Fuel filters and yet more Mahindra manual BS.

[AchingBack]

I'm amazed in how many people have changed their tractor fuel filters. People must be getting a lot of dirty fuel. I get my red off road from my farm Co-op and I got my tractor in 2007 and have 567 hours and still have the original filter. The manual says to change when you have problems.

You might have the only manual in existence saying: change when you have problems. The manual for my 2615 gives time and hour tables for changing the filter.

 

[Sergei]

It has a chart and it does give the frequency when to change it, but under the fuel system section is where it states replace when loss of power or misfiring occurs, so far neither has happen. Of course this manual also tells me to use gear lube in front axle and then hydraulic lube elsewhere.

 

[Cubstah]

Thanks for the excellent write up! It saved me a lot of trouble. It was still a bear of a job!

 

[3gunr]

My manual for my 2538 says 500 hrs, My 2810 has over 1100 hrs and i know i changed it once, not sure when but have never had a fuel issue so far.

 

[shovelmike]

Thanks, dickfoster, for the excellent write up, it's bound to save a lot of people money and trouble. I have an eMax 22, as seen in my profile and the owner's manual is equally pathetic. I bought the shop manual too, and it's not much better, it shows a completely different engine than what I have (lists Mitsubishi, mine is Kukje), little consequence since it includes no engine repair info.
I understand that Mahindra farms out the production of the small units to TYM, and mid-year variations occur due to engine availability or lack thereof...you would think they would tailor the manuals by serial number.

 

[English Rugby Fan]

Brilliant thanks for taking time out to help us all!

 

[Acethe3rd]

I just finished changing the fuel filters on my Mahindra 1538 gear tractor. The HSTs and 1533s should be the same as they all use the very same engine. I thought I'd try to prevent others from going through some of the aggravation I suffered by attempting to rely on the scant and erroneous info Mahindra provides in the operator's manual.

First of all some part numbers since Mahindra neglects to provide any in the operator's or service manuals.
There are two fuel filters, a pre filter and a main or final filter and they are different. The first filter or pre filter is a paper insert type with a removable bowl. The Mahindra part number is 001081778R93, this is a Mico 8461037407 also a NAPA 3993 should do the job.

The second or main filter is Mahindra part number E006018618D1 which is a Bosch F002H22025. You can pay Mahindra about twice the price and get the same filter or just buy the Bosch and get the same thing, your choice.

To start lift the hood and remove the left side engine access panel.

OK first of all the pre filter is NOT a spin on filter as the operator's manual says it is. If you try to spin that thing off with a lot of force you'll likely break something so don't don't do it or you'll pay. To get the filter can off, simply loosen the 13mm (1/2") drive bolt in the center in the top of the filter. It's a long bolt so I used a gear or ratchet wrench. As access is tight a socket won't fit and box end or open would you a take a lot of time which I don't have.

CAUTION when you loosen this filter you will drain however much fuel there is in the tank so be prepared. The book neglects to mention this tidbit too but after a couple of gallons had spilled into my drain pan I figured it out. LOL
There is a 10mm filter drain plug in the bottom of the filter can so you could slowly drain the fuel into a fuel can using this drain and some time depending on how much is in your tank. Or you could remove and plug the fuel input line from the tank to the filter. The input hose is held to the filter banjo fitting on the filter with a simple hose clamp. Some would clamp the hose but I never liked doing that to hoses. I chose to drain the tank into an oil change pan since I didn't have that much fuel in the tank.

Once you get the filter bowl off, swap out the paper filter element and reassemble the filter. You should get a new O ring filter gasket with the new filter so change it if it needs changing. You'd need to dig the old one out because it's stuffed up in there. With only 50 hours on my machine I saved the replacement O ring gasket for another day.
After you get the filter replaced, go ahead and get some fuel back into the tank so the filter will have time to saturate and fill up making your restart easier later on.

