Ford 1210 No Start - No Idea Why

[jimmysisson]

Any chance the airway to the cylinders is blocked somewhere? You do need it.
Jim

 

[greedypebbles]

I realise you've all got better things to do than worry about my engine problems, but here's an update.

Drained all fuel, cleaned tank, replenished with fresh. Bled at pump, bled at injectors, all flowing freely. Still no start, eevn with start spray.

THought again about hydraulics. Checked fluid level, all good. Found what I think is a pressure control lever (next to the seat, down the right hand side). Moved it all the way forward. Not sure what this does, but did it anyway. Tried starting it, quick spray of starting magic and it jumped into life and ran. However I couldnt keep it running, felt like it was struggling and not particularly happy. Eventually died and couldnt restart. Ran for about 10 seconds.

Is this a step forward, or complete coincidence? Is this lever a pressure control?

 

[jimmysisson]

Send a pic of the lever area

Jim

 

[joe12185]

I'm new to this forum, but I like to fix stuff and I was reading this thread and decided to try and help. For what it is worth, see the thread "Ford 1210 won't start after maintenance" for proper fuel system bleeding instructions, this sounds to me like a fuel pressure issue caused by air in the fuel system.

Also make sure there are no loose injectors or glo plugs. I had an issue with my 1715 not starting and it was the glo plugs going bad, replaced them and the tractor starts fine now. Do you have a block heater? I plugged mine in for about 45 minutes and it started right up without the glo plugs.

 

[Fawken]

I realise you've all got better things to do than worry about my engine problems, but here's an update.

Drained all fuel, cleaned tank, replenished with fresh. Bled at pump, bled at injectors, all flowing freely. Still no start, eevn with start spray.

THought again about hydraulics. Checked fluid level, all good. Found what I think is a pressure control lever (next to the seat, down the right hand side). Moved it all the way forward. Not sure what this does, but did it anyway. Tried starting it, quick spray of starting magic and it jumped into life and ran. However I couldnt keep it running, felt like it was struggling and not particularly happy. Eventually died and couldnt restart. Ran for about 10 seconds.

Is this a step forward, or complete coincidence? Is this lever a pressure control?

OK, doesn't sound to me like you are the original owner of this machine. They are the simplest tractors and easiest to work on I've ever serviced. And a diesel, properly maintained, is 10 times more reliable than any gas engine. Many of these Shibauras got fitted with after market mufflers when NH stopped carrying a lot of parts. If yours has that (exhaust vertical rather than horizontal) DO NOT leave the tractor out in the rain. If you do, cover the pipe. Number two: the lever by the seat on the right is for your lift arm controls. With a frame mounted Backhoe it should be ALWAYS kept in the fully lowered (down) position. If you ran the tractor with it up you likely put a huge strain on the hydraulic pump and trashed the bearing which would account for black engine oil getting into lines (bad, bad, bad). The original non-starting issue may have simply been the tractor trying to overcome the infinite resistance of the lift arms trying to raise a backhoe that is held in place by the frame. Now my guess is you've got air in the lines or left an injector line loose while shooting in the dark and not troubleshooting in a logical manner. Send a picture of the tractor so we can tell how badly the previous owner abused it. Then get an owners manual so you know the difference between a throttle lever and a hydraulic shut-off and know what the lift arm control lever does. Then get a shop manual. If you need the tractor in the next month find a qualified mechanic to check it out and see what damage you've done.

 

[greedypebbles]

Quite right I am not the original owner. Its been round the block a bit.

The lift arm control lever was in the fully UP position. When I got it I was told thats how it should be. What you say makes sense about the pump albeit I would never have considered that to be the case until now.

 

[Fawken]

They were good machines (albeit a bit underpowered). I saw one on Messicks a while back with a FEL and backhoe. That one looked like it was really beat up and if I had bought it would have been a total restore project. The backhoe would have been sold to finance the proper restoration of that machine.

 

[greedypebbles]

This one is a bit beat up too. I never thought it meant it had any underlying problem though. If I could get in touch with the guy I got it from I'd be asking him more about the history but I recall he told me he'd only had it a couple of years and barely used it. Not relly sure what I'm doing with it now. Bit annoyed really as I didnt want to start a whole load of hassle like this.

Thanks for your help. Really appreciate it.

 

[MrWhippy]

Just wanted to add, one of the reasons I moved on from my 1710 was that the Shibaura engine was no longer in production and getting parts for a rebuild were getting tougher and tougher. That may not apply to your 1210.

 

[Fawken]

It's really tough to get parts, but they are out there. NH is of little help for sure. The parts they do have are way overpriced. Check Weavers and Southern Global.