Oil & Fuel 2003 Jinma 354 Starts runs 1 minute dies and will not restart without fuel prime

[FishFever441]

Hello All, I obtained a 2003 Jinma 354 with a home purchase in 2014. Machine had about 300hrs on it it now stands at 401hrs. It has run very well while I have owned it. Clearly it sits dormant for most of its life.

STORYTIME

Now for my issue: It started and ran excellent last weekend and used it for a few hours moving firewood. I hoped on Tuesday and crank no start, several attempts at cranking with the throttle lever in different positions would result in the engine coughing an stumbling but never running.
1st) The sediment bowl is amber colored or stained either way I couldn't tell if it had fuel in it or not so I removed it. It was full and had a very little bit of "crud" in the bottom of the bowl. It was emptied cleaned and reinstalled. When I turned the petcock back on i could see fuel filling but it seems to be slower than I would expect it to be. I have not tried to blow air back into the tank at this time. The cup will fill with fuel and remain full so I don't think this is a contributing factor at this time.
Next) I removed the line from the fuel shut-off to the IP. I cleaned and blew it out with air. I reinstalled the line to the fuel shut-off and turn it on and let it run into a bucket. Not knowing the ID of the hose and only looking at the orifice in the banjo it seems that fuel does not come out as fast as I was expecting at least when I compare to say a 4 wheeler with 1/4 fuel line and the tank drains very quickly. I let the line hang for awhile thinking to drain the tank and peak inside while I addressed a serious issue. After several minutes ~ 4 gallons had come out I turned of the fuel. Tank is not empty
Next) The banjo bolt at the IP has a screen filter I found it was plugged sold with "crud" and slimy snot substance after reading many post here I believe to be "bugs". I cleaned away as much of the physical material as I could and gently tried to blow it clean not terribly effective. I let the screen sit in mineral spirits over and and used a nylon brush and some gentle air and got it to a state seems clean enough to flow fuel but will be replacing with new (if available).

Next) I reinstalled the line at the IP side. I removed the fuel filter and it was full of fuel. I took a new filter and filled it with fresh diesel and reinstalled. Then began the sequence of air purging from various posts I read here. ( I have included pictures to indicated what I was opening.) I opened the fuel filter bleeder and used the hand prime and immediately have fuel there (duh the filter was just filled lol) I open the 2 "screws" on the face of the IP and hand pump until fuel runs from them. I have heard air hissing out on first opening. Then I move up top and open the 3 injector lines and crank the engine using the decomp level (just learned what that was this week) until fuel runs out. The 1st time I did this I don't believe i was patient enough as fuel was not coming out so I loosen the 3 hard lines at the IP (green arrows on pic) until fuel dribbled out. Then I caught a few posts saying that might be a no no so I have stopped doing that and had found it isn't necessary anyways.

Once I run through all of that the tractor will start and run but not for long, maybe a minute minute and a half. It may try to stall out but If I hold the fuel pedal to the floor it will stumble a few time and the RPM's will come back to 2000 and never beyond this may happen 2 or 3 times then it quits and cannot be restarted. When this happens I removed the fuel filter and it is drained maybe a 1/5th of the way. I can repeat this process indefinitely with the same results.

Items of concern:
1) There is no amount of hand priming that I have done yet that I can get fuel to come out of the fuel filter bleeder. (Unless the filter is manually filled to the top)
2) I checked the IP oil by draining it out. I found YT videos showing this procedure. When I removed the 1 drain bolt (orange arrow) very little oil came out( ~1- 2oz) nothing like the stream of oil pouring out on video. The second drain bolt( Purple arrow) is a massive design flow as it cannot be removed. Before it can be fully unthreaded it hits the lip of the block casting. I drained what I could and refilled until oil began to weep from this 鍍ube? Blue arrow)
3) The Diesel in the tank is 2 years old at least.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something but this is getting long winded.

