L3901 Tractor runs 5 minutes then stalls

dltucker

New member

Equipment
L3901, BH77
Dec 14, 2018
4
0
1
Milton, FL
I put new fuel in the tank, cleaned the water separator and put a new fuel filter on the tractor. It starts up nicely and runs smoothly… for about 5 minutes and then it dies. It sounds like it’s run out of fuel. I wait about 15 minutes and it does the same thing. What am I missing?
 

hodge

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Lifetime Member

Equipment
John Deere 790 John Deere 310 backhoe Bobcat 743
Nov 19, 2010
2,941
505
113
Love, VA
Check your fuel tank for debris in it. I've seen it more than once- bacteria that forms, then coagulates into a glob. It floats around, and gets sucked to the fuel inlet. When it does, it restricts or stops fuel flow. Tractor shuts off, vacuum ceases, and it floats around again. Start it up, it gets sucked back, and shuts it off again. New fuel doesn't help anything. You need to clean it out, or get an additive that breaks it up and allows it to flow through and get burned during combustion.
 

D2Cat

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Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
14,250
6,429
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
I put new fuel in the tank, cleaned the water separator and put a new fuel filter on the tractor. It starts up nicely and runs smoothly… for about 5 minutes and then it dies. It sounds like it’s run out of fuel. I wait about 15 minutes and it does the same thing. What am I missing?
By your description sound like your missing fuel.
 

dltucker

New member

Equipment
L3901, BH77
Dec 14, 2018
4
0
1
Milton, FL
By your description sound like your missing fuel.
Yeah, I've got that part figured out...lack of fuel. I've seen a couple things that suggest maybe an algea growing in the fuel tank and recommending an additive to kill/clean the algea. Theres other fuel additives too. Do you think I should chase that line or just empty the fuel completely and start over. I'm frustrated because it seems this should be a simple fix. A little time on You Tube might be good for some things but all it's gott
By your description sound like your missing fuel.
 

D2Cat

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Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
14,250
6,429
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
Hard to say if it is algae. You have a new fuel filter so drain some of the fuel coming into a jar (at the filter) to see what may settle out of it overnight. You could have something like a leaf or piece of shop rag in the fuel tank causing a stoppage. Fuel soaks through the blockage in the down time, then starts up and runs for a few minutes, the repeats!!

Follow the fuel line step by step towards the injection pump. Take your time.
 

MapleLeafFarmer

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Equipment
Lots incl. B and L kubotas
Dec 2, 2019
771
674
93
E.
That sucks and sorry to hear your troubles.
They remove the sulfer [natural perservative] then add soy [a food source] and we have this type of mess frequently. Around our coffee table of old farmers, fuel issues is now our #1 maintaince issue on our yards.

Clean the tank, replace filter, rinses, biocides, cleaners and in some cases it takes also replacing fuel lines 🥲

Yes in some cases to make a fix the actual fuel lines may need replacing.

Alge issues can rise to point of becoming ultra expensive fast. Hopefully you can get control quickly and not too expensively. First hand last year a guy few farms down had to replace the non metallic lines on one of his tractors to get his problem solved.

Aafter almost 70 years of farming I never was convinced to add additives to my fuel. I now do religiously and add a polisher to tanks that store more than 6 months. Alternative just to expensive and troublesome