing takes place on a diesel, (I usually crank the engine over to line up the timing marks "BEFORE" I remove it).
Also is the fill screen still under the cap, if not get one and make sure ALL fuel going in is new, (not been sitting in a can somewhere), clean and goes thru that fill screen.
1 final note, no pump/system requiring, or producing pressure will work properly or show you that pressure unless it has something to build pressure against, and looking for fuel to pump out into thin air will only show you volume.
I know this is lengthy, but hopefully it will help someone else new to these tractors do a proper diagnosis and get their tractor up and running with the least amount of trouble/expense.
If I missed anything someone please point it out.
Cheers
Samantha
