Not so new here with a couple of B6000's

[trevoroni]

Got the fuel line replaced.
And the new glow plugs installed.
Boy it's tight to get them out but they can just squeeze out past the injectors with everything still hooked up.
Next up is the glow plug indicator. I'm not sure how bright the coiled wire is supposed to glow but mine barely does.
When I replace that I'm going to check the wiring of the glow plug circuit too.
I read 10.5 v after the indicator and at the glow plugs so I think it should be ok. Is there any other tests for the circuit?
This is my first diesel engine so it's a bit of a learning experience.
Give me a carburetor and spark plugs and no problems but glow plugs and diesel injectors is new to me.
This is the perfect tractor for learning on with it's simple and easy to access parts.

 

[Lil Foot]

not sure how bright the coiled wire is supposed to glow but mine barely does.

Mine is not visible in full sun, only at night or low light conditions.

 

[trevoroni]

MyMine is not visible in full sun, only at night or low light conditions.

Thanks,
Maybe I'm chasing down the wrong rabbit hole then.
It seems like even with the recommended 30-40 seconds of glow plugs before attempting to start it still takes a bunch of cranking even when the temperatures are 20°c+.
There's a bunch of grey/black smoke out the exhaust.
Once it's fired up and running after about 20 seconds everything clears up and then it's just a bit of black smoke out of the exhaust if I increase the throttle from medium to full .
But it's only been a bunch of short less than 5 minute runs between all of these repairs.
I think the longest I've worked it is 30 minutes to rototill the empty section of the garden and it worked great afterwards
Maybe an Italian tune up is what it needs?
....or a head gasket replacement?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Thanks,
Maybe I'm chasing down the wrong rabbit hole then.
It seems like even with the recommended 30-40 seconds of glow plugs before attempting to start it still takes a bunch of cranking even when the temperatures are 20°c+.
There's a bunch of grey/black smoke out the exhaust.
Once it's fired up and running after about 20 seconds everything clears up and then it's just a bit of black smoke out of the exhaust if I increase the throttle from medium to full .
But it's only been a bunch of short less than 5 minute runs between all of these repairs.
I think the longest I've worked it is 30 minutes to rototill the empty section of the garden and it worked great afterwards
Maybe an Italian tune up is what it needs?
....or a head gasket replacement?

A cylinder compression test would tell you a lot.
Could be compression issue or could be a injector issue.

 

[trevoroni]

Thanks again Wolfman.
I do have a gas engine compression tester but not a diesel one. I think it only goes up to 300psi.
Is it just a matter of threading it into the glow plug holes? What kind of pressure readings would be considered normal?
It was raining here all evening so I didn't have much time to check out things much more tonight...
But the wiring looks suspect with lots of not very good splice connections.
I took a quick reading with my Amazon special clamp meter and got 17.8A cold and 16.6A after 30 seconds or so over the wire going to the first glow plug.

 

[trevoroni]

And regarding injectors, is it possible to clean them myself or is it better to bring them to a shop?
I have an ultrasonic cleaner and have no problem taking a multitude of different kinds of carbs apart and reassembling them.
But I read that diesel injectors should be sent in... Does that apply to 50 year old tractor's as well?

 

[Russell King]

Looking at the glow plug indicator wiring…it may have been modified. If you have a wiring diagram please look into it.

On my older L185 the wiring has two connections on one of the posts is what I noticed is different on yours.

In the preheat switch position mine is wired from switch to glow plug indicator then to the glow plugs. The glow plug indicator drops the voltage in this case.

In the start switch position mine is wired from switch then to far side of the glow plug indicator (bypasses the indicator wire coil) going straight to the glow plugs. The starter drops the voltage in this case.

your glow plugs seem to be active in glow position but I don’t see if the glow plugs are active in the start position

 

[trevoroni]

Thanks Russel,
I'm not sure if it has been modified or if it is because it is a "Grey" tractor.
To preheat the glow plugs requires turning the key switch to the left of the off position. It is not on a separate switch as the manual indicates.
The hole where the glow plug switch should be is filled with a rather factory looking orange plastic push in plug.

 

[trevoroni]

Couldn't sleep last night so after a couple of hours of tossing and turning I got out of bed to do something productive.
Drained the oil from the rototiller and put new stuff in.
And while it was draining I went through all the wire connections in the dash and cleaned them and reassembled with dielectric grease. The glow plug indicator was the worst of the bunch.
Also did the battery connections, starter and ground connections.
Got back in the house at 7 and everyone was still sleeping.
Of course I didn't take any after or during pictures but this is the underside of the dash before I started.

 

[trevoroni]

Well it started better this afternoon...
We'll see if it was just a coincidence next time or not.
I used it to haul some water to some newly planted trees and the flowers to warm it up.
Then filled the fuel filter with seafoam and put half a bottle in the tank.
Let it run for a couple of minutes, sit for 15 and then gave it an Italian tune up rotatilling the garden at full throttle for 30 minutes.
The 4wd also worked great in low range and 1st gear which is a bonus.
Could have been my imagination and the snake oil effect but it seemed to have more power this time and less smoke by the end
We'll see I guess.
Still waiting on the new glow plug indicator that should arrive on Monday but hopefully all it needed was a little attention.

