When it rains it pours

evo

evo

Been here much more than a while
Location
My Island, WA
This summer has been all over the map for me. A few days off here and there due to wildfire smoke drifting down from BC. Breaking my toe, open fracture, three stitches. Now some sort of fuel issue on the chipper... Our second child is due in just a few weeks. The whole theme of the summer is to pound out as much work as I can, then take it down to part time.. The harder I push for this the more delays I get, so it seems..

Sooo, I my little beast started acting up. It started off as slow recovery when the engine bogged down. Then it would intermittently cough and choke up. It keeps trying to die on me, and the spinning disk keeps bump starting the engine. This of course is no no good. I realized that I forgot to change out the fuel filter, so I did, and it was embarrassingly gross. Dark brown sludge between the pleats of the paper filter. I bled the lines using the little lever thingy on the fuel pump. After cranking a little it fired right off then died. I turned it over again cranking for 15 second intervals, it fired up and ran smooth. Warmed it up, then to full throttle, everything was smooth. Tossed some fire wood through it, and it recovered just fine.

This was Saturday, and I never got a chance to test it out on the small brush pile I have at the house. Took her to work today hoping for the best, and the best she did give. Everything was beyond normal, running very smooth. Chipped for about an hour to hour and a half, tossing some logs near the max size (9"), and it was gobbling them up. Till it wasn't... Same issue... Put something big enough in to bog it down ever so slightly then the engine tries to die. I disconnected, and ran up to napa to buy some "Sea Foam" and a quart of oil (slightly low, but it's within spec's). She finished the job without issue (only another 15-20 minutes of chipping).

Any thoughts or ideas are very welcome. I am bugging out, as I only have another few weeks before the wife is due. How do I test for a interment fuel pump failure? I really hope it's not the oil pump cutting out causing the Murphy switch to try to kill the engine, and I keep trying to force it to run. Napa says to change the filter again, and drain the tank. I just don't have the time to mess with it, and I need a fix.
 
JD3000 said:
Have a beer n smoke?

Makes me feel better.
Click to expand...
Three beers in (your box is getting lighter) and half a pack.. might even hit the other.. just was hoping to do it in a few weeks when I have some home time, between changing diapers of course.
 
Check the fuel lines for an air leak. My Perkins did that, very intermittent. Replaced the fuel lines on a guess and wamo it was fixed. At 500 hrs it shouldn't be a injector pump. There should be a lift pump too that may cause the same problem if it's getting intermittent voltage. Mine looked like an inline filter with 2 wires. Pain was nobody claimed putting it on the chipper, 3 dealers later someone got it for me.
Good luck
 
What kind of lift pump does it have? Electric pumps die on a regular basis, most mechanical pumps run longer but still die time to time. Not the injection pump, but the low pressure pump. Pull the fuel line off going into the injection pump and make sure fuel flow is good to the injection pump. Often times the lift pump will die but there is still enough suction from the injection pump to keep the thing running just won't preform well. It is also really hard on the injection pump because it isn't being cooled and lubricated well.
 
Got ya... so the flow goes from tank - filter - mechanical fuel pump - injector pump..

I've ran it out of fuel twice since I've owned it. Just actuated the lever on the mechanical fuel pump and it turned over and ran fine with a little extra cranking. When I changed the filter I just did the same, it struggled a little but ran fine.. Chipped for about a solid hour and it was fine, then same issue. Should I do more extensive bleeding?

So I disconnect the fuel line between the mechanical pump and the injector pump. What volume or pressure should be feeding the injector pump?

I'm leaning fuel pump, getting normal exhaust color. I've been told if I'm sucking air the exhaust will be whiter.. getting little to know exhaust color, just fairly normal till it dies then I will get a puff, but seems normal diesel color. Such as on a cold start in the late fall
 
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Have a new fuel filter on hand and check the one you just put in, including being willing to tear it apart and check the pleats as before. 'Algea' growing in tank plugging fuel system?

Not sure if draining tank is the needed fix if this is found to be the case. But either way would need to run algea killer in the system.
 
evo said:
Got ya... so the flow goes from tank - filter - mechanical fuel pump - injector pump..

Should I do more extensive bleeding?

So I disconnect the fuel line between the mechanical pump and the injector pump. What volume or pressure should be feeding the injector pump?
Click to expand...

No more bleeding required, if it's running the system will bleed itself pretty quick.

Lift pump will be a low pressure and not a ton of volume but a steady stream. If it primes from the pump handle your lift pump should not be the issue.

I agree with Merle, it sounds like a filter plugging issue from crap, rust, or alge in the fuel tank.
 
It was too smokey from the fires today, woke up with a blood red sun and a light dusting of ash on everything. Chipped the small pile of brush with out anymore monkey wrenching, and she did fine.
This is with the machine pointed down hill, last time it cut out it was pointed up hill. The fuel pickup is on the back if the tank.
If it cuts out again I think I will #1 test the pickup pump, #2 change the filter once more, #3 drain the tank and see about just replacing the tank.
 
All good advice from above. My guess is your tank needs to be drained and cleaned. I took my poly tank to the car wash .... after draining of course.
Keep your chin up evo ..... everything pans out in the end.
 
All good advice from above. My guess is your tank needs to be drained and cleaned. I took my poly tank to the car wash .... after draining of course.
Keep your chin up evo ..... everything pans out in the end.
 
All good advice from above. My guess is your tank needs to be drained and cleaned. I took my poly tank to the car wash .... after draining of course.
Keep your chin up evo ..... everything pans out in the end.
 
Sooo just because I hate problem threads with great advise and no follow up. It seems like I got her back up and running. I tested the pick up pump, and it checked out. I then drained the tank, replaced the fuel filter, and blew out the lines to the pickup pump. On a whim I took the fuel tank off. There were a few light rust spots that I dismiss due to having seen MUCH worse. I added about a half gallon and started to slosh it around. There was a little sediment, and a rubber bouncy ball sized glob of what I guess is diesel algae. My guess is that it was intermittently plugging the fuel line (about the right height from the bottom of the tank).
I said to hell with it and replaced the tank. I figured that it would take more effort and time to clean out what I had than it would take to buy the aluminum fuel tank I saw at the junkyard a few weeks ago. It was about the right size, and just needed a return bung welded and tapped in. After taking it to my welder, I was in for $60 for the tank. Slapped it on and it's been all good since. Still need to get proper fittings, and replace the guage (old one didn't have one) but that is even over kill as I can just look in the full hole.
 
Good to hear. Thanks for posting that up.

If algae....that can eventually grow in nice new to you aluminum tanks too. Prevention would be to use an algae inhibitor, especially when fuel is to sit for a long time - like perhaps over winter.

Is it Startron that is one good product for that?
 
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