tc33d power loss

[grego]

I'm stumped. My tc33d begins to stutter and miss as it warms up to operating temp. It ultimately won't run at all. Starts fine after it cools. If I pull the thermostat it runs fine. I've replaced the thermostat and temp sensor....and checked the water temp (150). No change. I've changed the fuel and the fuel filter, bled at pump and injectors....no change.
This machine has 250 hours on it.
Any suggestions?

Grego

 

[RickB]

You have gasoline in the diesel fuel tank.

 

[jinman]

Did somebody accidentally add gasoline to the fuel tank instead of diesel? You might try icing down your injector pump when the tractor starts to sputter to see if that's the problem. Did this start slowly or all at once? What was the last thing you did before it happened?

Edit: You beat me to it, Rick. I stopped to talk to my grandson and you slipped your post in before mine.:laughing:

 

[grego]

Thanks rick and jim.
I replaced the fuel and filter. The fuel was from a different source. No change. Yesterday, I replaced the thermostat and flushed the system also replacing the temp sender. It did it again at normal op temp....verified with a themocouple. So, I added injector cleaner/lube to the fuel. Today it's less sensitive. It started sputtering so I hosed the pump down.
It stopped sputtering. Three times now cooling the pump stops the sputter. Cooling the injectors only does not. But, inserting cardboard over the rad to jack up the temp it's definitely less prone to sputtering than it was. It would appear the the cleaner had an effect but has not yet totally eliminated it. Perhaps a bit more circulation of the cleaner spiked fuel will help. Really don't want to dive into the pump. We'll see. If gas got into the diesel it wasn't here.
The problem came out of the blue full on and hasn't changed until today.
I really appreciate the advice.
greg

 

[Spicer]

I think your neighbor is using your tractor.

It’s not possible to drain all of the fuel out of your fuel tank and you probably did not add enough diesel fuel to your tank.

The key words from your symptoms were, “After it cools it runs fine” and “cooling the pump stops the sputter.”

Gasoline has a much lower vapor point than diesel. As the injection pump piston draws fuel in there is a vacuum at the point entry, this turns the gasoline into a vapor. When Jim told you to cool the injection pump this lowered the fuel below its vapor point.

Mike

 

[RickB]

I've had customers wave their arms, holler & hoot and get red in the face telling me there was no way there was gasoline in their fuel tank.
And the tractor had identical operational symptoms and by gosh they had gas in their fuel tank.
Not much of anything else makes a diesel engine run that way.

 

[grego]

Thank you both for your suggestion. I'll give it another try, dump the fuel and try a third source. The last time I drained it I drained it till it stopped. I can see the logic in this. It makes perfect sense. Having limited experience in diesels I wasn't sure that their might be some high tolerance part that was binding with the heat.
But I can say that no gas entered the tank here...(unless it was the damm mice). And it hasn't been loaned out. I keep separate containers.

Thanks again. I'll report back when accomplished.
greg