Ford 901, diesel fuel in oil pan

[GManBart]

Hey all,

I'm trying to help a friend out with a tractor I may consider buying. It's a 961 Ford diesel that sat for about 18 months. It was running, and driving fine when it was parked. We went to get it running again, and it didn't want to start...battery cables getting hot, etc. There's a bunch of diesel fuel in the oil pan, which I think can be one of three things. One, it could be a split diaphram in the fuel lift pump, two it could be blown seals on the injector pump, or three, leaking injector nozzles. Am I missing anything else that might have caused the problem? Any ideas on what's most common? Thanks in advance!

Any idea what an injector pump rebuild would cost? I found one place online that shows $375, which seems reasonable.

 

[Coyote machine]

If the battery cables are getting hot and you have diesel in the pan you may be trying to spin a seized engine. Diesel in the pan could dilute the oil to the point of spinning a bearing, and result in the starter trying to spin an engine that can't spin. How long have you allowed the starter to crank in any given attempt to start the tractor? You shouldn't go more than 10-15 seconds between attempts or you can overheat the starter, cables, etc.

 

[GManBart]

If the battery cables are getting hot and you have diesel in the pan you may be trying to spin a seized engine. Diesel in the pan could dilute the oil to the point of spinning a bearing, and result in the starter trying to spin an engine that can't spin. How long have you allowed the starter to crank in any given attempt to start the tractor? You shouldn't go more than 10-15 seconds between attempts or you can overheat the starter, cables, etc.

I should have added that about a month ago, we tow started it briefly, so I don't think it's stuck. It had a dead battery, so we figured that was all it needed...he'd checked the fluid levels, etc, and things looked generally okay (rear seal was leaking, but that's something I can handle). Today he went back, put a new battery on it, and I wasn't there when he tried starting it. I was actually getting ready to drive over there when he texted that he found the pan full of diesel, so I thought I'd look for some advice before doing anything else.

 

[banjodunn]

G'day fuel pump diaphragm is the first and cheapest place to start but as was said hot battery leads mean high current draw that could be a bad connection/starter or it could be an engine that has nipped up a bit, can you turn it over by the fan by hand?


Jon

 

[GManBart]

G'day fuel pump diaphragm is the first and cheapest place to start but as was said hot battery leads mean high current draw that could be a bad connection/starter or it could be an engine that has nipped up a bit, can you turn it over by the fan by hand?


Jon

I don't know whether it will turn over by hand, but we'll give it a try!

 

[banjodunn]

G'day you won't have to turn it over far just even if you can rock it back/'forwards you will know if it is too tight, a diesel engine should rock as free as a gas engine its just the compression stroke that is firmer.


Jon

 

[RickB]

A 961 diesel shouldn't have a separate transfer/lift pump unless a non-original engine has been installed or a lift pump added for some unknown reason. A cracked return line set is the #1 or #2 most likely cause of fuel in the crankcase. The injector return line set is in large part located under the valve cover and cracked connections will leak directly into the crankcase. Injection pump shaft seal leakage is just about as common. Injector leakage is a distant third possibility.

 

[GManBart]

A 961 diesel shouldn't have a separate transfer/lift pump unless a non-original engine has been installed or a lift pump added for some unknown reason. A cracked return line set is the #1 or #2 most likely cause of fuel in the crankcase. The injector return line set is in large part located under the valve cover and cracked connections will leak directly into the crankcase. Injection pump shaft seal leakage is just about as common. Injector leakage is a distant third possibility.

Thanks....that's extremely helpful. I'm pretty certain the engine is original, so it sounds like the return lines, or pump seals are the most likely culprits.