Ran out of diesel, how do I start it now? MT372D

[Alesandro]

I know I've been warned, don't run your diesel tractor out of fuel. Well I accidentally did and now I can't get it to start. I think i read somewhere about an adapter on the fuel cap that let's me pressurize the system, does that sounds about right?

Any tips would help.

 

[aczlan]

If its like most diesel engines, the first thing that you would want to do, is to loosen the fuel line coming into the injection pump a little bit and make sure that you have fuel to the injection pump and that the air is bled out of that line.
Then you need to loosen the nut that holds the high pressure fuel line on the top of each injector and crank the engine over until you start seeing fuel come out of each one. As you see fuel coming out of them you tighten the nuts and then it should start firing.
If you get frothy fuel coming out you might need to leave the nut open a little bit longer to let the fuel with air in it work through and get just fuel coming out.
The reason for this is that the injector requires a certain amount of pressure from the pump to open. If there is air in the line, it will compress, absorbing the pressure of each injection pulse from the injection pump and not let the injection pump build enough pressure to the injector to force it open.
If you have a decompression lever, pull that until you tighten the nuts back up to make life easier on the starter and battery.

Edit, here is a video showing this on a Kubota:

Aaron Z

 

[Alesandro]

Aczlan;

Thank you that's the info I was looking for. I'll give that a try!

 

[buickanddeere]

Don’t Be using ether

 

[Industrial Toys]

Some engines start easier than others. Some just require that you prime the lift pump and get the air out of that. Others need a progressive bleeding right to the injectors.

An electric fuel pump seems to help a lot in my experience. I ran my Kubota generator out of fuel a few weeks ago. I bypassed the electric fuel pump to run continuously and through clear tubing I could see the air gradually disappear. Only after that, did she cough, sputter and finally start.

 

[oosik]

Then there are units like my M6040 that have a manual fuel priming pump tied into the fuel filter fixture. The OP manual instructions sure make priming the system sound easy. I'll see when I change the fuel filter - ha.

 

[Egon]

There should be a bleed off of of the pump or right on the pump discharge. With this open and manual pump you should see flow.

[video]http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/mitsubishi-satoh/259349-mt372-fuel-pump-question.html[/video]

 

[Alesandro]

and manual pump you should see flow

What do you mean manual pump? How do I manually pump it?

It's pretty rainy today and my tractor is in a mud hole so I won't get to it today.

 

[oosik]

Incorporated with and on top of the fuel filter fixture is a round knob that can be pumped to prime the fuel system. I have only seen mine - never had to use it.

Check your OP manual to see if your tractor has this feature. Appearently some do - some do not.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Some have a small thumb lever on the lift pump. Curious, why some vehicles/machines have manual capability and not others. My Mule has one, as well as Sierra but I don't think I own another diesel with one.

Our old Universal 445, 3 cylinder (licensed Fiat) had one and the manual said to pump that lever after a period of no use, prior to starting. I don't remember if the lever was employed during the rather long bleeding process or whether you used the starter motor.

 

[Alesandro]

Ok guys I was able to get my engine to start. I pulled the hose before the pump and made sure diesel was coming out, put the hose back. Disconnected the fuel line before the chambers and cranked the engine until air was gone and diesel dribbled out. Mind you I've never worked on a diesel before and didn't know how volume I should have expected to see. Either way, I did that to both chambers and the engine still wouldn't start. I was only getting white smoke so I knew I still wasn't getting diesel in the engine. Any way went back to the manual and after some looking I found the procedure to bleed the fuel lines, It wasn't where the index stated it should. There is an actual bleeding valve on the pump. Once I opened that and cranked, air bubbled out quickly, followed by fuel only, and before I could close the valve the engine almost started. I put the battery charger (had it connected the whole time) to 50amp crank, made sure the bleed valve was tightly closed, turned the key and the engine started right up!

Thanks for the help!

 

[Jtemple]

"Any way went back to the manual and after some looking I found the procedure to bleed the fuel lines"

I know the previous post is nearly a year old, but is there a possibility you can snap a photo of that procedure in the manual? We just moved into a house a couple weeks ago, and an old MT372D tractor came with the house. The previous owner left instructions on starting the tractor, but no owner's manual (he bought it used and very old). I think it needs the lines bled. It will turn and turn and turn but not fire up. Any help would be greatly appreciated!