New to me TC29D cranks & won’t start

[LouNY]

My first suspicion on a diesel if it has low compression is that it has been ether tested and in doing so some rings and or piston lands have been broken. A compression test is nice to do but either prior to or after I like and prefer leakdown tests they are much more informative.

 

[MRTOES]

Sorry I didn't take time to read all replies but wanted to ask you.....
1. Have you checked for possibility of front seal on injector pump leaking fuel down into gear case which then drops into oil pan. Has happened to more than one person.
2. Did you change oil when you did other maintenance.......I have put multiweight HD oil into engines that had been running non detergent and have seen them act like this because sludge was loosened.

 

[CalienteJohn]

My first suspicion on a diesel if it has low compression is that it has been ether tested and in doing so some rings and or piston lands have been broken. A compression test is nice to do but either prior to or after I like and prefer leakdown tests they are much more informative.

Question on that one what is a leak down test and how is it accomplished? I’m tired just give me the fish I don’t want to google haha. Have updates here to post on tractor test

 

[CalienteJohn]

Sorry I didn't take time to read all replies but wanted to ask you.....
1. Have you checked for possibility of front seal on injector pump leaking fuel down into gear case which then drops into oil pan. Has happened to more than one person.
2. Did you change oil when you did other maintenance.......I have put multiweight HD oil into engines that had been running non detergent and have seen them act like this because sludge was loosened.

1. How is this possibility of leaking injector pump determined? Do I monitor oil level on dipstick or ?? Sorry if dumb question once again it’s late I’m tired just give me the fish don’t make me google haha.
2. New tractor to me I have not yet changed engine oil

 

[CalienteJohn]

So updates to previous questions let me know if I leave anything important unanswered.

Air intake behind filter seems good no obvious signs of dirt ingestion

Compression tested
All cylinders low
pictures attached of each cylinder at test and after adding a tbsp of engine oil and re testing (all three compressions went up significantly after adding engine oil and re testing)
Front cyl 110psi before oil 180 after
Mid 160 before 250 after
Rear 195 before 250 after

 

[LouNY]

Question on that one what is a leak down test and how is it accomplished? I’m tired just give me the fish I don’t want to google haha. Have updates here to post on tractor test

A leakdown tester is connected to an engine in the same way a compression tester is and it also has an air line attached from an air compressor.
Then with the piston at top dead center of the compression stroke the valving is opened to allow pressurized air to flow into the cylinder most will have a flow meter attached so you can see how much air is blowing through the cylinder under test. By listening and feeling you can check for air coming out through the exhaust or intake which verifies your valves. If the air is escaping through the crankcase and blowing out the breather or the oil fill it's getting by the piston and rings.

 

[CalienteJohn]

Glow plugs all individually manually tested with battery charger set to 2 amps
All 3 cherry red tip after 4-5 seconds

So can I test the GP system by manually grounding a GP and connecting the lead that normally goes to the GP bar and hot wire it to the tip of GP

That way I can visually see that the system is working?

ALSO now that we’ve confirmed everyone’s suspicions of low compress do I need to move forward with fuel pressure testing or anything else besides soaking the rings with ATF for a week or two before testing compression again later??

 

[thepumpguysc]

That’s a very low compression reading.. how confident are you in the test.?? Are u taking it from the glow plug holes.??
Have u tried another compression gauge.??
U can rent them for some parts houses.. AutoZone..

 

[thepumpguysc]

Fuel pressure.?? I thought the inj. pump was gravity fed.??
The fuel went from tank to filter, then to injection pump.. let me know if I’m mistaken..

 

[the old grind]

Separate the GP wire from the plugs (they're good) and turn the ign key to activate them. If they're getting power at all you can skip an electrical load test.

A 'dry' compression test (sat for a while) is expected to read low. Rings may be coked and stuck, so the long soak might help to free them up. Getting up to op temp will help too, so I suggest re-checking after each step. If one reads low, that's be the one I checked every time but wouldn't read too much into what the others will do right away, nor would I change the oil too soon if it's not dark and opaque.

This model has no fuel pump and is indeed gravity-fed. Filter quality/condition, and condensation in the line to pump come into play. BTDT so note what comes out when bleeding from inlet or lines

btw, I have the complete manual for TC29 & TC33 and can share pages by PM or email, so don't forget.