JD 3010 won't fire

MinnesotaGuy84 · Nov 10, 2015

My John Deere 3010 Diesel was running like a top. Then the next day it wouldn't start. Plenty of electrical power but it wasn't getting fuel. It would fire when I gave it a puff of starter fluid but would quit instantly.

I changed the fuel filters. I tried bleeding the fuel system with the mechanical lifter pump. The lifter pump wouldn't make fuel move so I replaced the lifter pump. I filled the bottom canister of the fuel filter with fuel and pumped on the hand primer on the lifter pump.

It still won't run. What else should I do here? I would appreciate some insight.

Soundguy · Nov 10, 2015

I'm not familiar with the transmission, but if it is a manual, I would try pull starting it.

Have you bleed it to the point of getting fuel leaking at loose injector lines at the injectors? IF so, then a pull start will save wear and tear on your starter, assuming you have a manual tranny and can pull start her.

GManBart · Nov 10, 2015

It sounds like there's air somewhere in the system between the lift pump and the injectors. I'd loosen the injector lines, and crank the engine to see if you're getting fuel to them. If not, the engine won't start. Work backwards until you find the last spot where fuel is reaching and that should narrow it down....but there's a good chance that cracking the injectors and cranking for a few seconds is all you need to do to purge the air from the system.

Jerry/MT · Nov 10, 2015

MinnesotaGuy84 said:
My John Deere 3010 Diesel was running like a top. Then the next day it wouldn't start. Plenty of electrical power but it wasn't getting fuel. It would fire when I gave it a puff of starter fluid but would quit instantly.

I changed the fuel filters. I tried bleeding the fuel system with the mechanical lifter pump. The lifter pump wouldn't make fuel move so I replaced the lifter pump. I filled the bottom canister of the fuel filter with fuel and pumped on the hand primer on the lifter pump.

It still won't run. What else should I do here? I would appreciate some insight.

make sure the strainer at the tank out let isn't clogged - a common problem.

GManBart · Nov 10, 2015

Jerry/MT said:
make sure the strainer at the tank out let isn't clogged - a common problem.

He probably wouldn't be getting fuel to the lift pump if that was the problem...not that it hurts to check.

Jerry/MT · Nov 10, 2015

GManBart said:
He probably wouldn't be getting fuel to the lift pump if that was the problem...not that it hurts to check.

A lot of time the flow is restricted and it will dribble out enough to get to the lift pump but not at a flow rate enough to run at low idle. Sometimes you get enough to run at low idle and you can't increase the rpm.

GManBart · Nov 11, 2015

Jerry/MT said:
A lot of time the flow is restricted and it will dribble out enough to get to the lift pump but not at a flow rate enough to run at low idle. Sometimes you get enough to run at low idle and you can't increase the rpm.

Sure, but that isn't really what he described. It was running one day, wouldn't start the next, and the lift pump wouldn't move fuel...if anything, that sounds like the seal on the lift pump failed.

If the filter is full, and the lift pump is good, the tractor should start even if there's a restriction at the strainer...but it didn't. That points to air in the system somewhere between the lift pump and the injectors. It won't hurt to check the tank strainer, but it sounds like that's a long shot in this situation.

Soundguy · Nov 11, 2015

double check for bad seal at the new filter.. sometimes hard to get all of old seal out.. then they suck air badly..

MinnesotaGuy84 · Nov 12, 2015

I got the fuel filters to bleed. I disconnected the line at the injector pump that came from the fuel filter, gave a hand prime on the lifter pump and got fuel. Then I opened up the fitting shown on this photo and cranked the engine. Air spat out a bit, eventually it started, ran a few seconds then quit. That fuel line where I got air to spit goes back to the fuel tank. So I do believe it's an issue of air in the lines. However, I just don't know where to bleed now.

MinnesotaGuy84 · Nov 12, 2015

Here is another photo. I tried bleeding at the fitting shown in the arrow and didn't get anything. This line out from the injector pump leads to that same fitting from my last photo. Any advice on where to bleed the system would be much appreciated.