What happened & what I tried: looking for wisdom & help

[Mike_B]

I have a B2320 with 254 hours that I've done all the maintenance on.

While cleaning a fence line today with the box blade. Using nothing but the ripper shanks, to pull saplings up.

It went to idling rough 3 different times in the same spot. Reminded me of a newer model vehicle with a MAF going into limp mode. I took the FEL off in case I had to make a self recovery. Then it ran fine to 40 minutes or so. It did this one more time & I didn't think I would make it back to the house.

I looked underneath for loose wires at first, nothing. I raised the hood & removed all cover panels, still nothing obvious. The fuel filter looks fine. I've drained all the fuel & dumped the remainder in the can. Does it sound like bad fuel or maybe got water in it? I'm heading to town to get fresh fuel & will change the filter before adding it. Any ideas or other suggestions?

 

[coachgeo]

.....
It went to idling rough 3 different times in the same spot. Reminded me of a newer model vehicle with a MAF going into limp mode. I took the FEL off in case I had to make a self recovery. Then it ran fine to 40 minutes or so. It did this one more time & I didn't think I would make it back to the house. .... I'm heading to town to get fresh fuel & will change the filter before adding it. Any ideas or other suggestions?

An air leak can have similar faults. Reduced work load (no FEL) means fuel pump not sucking as hard thus less air being pulled in... would potentially explain OK running that last 40min..... if work load (up hill jaunt?) at end.... would explain bad running again.... or the leak just got worse.

Have heard you can spray something with higher Cetane on fuel lines slowly and if you get an uptick in RPM in one area of spraying (it sucks in what you sprayed) it can help narrow down where your leak is. Have not tried myself.

 

[Mike_B]

I will look tomorrow in good light for cracked/broken fuel lines. I hope that isn't it! Especially since I drained almost 5 gallons of fuel.

 

[Diydave]

check the basics first, as you have done. I wouldn't rule out someone having dumped gas into the fuel, if you are not the only user...

 

[mike paulson]

It happened after you serviced the machine, retrace your steps look for anything you might have knocked loose or maybe you didn't secure filter bowl or gasket is damaged. Does sound like air is being drawn into the fuel,..

 

[Mike_B]

It's been 8 hours of operating time since my last service. I'm not the only operator but usually the only one that fuels it up. Since I was cleaning up saplings, running & backing over them that something was knocked loose. Or that somehow with all the rain earlier this week it could've somehow gotten moisture in the fuel. It didn't dawn on me that when it ran rough it was due to needing more fuel & getting air sucked into it.

 

[Mike_B]

Since all the lovely weather today & the fact I don't have a shop much less a shed I can work in. I've done nothing but get all the fuel I drained into jugs. I am going to study the shop manual since I found some fuel or oil on the loader frame. This will give me an idea of lines to trace & such.

 

[Apogee]

I had something similar happen one time to me. Somehow, while working my B9200, the fuel valve on the top of the fuel filter had gotten bumped and turned part of the way off. The tractor would start and run just fine, but it would start stumbling and want to die as soon as a load was put on it. It took me a while to find but that was the issue. Once I figure it out and turned it back fully to the on position, it was fine.

To this day I have no idea how it got turned partially off. The only thing I can think of is a branch must have caught it just right and flipped the lever. The only other possibility would have been a kid messing around with it but I doubt it. Don't have any kids at this end and never had any problem before... Also, I hadn't serviced the fuel filter in a long time so I knew I wasn't to blame (at least that I know of).

It sounds like water in your fuel to me or an air leak in a fuel line but thought I'd mention the valve issue because of what I experienced.

Good luck,

Steve

 

[Mike_B]

OK, it's obvious to me this will take much longer to deal with since I work 12 hrs a day 6 days a week. Couple that with approximately 3 hours of driving & you can see how long it will take for me to have time to tackle it. My question is: reading in my shop manual tonight there is a section on 2 year service items. Fuel lines fall in that category. How many of you have followed that interval? I live in a fairly dry, sandy area of the southeast with tons of humidity. My tractor is stored outside & used weekly for trash duty, every 2 weeks grading the drive & cutting grass/weeds every 2 weeks 6 months out of the year. Then occasionally cleaning along fence lines & making brush piles of fallen limbs. Maybe I should procure all new fuel lines regardless of them needing to be replaced. Does this sound like a good idea? I have 1 day a week to use it or service it. Obviously it needs some attention now & I've basically just convinced myself to just get all the parts listed in the 2 year service section. What say the collective or OTT? Only tractor I've ever owned & first diesel powered anything. Or am I going over board?

