L3000 Engine Troubles

[dooleysm]

I had some tractor weirdness yesterday. I spent a couple hours saturday running a grader over my new pond dam and the tractor ran fine. Then yesterday I fired up the bush hog and got about a half hour in before this happened. The rpms started falling. I disengaged the mower and just sat there. The rpms would go up to normal, then fall and it would almost die. Then they would go back up, etc. If I put it in gear it would go maybe 10 feet and die. Start it up, rpms would go up, down, up, down, etc.

I shut it down and found that the screen in front of the radiator was clogged. I cleaned that off, but the tractor hadn't been running hot. I'm 90% sure the temp gauge works, as I saw it running hot earlier in
the summer when it was real hot and the radiator screen was clogged.

Anyway, I limped it back to the barn and let it cool off. Went back and started it later and it seemed to run fine, although I didn't run the mower or run it for very long.

Plenty of gas in the tank. 245 hours on the tractor. I performed the 250 hour service at about 238 hours about a month and a half ago.

Any ideas on what the problem was or what to check for?

 

[SkyPup]

Try cleaning or replacing the air filter.

Might want to take a look at the fuel filter as well. Is this a gasoine engine, as you mentioned "gas in the tank?"

 

[dooleysm]

Diesel in the tank, sorry.

I also checked the air filter, which was replaced at the 250 hour service. It was clean enough to lead me to believe that was not a part of the problem.

 

[SkyPup]

If the radiator was clogged, that would be adequate warning to take the time to clean the air filter too. Is it issuing black smoke when it is stalling? That would be indicative of a clogged air cleaner resulting in not enough air and too much fuel for a clean burn.

 

[dooleysm]

There was no noticable change in the exhaust. No black smoke.

So I guess I'll blow out the air filter and look into changing the fuel filter. Those are the best ideas I've got so far, unless there's some other partial clog in the fuel line somewhere.

 

[SkyPup]

Fuel filters normally last ~ 100hrs, but one bad or contaminated batch of fuel is all it takes to clog them out. If you did not replace the fuel filter @ the 250 hr service, that would be the first thing to check, especially if it starts but will not maintain higher rpms.

 

[Shimon]

Sounds like a fuel filter problem to me.

 

[RobJ]

Fuel problem, filter maybe. Sounds like air in the system. Mine did the same thing after changing the filters the first time. A good bleeding and it hasn't done it since.

 

[KennyV]

Check for water in your fuel filter… if there is any there you have more in the bottom of your tank. While you have the FF off let the fuel flow freely. If it slows down or stops you have stuff in your tank blocking the outlet. KennyV.

 

[dooleysm]

I've never replaced a fuel filter, will I be able to tell if mine's clogged or needs replacing once I get it off?