This should be enough for now to prompt questions and suggestions for the helpful bunch and scare all the TLR痴 away

I have been on forum boards about as long as they have existed and will report back the conclusion of this saga whether the corrective action is determined here or not. That痴 just forum etiquette.

Thanx in advance to all who dive in.

 

[Roadworthy]

After your verbose explanation I conclude you have fuel starvation issues. Given the age of the fuel in the tank I'd start there. I'd drain the tank but before refilling it with fresh diesel check the fuel output location. You may have a screen in there. You could have algae clogging the screen allowing only a minimal fuel flow. After filling the tank you should add an algicide of some sort. Ensure you have free flowing fuel throughout your system. It may not solve your problem but it will eliminate the fuel system.

 

[piper184]

It sure sounds like you have a case of "bugs". The slim you found was the dead bodies of billions of bacteria the sink to the bottom of the tank and plug filters.
Most sediment bowls have a fine mesh screen at the top of the bowl. You didn't mention that so be sure to look for it as it is most likely plugged as well.
With the sediment bowl removed, open the shut off valve and check for flow rate. As Roadworthy mentioned some tanks have a finger filter in the tank. I am not sure if that will come out if you remove the sediment bowl or not. I would recommend replacing the factory bowl with an after market one that uses a glass bowl, much easier to see the fuel and to maintain. I got mine from Ranch Hand Supply.
If you don't get all the bugs killed, they will continue to have a happy life in your fuel system, and eventually ruin everything in it. Personally I would remove the tank and scrub it out really well, then replace all the filters and screens and start fresh with new fuel and use a biocide treatment. It seems expensive but a little goes a long way.
Also, don't forget any tanks or fuel cans you use to fill up the tractor. If they are contaminated and you put that fuel into the tractor, you get to start all over again.
Good luck!

 

[Bob Rooks]

As Piper mentioned, diesel bugs are very real and they can do a lot of damage to the injection pump and injectors. They are highly corrosive. I have a lot of first hand experience on the subject.
These are of my dozer.













Here is a pic of one of the fuel purifier sludge tanks on one of the ships I worked on. Full of dead and live bugs.

 

[FishFever441]

A full cleaning was on the to do list. I'll do the sediment cup kit while I'm in there and report back. Cold and recent snow will certainly slow the process.

Thanks guys!

 

[Bob Rooks]

Forgot to mention that some of the sediment bowl assemblies have a screen on the threaded portion that goes into the tank, and that can become clogged as well. What most have done is to pull the bowl assembly from the tank and remove that screen.

Good luck.

 

[stevem5215]

On my Ford 1900 I had a problem that was similar. On it I found by shining a flashlight into the tank that dead yellow jackets had somehow gotten into the tank and were blocking the fuel inlet. I siphoned them out and fixed it. (of course i purged the lines and cleaned the filter with compressed air and reinstalled and it was fine)

 

[Industrial Toys]

Many years ago we had an issue with earwigs. I think they gained entry into the filling nozzle, then went into the tractor tank. I try and cap my fuel nozzles and never had another incident. Or pour a bit into a jar first during the summer months..

 

[FishFever441]

Hey Guys, I go the sediment bowl kit from Rand Hand Supply and the machine fired up after priming. It seemed to run ok at first but... It revs very slowly and stumbles a few times catches it self starts to settle then stumbles again until it eventually dies.

After restarting a couple of times the entire machine went dead. At this point the starter was getting hot and I was about to call it quits to let it cool when it went dead. No power when the key is turned. The amp meter does not move, none of the lights work, turn signals nada. I peaked at the fuses in the block and not were visually popped. I'll start probing for a fuse-able link that may have popped or the ignition it self gave up the ghost.

Fun times.......

 

[piper184]

It sounds like you have air in the fuel system. Did you bleed it at the IP bleed port? I would try that first. Second would be to bleed each line at the injector. This is usually not needed as it will normally take care of itself. Unless you have an air leak somewhere.
First thought on that is did you screw the hand primer down tight?
Best of luck and let us know what you find.