John Deere Technical Manual Issue

[texstrk426]

I just made an embarrasing discovery.:banghead: During the recent gasoline shortage in our area following hurricane Harvey, I had filled one 5 gallon empty diesel can with gasoline for my daughter who lives next door. She had to have some extra in case she could not get gas for driving to/from work (82 miles round trip). It turned out that she did not use it and brought it back and set it next to some diesel cans and when my son filled the tank recently he put one 5 gallon can of diesel and one 5 gallon can of gasoline in the tractor tank. Needless to say, it did not work very well. The only reason it worked at all was that there was some residual diesel in the tank already.

So I had to drain all the fuel anyway and it will be used for killing weeds etc. In the meantime I have to go to the fuel station and get more diesel to put in the tank. The new fuel filter will be dumped and new diesel put in it, then bleed the lines again. It was all an honest mistake on all our parts but lesson learned! All's well that ends well!

 

[Quebecguy]

I'm glad to hear you have the problem figured out. Stuff happens, eh?

 

[beenthere]

tex
jdparts shows that fuel line filter (called strainer) and looks to be an option.. by the dashed lines.. key #29

Glad you found the underlying problem..

 

[Spanner]

Here is a link to a picture of that filter. The filter seems to be the same thing that we all used to change every year on our Chevy/Ford/Dodge back in the sixties.
John Deere In-line Fuel Strainer - RE22(0)719

That's the one. Very common filter across many 'platforms'. Probably a common NAPA item.

Quebecguy;
As it turned out, my 5105 does not even have an extra filter between the fuel tank and the RE60021 filter!:duh: Perhaps the assembly line ran out and hooked it direct. There is a single piece fuel hose all the way from the tank to the filter at the cut-off valve to the RE60021 filter. It has never been replaced since I bought the tractor from the dealer and has never been in the shop for repairs either.

I removed the 11mm bolts that hold the cowl top/side partitions to gain easier access to the area where the hose meets the RE60021 filter input. Otherwise even dealing with the aircraft type clamp on the hose there would have been impossible with the tools I have. Now the rest of the job will be much easier. I think I will get the extra fuel filter and put it in-line ahead of the RE60021 filter. It certainly can't hurt to have more filtering.

The Parts diagram shows it was optional. (see below) So, yes, you may not have one rather than the assembly line 'running-out'.

tex
jdparts shows that fuel line filter (called strainer) and looks to be an option.. by the dashed lines.. key #29

Glad you found the underlying problem..

Same pic I posted in #14 and the following may be useful:
The Parts catalogue shows the whole fuel hose is 75" long (1900mm) but if the strainer is fitted it is at 55.5" (1410mm) from the tank outlet and 17" (430mm) from the main (final) filter RE60021.
Now, probably local practice here but, we were told to install the strainer/filter as close to the tank outlet as possible - This prevents debris working along the fuel hose and collecting at the upturn bend under the cowl causing a blockage.
I believe that idea may have been communicated to the factory and...

This concept is in place with current & late model 1000 & 2000 series SCUTS which have a simple Ride-on-type fuel filter under the mudguard/fender of footplate.

You can choose to locate yours wherever is convenient to you I suppose.

The petrol/diesel mix is disappointing in that one can normally 'smell' the petrol when pouring which should ring the 'alarm bells'. Petrol & deisel even 'pour' differently.

Hope you're engine runs ok.

 

[texstrk426]

At one point as I was pouring the mixture into an open diesel can, I spotted the vapors rising from the container. I knew that diesel did not normally vaporize so easily, so I smelled of it and yes it had the odor of gasoline. I knew for sure what the problem was then. I now have two cans of diesel back in the tank and need to get all five of my diesel cans refilled. Then I can top the tank off to easily make the fuel travel the bend over the valve cover area and to the filter. Right now the shutoff valve is closed so I will have to open it before purging the filter and injector pump again.

I hope the engine did not sustain any damage from the incident.

Thanks to all of you for your assistance!

 

[Spanner]

It'll prime with what you have in there now. Does your 'final' filter have the manual press-primer on the top? You may need a flat-bladed screwdriver to open the bleed screw on the filter head. (Black plastic thumbscrew knob). Just do it up finger tight. There's a sealing o-ring on it.

 

[texstrk426]

Spanner;
Yes it does have the manual press knob on the top and the bleed screw on the side. I just ran out of energy this afternoon. I had been working on the tractor for around 6 hours and am dead tired. I will try again early tomorrow morning. It will be cooler then. The temperature rose to 94 degrees F and I decided to get out of the heat. The sun was really bearing down and there was no shade where I was working.

 

[Spanner]

Sounds like beer-o'clock. You take care over there! :drink:

 

[texstrk426]

This morning I got an early start. I bled the fuel system and after a couple of tries got it right and the tractor started. I waited a bit with the accelerator floored until the rpm rose to its highest level and stabilized. I knew then that the problem was solved. I used the tractor for the next 4 hours doing some mowing and it did just fine. Thanks to everyone here for their assistance and encouragement!:dance1:

 

[Spanner]

Great news!!
:drink:

 

[swines]

However, I do not expect John Deere to change their policy on this matter. This is a poor way to treat customers.

You don't have any idea how much it costs to create a technical manual.

In 1971, I worked for a company that did the technical manuals for Fuller transmissions. At that time, the cost to do a manual for a single transmission model was $15,000. Most of that was in drafting time, and layout of the manual. I'd guess that today, for an entire tractor, the cost to produce a service manual is at least $70,000 to $100,000 - if not more. While computer aided drafting helps speed up the drafting process and computerized layout software like Quark, InDesign, Pagemaker, etc. make digital compositing of the publication much faster - there's still thousands of hours that go into making up the manual.

$410 sounds cheap to me for an extremely low sales publication that was very expensive to produce. It's not exactly like it's going to sell a million copies and spend 44 weeks at the top of the NY Times' Best Seller list.

 

[texstrk426]

Actually I do understand what it costs to create a technical manual as I worked for a telecom company in engineering documentation and worked with technical publication personnel. It is an expected cost of business and a necessary provision for customers. It is one thing to have fellow professional customers and another to be dealing with ordinary lay people doing their own service to save money and provide a living for their families. Different customers/users require different handling of this aspect of business.

 

[beenthere]

Seems it is a customer choice.. pay the dealer $150 an hour to sort out the problem, or get a service manual and try to sort out the problem in the comfort of your own shop (with the valuable TBN help).

 

[swines]

It is one thing to have fellow professional customers and another to be dealing with ordinary lay people doing their own service to save money and provide a living for their families. Different customers/users require different handling of this aspect of business.

So, what you're saying is that there should be two different prices. The dealer should pay JD full pop because they're doing it for business and may be able to deduct that as a business expense, while customers who may only use it to solve one or two problems should pay less? BS. The publication has a base cost. You amortize the publication cost over the number of manuals sold and not special deals simply because YOU feel it should cost less.

You do realize that in some states, if the dealer deducts the cost of the manual as a business expense, then the manual is classified as an "asset' and they pay a tax on it, literally forever, or until they show it being sold or disposed of? It's not quite the "free ride" you want it to be for the dealer.

 

[Ellerington]

Having lift problem with bucket on JD 5205 tractor, bucket tilts fine but will not go up or down

 

[Zebrafive]

Having lift problem with bucket on JD 5205 tractor, bucket tilts fine but will not go up or down

First thing to try is uncouple and recouple the hose connectors to the lift cylinders of the loader.
If that does not work, swap lift cylinder and bucket hoses where they quick couple. This will put the bucket control valve to the lift cylinders. If lift control, now works the bucket then the valve is OK.

I'll bet a coupler problem.