Oil & Fuel TC 40 D stalls under heavy load and will not restart

brianb33 · Dec 21, 2012

My TC 40D stalls under heavy load (like when the loader digs too deep or the mower bottoms out in thick grass) and will not restart. The last time it did this I left it a few days and when I tried to start it it cranked right up. Today it did it again and I noticed that the fuel bowl was empty but there is plenty of fuel in the tank. When I unscrewed the sediment bowl ring the bowl immediately refilled when I broke the vacuum. I allowed it to fill completely and tightened the ring and it still would not start. I opened the bleed screw and cranked it and got fuel with no obvious bubbles or air but it still will not crank. Any ideas?

farmall40 · Dec 22, 2012

Fuel tank vent possibly plugged?

DieselMonk · Dec 22, 2012

Looks like your tank vent is plugged (cap) and or you have also dirt inside the tank. For now you just can loosen up the filler cap.
So you broke the vacuum and fuel is coming out of the bleeder screw on the injection pump. Since everything got sucked bone dry inside the fuel lines, it might not hurt to make sure there is actually fuel coming out all of the the high pressure lines at the injectors. 4 empty injector high pressure lines is a quite a bit of air. If you don't get fuel, I'd look at the fuel shut off solenoid. Maybe also time for a fuel filter change... cheap insurance...

jinman · Dec 22, 2012

DieselMonk said:
Looks like your tank vent is plugged (cap) and or you have also dirt inside the tank. For now you just can loosen up the filler cap.
So you broke the vacuum and fuel is coming out of the bleeder screw on the injection pump. Since everything got sucked bone dry inside the fuel lines, it might not hurt to make sure there is actually fuel coming out all of the the high pressure lines at the injectors. 4 empty injector high pressure lines is a quite a bit of air.

Couldn't agree more. . . Fuel filter and complete bleed. Tractor may self-bleed after a few hours, but if the filter, line, or vent are still clogged, the engine will stall under high load when it becomes fuel starved.

brianb33 · Dec 22, 2012

jinman said:
Couldn't agree more. . . Fuel filter and complete bleed. Tractor may self-bleed after a few hours, but if the filter, line, or vent are still clogged, the engine will stall under high load when it becomes fuel starved.

Ok I bled the high pressure lines and got it started. Regarding the vent, I disconnected the fuel line from the inflow side of the sediment bowl and the fuel flowed freely from the line. Would it do that if the vent was clogged? I've also noticed recently that when I first start it it takes a few minutes for the rpms to increase when I give it more throttle. As it warms up it will rev up ok. The fuel filter was recently replaced a few months ago. There is a small amount of sticky sediment in the bottom of the bowl. Is there a additive that can dissolve any gunk in the lines?

jinman · Dec 22, 2012

Bryan, look closely at your hoses and your gasket on your fuel filter. If the sealing ring is not tight, you could be drawing air into your filter bowl. If the filter is not seating down properly in the bowl, there could be interference and the bowl ring not sealing. There is a mechanical fuel pump that draws fuel from the filter bowl and supplies it to the injector pump also, just follow the line back from the top of the injector and it goes to the mechanical pump. You could pull the outlet hose from the pump and turn the engine over to see if it is pushing fluid. Put a catch bucket under it. If all else fails, pull your fuel cutoff solenoid on the back of the injector pump and make sure the plunger is drawing fully into the solenoid when power is applied. I've never seen partial operation of this solenoid, but fuel starvation is your obvious problem and we want to check all possibilities.

DieselMonk · Dec 22, 2012

brianb33 said:
Regarding the vent, I disconnected the fuel line from the inflow side of the sediment bowl and the fuel flowed freely from the line. Would it do that if the vent was clogged?

Yes it would... unless you are letting gallons of diesel out. How much diesel do you get out of a 5 gallon jug before it has to break vacuum if you tip it upside down? Oh... for gunk... Power Service is your friend. Give it double recommended dose for the first tank. Keep watching that fuel filter. Even if a fuel filter isn't that old it can get clogged with only one load of bad fuel. So time on a diesel filter doesn't say much. If that gunk you are talking about is black, than it is most likely algae an you can only get rid of it with either cleaning everything or use biocide with your power service.

brianb33 · Dec 22, 2012

jinman said:
Bryan, look closely at your hoses and your gasket on your fuel filter. If the sealing ring is not tight, you could be drawing air into your filter bowl. If the filter is not seating down properly in the bowl, there could be interference and the bowl ring not sealing. There is a mechanical fuel pump that draws fuel from the filter bowl and supplies it to the injector pump also, just follow the line back from the top of the injector and it goes to the mechanical pump. You could pull the outlet hose from the pump and turn the engine over to see if it is pushing fluid. Put a catch bucket under it. If all else fails, pull your fuel cutoff solenoid on the back of the injector pump and make sure the plunger is drawing fully into the solenoid when power is applied. I've never seen partial operation of this solenoid, but fuel starvation is your obvious problem and we want to check all possibilities.

Can you point me to a site with fuel system diagram for a 2001 TC 40D? The owner's manual isn't very good and I can't seem to google one up.

DieselMonk · Dec 23, 2012

look at messicks.com

jinman · Dec 23, 2012

Trying to find a fuel system diagram that's complete is a nightmare (meaning it ain't real 'cause it doesn't exist). Even the New Holland Repair Manual has a diagram with the fuel pump and filter in the wrong spot. The diagram below is about the best you can get and it only shows the hose from the filter that goes to the fuel pump. You have to look at the engine block diagram to find the fuel pump and it does not show the interconnecting hoses. The details in places you really need, are something it seems New Holland forgot to include. I think you are better off asking questions here and having them answered rather than spend time looking for the right info in writing. Here's the fuel filter diagram from Messicks.com, but you'll need to look at the website for all the part descriptions.