 

[Daren Todd]

Fuel lines cheap if they are hard or have small hairline cracks in the outer coating then they need to be replaced. Also check your clamps. If you can grab the clamp and spin it along with the fuel line, then they need to be tightened. Replace a clamp if it's stripped out.

 

[Apogee]

Mike,

If I were you, with that driving distance, I'd be buying fresh fuel from someplace near home, 15 or so feet of new fuel line, clamps, a new fuel filter, and a new O-ring for the fuel filter housing.

When I got there, I'd remove the tank, swish around the fuel that's in it and dump it all out. You may have crud in the tank. Then I'd replace the hose, clamps (if needed), filter, and the O-ring. You also might consider replacing the small return lines that go between the injectors if yours are rubber. At the very least, if yours are metal, also replace the hose that hooks to the return line.

Shouldn't take you that long and after you bleed the thing you should be good to go.

My one other thought is perhaps you have a failing lift pump. They get corrosion inside and since it's stored outside, perhaps that's your issue. It would cause the engine to starve of fuel and it could create what you're encountering. Not sure if rebuilt kits are available, but I think a new pump is ~$65 or so...

Good luck,

Steve

 

[ThisIsNotaStep]

before tearing into it, you know what it feels like when the seat switch kicks in right?? That can make the engine stumble a fair bit ..

 

[Mike_B]

Actually i thought it was the seat switch at first. But my rear end was firmly planted. I was running it at 25 or 2600 rpm in low range & it dropped to below idle rpm's, maybe 800 & billowed heavy black smoke.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Not the seat switch (that was my first thought too!).

The seat switch just closes the fuel solenoid and you need to be on a hill or leaning off the seat to get that. I never got black smoke. Mine either quit or coughed and kept running.

To me, black smoke is the sign of either too much fuel (too rich), or other contamination in the fuel. I would start with a complete drain of the fuel. As someone else mentioned, go get brand new fuel, from a truck stop if you can. Do you store your extra fuel outside? If you store anything in that environment for more than 90 days, you will likely absorb moisture.

If you can get the tank out and hose it out with fresh fuel, great. My tractor was assembled around my fuel tank and it takes hours to remove and replace. If you get good flow to the last drop while draining, your tank is likely clean. New fuel might make the difference. Water in fuel makes white smoke (steam). If the motor is at very low revs and cleaner fuel kicks in, you may see grey smoke (like that on start up) as a result of incomplete combustion due to high fuel flow and low RPM.

If your fuel filter is clean, you are probably the victim of water contamination. If the tractor or spare fuel cans sit out in the humid Southeast and that is a great environment to get moisture in the system.

Good luck!

Ray

 

[ipz2222]

Air being sucked into the fuel lines can only happen between the fuel pump and the tank. Most fuel pumps are below the tank so that is not a possibility. Fuel has gravity pressure on it in that instance. If your pump is up on the eng, that is a possibility.

 

[Mike_B]

I drained the fuel Saturday after this happened,, since it was my first thought. It drained no problem. I have bought fresh fuel, from a high volume truck stop by the interstate. I did have some time this evening to look over the fuel lines & everything looks good. I haven't refueled it yet in case I had to replace the lines. With hindsight being what it is: the last time I filled my can I bought fuel from a different station from where I normally get it. Coincidentally, I just filled it up on Christmas eve. So I imagine I bought fuel that was no good. My fuel filter is new & looks good. Changed 8 hours ago. The o ring is fine too. I'm off Thursday & will fill it up to see what happens. My tractor has been stored outside for exactly the same for the 26 months I've had it (bought new). We will see. Worse comes to worse I will call the dealer to come get it with my lack of time to spend on it. As usual, I've either got too much time & no money or no time & just enough money. I figured removing the FEL was a good idea since you need hydraulics to do it, easily. I can get the box blade off & tow the tractor away from it without hydraulics.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Black smoke- check the air filter too.

 

[Mike_B]

Being off today gave me the time I needed to sort out my problems. The air filter wasn't too bad but replaced it any way. Fuel filter only had 8 hours of time on it but better safe then sorry. In the bottom of the fuel tank was a small leaf. I had to go to the store to get a small grabber to retrieve it, but there was my problem. I did inspect all my fuel lines & found no issues. Thanx for the help & ideas. I'm much happier now!

 

[coachgeo]

Glad you got it sorted. Like the old saying "it's always something stupid".

Hope this proves to be the culprit and you have much happy tractoring ahead of you.

 

[Tooljunkie]

A leaf. Go figure. Glad you found the trouble and shared it.