 

[trevoroni]

More new parts!
New glow plug indicator came in... It was an Amazon DVparts brand that had good reviews.
Looks like the coiled wire should light up better than what is in there now, it's a much thinner gauge. Not sure if that's a good thing.
It measures 0.5ohm. After I pull the old one I'll measure it too.

Also got new upper and lower radiator hoses from the local Kubota dealer. They had them here the day after I ordered them for not much more than the online price with 2 week delivery.
I plan to flush the rad with the garden hose and then some distilled water that we use for drinking water with our high PPM well water.
After confirming dimensions I ordered an Amazon warehouse deal Zerostart inline coolant heater for $20.
The old lower rad hose was pretty swelled and the coolant looks pretty nasty.

And finally got a couple of new LED headlight bulbs. One bulb in the tractor is missing and the other doesn't work. The actual switch part is missing but everything else seems to be working.

After this experience with my local dealer I think I'll be going there much more often.

 

[Thatoneguy]

Looks like your making great progress. I had a similar starting issue with my b7200. I ended up replacing the three glow plugs which made a night and day difference with starting. It also seemed to make my old indicator much more visible when pre heating. Summer starts were better than winter starts simply because if the heat where im at. Desert temps are easily over 100 and at the time were just beating down on the hood.

 

[trevoroni]

Thanks.
The new glow plug indicator lights up like a light bulb filament within a couple of seconds. I didn't get a picture of it though.
It started within 10 seconds today and there wasn't much smoke but it was almost 30°C out. The old one read 0.4 to 0.5 ohms so it was about the same as the new one. The old one had much thicker wire though.
I also cleaned the headlights and put in the new bulbs. They look great but the first try turning them on and they didn't work. I took the dash off yet again and the brown T wire had a crimped ring on it and wasn't connected to anything... I soldered it to the T terminal like it should be... But then it blew the fuse.
So either there is a short somewhere or I got a little excited with the solder on the terminal... Which is my bet because I was having trouble getting the shortened cable attached to the terminal.
I gave it a little test with a bolt in place of the fuse and the headlights work so there must be a short somewhere in the headlight circuit., Probably with my soldering job. The horn worked perfectly before and now it doesn't after the blown fuse.

 

[trevoroni]

Success! It was my soldering job.

Also took a picture of the glow plug indicator.

 

[trevoroni]

Replaced the upper and lower rad hose tonight with the inline heater installed in the lower one.
Flushed the rad with the garden hose while I was at it. It didn't look as bad as I expected.
Getting to the end of the maintenance items now. Might pull the injectors to get rebuilt at the local shop but we'll see how it's running and starting with some more steady use. So far it's just been getting better with a bit of weekly use.
Then it's paint and tires/wheels and hopefully good for many more years.
Edit: I'll probably adjust the valves just because it's easy and who knows when they've been done.

Old hoses, I cut the lower one to flush the rad.

 

[trevoroni]

I realized when I put new oil in the oil bath air cleaner I didn't pull the foam filter and rinse it.
I tried tonight and I couldn't get the perforated metal screen out. It was stuck to the inside inlet pipe. It is supposed to come out isn't it?
I was bending the pipe portion trying to pry it out. The outside was free no problem.
The foam filter is soaked in oil as my prying took tips came out wet.
Any tips without breaking it?

Also I checked with the local diesel injector shop and they'll clean and test the injectors for under $50 each so I'm going to take them in there in the next week or 2.
And I'm going to adjust the valves... But I don't have a 38mm or 1 1/2" socket to turn the crank... I attempted with a wrench. But there wasn't enough clearance with the loader supports. So next week I'll have the socket and attempt again.

 

[trevoroni]

Tried removing the perforated metal screen again today.
Wouldn't budge off the center pipe.
I think the only way to remove it is to use wire cutters and cut the perforations.
Or remove the whole intake and try to flush it.

 

[fried1765]

Couldn't sleep last night so after a couple of hours of tossing and turning I got out of bed to do something productive.
Drained the oil from the rototiller and put new stuff in.
And while it was draining I went through all the wire connections in the dash and cleaned them and reassembled with dielectric grease. The glow plug indicator was the worst of the bunch.
Also did the battery connections, starter and ground connections.
Got back in the house at 7 and everyone was still sleeping.
Of course I didn't take any after or during pictures but this is the underside of the dash before I started.
View attachment 107290 View attachment 107291 View attachment 107292 View attachment 107294

From the "before" pictures, it is quite obvious that your 0 dark thirty diaelectric grease efforts were very worthwhile!.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Looking at the parts diagram it does not appear that the air cleaner comes apart.

 

[trevoroni]

Thanks,
It appears that this question has been asked before and they had to take the whole unit off and flush it.
Except for one guy who said it just taps right out.

Yesterday I was operating the tractor moving some water buckets to water my trees and it briefly started knocking with some dark smoke out the exhaust. Probably for about 10-15 seconds.
Then it cleared up and ran great again. I'm guessing the Seafoam knocked something loose but it was a bit unnerving until it cleared up.
I was about to shut it down but then it went away and went back to normal.
Later in the day I rototilled a section of ground that needed smoothing out and reseeding and it performed fantastic at full throttle for 30 minutes.