Now on to the fun of changing out the main or second filter. As is typical on these machines service access is very limited and tight. It's best to remove the left side splash guard to give you a little more room to work. Removing two 12mm drive bolts will get the splash guard out of your way pronto.
You could remove your loader but the tower would still be in the way so it probably won't benefit anything by removing your front loader.
Next you'll find a wiring looms blocking access to the filter so remove the reusable zip ties so you can move those out of your way.
Next remove the electrical plug on the water sensor that's on the bottom of the filter. Push the release latch and pull the connector down to disconnect it from the sensor.
I suggest leaving the water sensor screwed to the bottom of the filter for the moment so you don't pour fuel all over the starter and solenoid that's just below the filter. This IS a spin on filter so to get the filter loose I used a plumbing type strap wrench. I don't think you'd be able to get a regular filter wrench in there due to the limited space but I found I could work the strap around the the filter then use the wrench to get the filter loose enough so it would spin off. You should be able to work the old filter out of the confined space then dump the fuel into your drain pan.
Now you can unscrew the water sensor from the bottom of the filter. Careful to retain and not loose the O ring seal.
Now work the new filter into place and spin it on. Be sure to lube the gasket with some clean fuel first and snug it down, not too tight, snug will do as is typical for spin on filters.
Now you can screw the water sensor to the bottom of the filter and reconnect the electrical connector.
Next you need to bleed the air out of the new filter and prime the filter with fuel. To do this first open the bleed screw(the manual skips this step) it's a 10mm drive, that you'll find conveniently located on the top and to the rear of the filter adapter (yes I'm being facetious). Again I found a 10mm gearwrench would just fit in there. Don't remove the bleed screw, just back it out enough so air can escape.
Next, to prevent pouring fuel all over your starter, stuff some paper towels or rags back there to catch the fuel. Now push the primer cap down several times until fuel instead of air comes out of the bleeder and the primer stiffens up. Now snug down the bleed screw.
Check for leaks and try starting the tractor. The engine may start and run for a bit then encounter some trapped air and stop. Try priming it again and retry. If you trip the Check Engine light fantastic don't fret, panic or call your dealer, just keep at it till the tractor starts and runs run for awhile till the fuel system is fully primed with fuel. After a few starts the CE light will go out by itself or if you're the impatient type and have a scangauge you can reset the light and erase the error code using that.

After you're convinced that things are hunky dory, replace the zip ties you removed on the wiring loom, replace the splash guard, the engine access panel, slam the hood down and you're back to work.

BTW because Mahindra failed to provide the part numbers in the manuals as they should have it took me two round trips, to Yuba city and a lot of wasted time and gas to get it right. Hopefully this will make things a little easier for you.

Also a note on the water sensor. Mahindra put the water sensor up high on the second or main fuel filter where it doesn't do much good. Since the pre filter is obviously the low point in the system, this is where water will collect as water is heavier than fuel. The moisture sensor should really have been put there. By the time the thing goes off where it is now, the prefilter would be completely saturated and filled with water already. This is not rocket science nor is it hard to figure out. I'll probably get around to adding some sort of clear sediment bowl collector and shut valve to the input hose on my pre filter. That will make it easy to inspect and drain water plus allow me to shut off the fuel to make filter changes easier. I may even move the water sensor to that point or the pre filter since it would do more good there.

Thank you so much for doing this. About to try it. lol

 

[kp_mving]

Thank you so much for doing this. About to try it. lol

Helpful. Thanks

 

[English Rugby Fan]

It was in early stages a battle to change these filters and loosing diesel fuel. Now thanks to earlier posts I put together a reasonable understanding. I even cut up a milk jug to fit over the starter motor with zip ties as the previous crashed I think due to drainage from the filter above! But the article is a perfect ‘how to’ on these filters mahindra doesn’t do the owner any favours in their manual.
I wish your article was written a long time ago but it’s in my file when my senility takes over. Thank you again!

 

[LouNY]

OK, I've read most of the posts in this thread. Then I went and did a search through several owner/operator manuals I have. A "15" and a "19" RAM pickups, a Jeep Compass, Chevy Equinox, a Branson 8050, a NH 8160, NH 6050, a CIH Puma 125, and guess what folks.....

Not a single solitary one of them provides part numbers for the various filters.
Every single one of them does say to see your dealer for the filters and fluids.

If you want part numbers for the factory filters get the danged parts catalog,
if you want the service instructions get the danged service manual.