Thanks for looking in - I've got an 88 Ford 555B and recently filled it up w/ what I thought was good fuel but it began to run poorly and has lost its power. What the best way to solve this - I'm thinking maybe trash in fuel has clogged something up...or fuel is contaminated from sitting in drum. Thanks for any advice.
Your fuel delivery is probably restricted and you can't develop power without fuel.
You probably just have an accummulation of condensed water in the fuel tank. If you live in a warm climate you can slo have algae growing in the interface between the water and the fuel. Open the drain at the bottom of the nearest filter to the fuel tank and collect the drainage from it. holdd it up and look at it. You might be able to see some pink fuel on top of om water. if you cant get any flow, your tank out let is pobbably clogged. Open the fitting to that first filter from the tank. and drain that into a large container If you can;t get any fuel out that way siphon the fuel out and collect that. Than remove the drain valve.. There is usually a screen on it and it could be clogged.
Clean the tank out as best you can . Get any large chunks out. Decant the good fuel off the water and put it back into the tank. Add a diesel fuel additive with a water dispersant (like Power Service, Stanadyne, etc)a nd replace all the filters and bleed the system, and start the tractor.
I make it a practice to change my fuel filters in the late fall before freezing weather. I try to keep the tank full to minimize condensation. I use a water dispersing fuel additive all year aroud so that the filter will take the water out and it doesn't collect in the tank. This is especially important in the winter . If the water freezes at the tank out let it's more difficult to deal with than if it freezes on the filter. You can easily heat the filter with a heat gun and drain the water off or just replace the filter. I always have spare fuel filters on hand.
I drain my water separator before starting up to get out any water that might accumulate there. Just yesterday I got about 4 ounces of water out of the separator. Today nada!
Contaminated fuel is a real problem with diesels and by paying regular attention to the fuel delivery system maintenance, you can minimize down time.
