TL100A fuel problems

beach70 · Oct 11, 2010

I have a TL100A that loses power and will die while working under a load. Currently it will start but starts hard and has no power. Changed fuel filters x2 bled fuel system but still acts the same. At first it would seem to work better with a completely full tank of fuel seemed to happen more around 1/2 a tank. Now does it with a full tank. Do you think line is cracked in tank or maybe injector pump going bad. I had dealer out twice, first time they just replaced the filters (which I had just replaced) seemed to work OK for a day or two then back to the same. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance from a first time poster.

Eagleview · Oct 11, 2010

The factory had their dealers fit an inline filter just before the factory filters . I think you will find that if you remove the inline filter , there will be some junk stuck in the hose or in the barb on the filter restricting the flow . The tanks are made of Polyethylene and when they are drilled and taped for the fittings , some swarf gets left in the tanks . This can get up the fuel lines but can't get past the restriction of the filter barb . If your tractor didn't get the inline filter , the junk will be in the fuel line at the factory primary filter inlet .

Air filter cleanliness is critical on these tractors also , they may look OK but when a new filter is fitted the difference in power is quite substantial .

beach70 · Oct 11, 2010

I will check the inline filter and clean. Any specific tricks for removing all the air?

Eagleview · Oct 14, 2010

Just pump the lift pump actuator until it goes soft (this is when the diaphragm wont come back down because of suction) . If it wont start , undo 1 or 2 injector lines , give it full throttle and wind it over until you see Diesel staring to spurt out . Tighten the injector lines and start it up , it will clear itself and run smooth quickly .

Did you find anything in the fuel line ?

beach70 · Oct 15, 2010

Its been sitting for about a week. Next week I'm going to tear into it. I'll let you know what I find. I'm sure i'll be back with more questions.

beach70 · Nov 2, 2010

well finally tore into the tractor. was taking the fuel tank off and found the back cap? to be almost open. this is a threaded cap that the fuel return from injector pump and fuel guage is housed. It was even leaking fuel down the back of the tank from fuel sloshing around. Took the tank all the way off cleaned it out, took all lines off checked for debris up to inline filter. everything else looked good. reinstalled and filled back up with fuel. Primed everything per manual and tractor fired right up. Seems to be working normal now.

one question I still have. The inline filter always has air in it. sometime more air, sometimes less. shouldn't it always be completely full of fuel with no air?

beach70 · Nov 2, 2010

started doing the same thing again. next i,m going to replace all the fuel lines. still don't know why i have air in the inline filter

beach70 · Nov 2, 2010

it has an odd new car style fuel cap, could this be it?

AndyG · Nov 4, 2010

Your fuel cap could be part of the trouble. It needs to be vented so that it can suck in air as the fuel leaves the tank. If the vent is plugged then a vacum is formed and the fuel will not flow out. I kind suspect that you may still have debris in your tank whick block the outlet. A piece of plastic bag is the worst at doing this. It will get sucked over the outlet causing the tractor to die. After a few minutes the plastic will float away and the tractor will start normally only for the piece of plastic to come back later. Step 1) make sure that your cap vent is working properly. Step 2) Answer this question: Does the fuel exit the top of the tank or the bottom on this tractor?