I am having problems with my 310sg ,it all started when i was plowing snow and it just quit. Fuel tank was three quarters full on guage but decided to look in tank anyway. Had a hard time getting cap off as there was so much suction in the tank, the breather in hte tank must be plugged solid. Took it off and tried to clean it as much as possible and then put back on but loosely. Primed the filter back up with the manual lever on transfer pump and it started back up again. This time it ran for about two minutes and quit again had to do the same thing again till it would run. Kept quitting so replaced the transfer pump but doesnt seem to matter still quitting. Ant ideas out there what might be happening as i am asuming the all the suction on the tank might have caused more problems but not sure where to start, thanks for any suggestions.
The first thing I'd do is warm it up and try again. There's lots of things that could plug up, filter and the strainer in the fuel tank would be my first guesses, but with an almost full tank I'd first make sure it's not iced or waxed up.
If you had sucktion in the tank when you take the fuel cap off, the breather is plugged. This is a common problem. The breather is located on the bottom of the fuel cap clean it off and blow it out with compressed air and you should be good to go.
Well sorry to say not good to go, cleaned breather as good as i could and also left it alittle loose to see if that was the problem didnt help. Next I replaced the fuel filter thinking it was collapsed and also the grommets on either side of fitting going into transfrer pump along with the transfer pump. Used the manual pump up and it ran for about 10 minutes and then quit again. As long as i manually pump up the tranfer pump it will run for a few seconds then quit. Is there something in the tank that could be blocking the fuel from cominging in and could i just take the line off and blow it backwards into the tank to clean it ? Really running outta things to do and i cant get it to a heated shop to work in so it really sucks
There's usually a plastic screen inside the tank that can collapse and block, but that tends to happen randomly and your problem sounds like it happens in a predictable short time. How familiar are you with fuel waxing, additives, winterized diesel? Here's a way to use the priming pump to tell if it's blocked on the suction or pressure side. When you move that lever you're pulling the diaphragm back against spring pressure, release it and the spring pumps the fuel out, until the fuel pressure builds and holds the diaphragm back so there is no pressure on the lever because the spring is held back also (or there is pressure on half the stroke because the spring only pushed some of the fuel out). There is more pressure on the lever when the inlet is plugged and the lever/diaphragm is pulling against a vacuum. You can tell if the pump is pumping air and not full of fuel because it will have normal pressure pushing the lever, but it will spring back with the same pressure, no fuel to dampen the spring pressure. Do this before you start the machine and after it dies and you should be able to tell the difference. If you can't tell the difference, then start loosening hoses to see where you have fuel flow and what the pump lever feels like.
Many times I have wrapped a rag around an air hose gun, put it in the fuel filler opening on the tank to blow crap out of the tank and through the line fuel line. First thing though is to disconnect the fuel line from the lift pump. You do not want to force any contaminates into a lift pump or a fuel filter. If you blow back into the tank through a fuel line you are only going to have temporary fix. I have seen rags in fuel tanks that were used in place of a proper cap, fall in. Weeds, because there are idiots that will use them to measure the fuel level in the tank. If you do blow into the tank don't allow to much pressure to build up. The fact that you had a vacuum in the fuel tank earlier, indicates you did have a plugged filler cap vent. There is no other thing that will create that situation. Evidently you had at least two situations going on at the same time. Now you just need to get an unrestricted flow of fuel to the injectors. Would you injectors happen to have a fuel return line to the tank that could be restricted or blocked ?
Im going to give that try and see if blowing it out works . Is there a way to check to see if the return line is pliugged. I am running winter diesel fuel and never had an issue with this till it died and i seen the vaccum so bad at the tank once i opened it . I put the cap in CLR for half an hour to try and dislodge the plugged vent and then blew it out but it still doesnt seem like air goes through it , might have to replace it but for now i just have it on therre loose so i can test the rest of it
The return line should come off the injector on the back and go to the tank, just remove it at the tank and it fuel should run out when you pump or crank it. If the fuel line coming out of the tank comes out of a 1" hex plug, you can remove that plug and remove the screen to inspect it. Could be that the plugged cap caused a fuel hose to collapse/separate internally and that's what you're dealing with now. Use the priming pump steps above.
Isn't that a newer 4.5l engine? I've had them with air locked injectors before. Find the fuel line coming out of the head and cap it. Start and run for a minute and uncap the line. This should force air out of the injectors. Hope this helps
Another thing to check is if the new transfer pump is actually working. Take the inlet hose off hold a finger over the pump fitting, have someone crank the engine over and see if there is a pulsing vacuum. The reason I mention this is because I have worked on two different engines years ago and one had a worn camshaft lobe and just wouldn't give the pump rod enough stroke. The other one was a John Deere and the rod of the new transfer pump was being blocked from stroking because it was hitting the bottom of the mounting hole. I had to use a file and make the opening in the block larger. The new pump was an OEM John Deere and it was the correct one for that engine. Sometimes you just have to really check every possible thing that will cause fuel delivery problems.
thankyou all for your expertise on getting me up and running , but with -30 temps and -40+ windchills it is going to have to wait a few days to warm up before i attempt anymore trials.
well here we go again , When i undid the pressure side of the transfer pump it was squirting out so i guess good there opened the bleed fitting on the filter and turned over and fuel coming out there. So then opened up bleed screw on pump and fuel came out it when i pushed on the manual transfer pump and and also started it and it came out as it was running . But it still dies all the time, hadnt tried in days and when i did start it it ran for about ten minutes till i hit one of the hydraulic levers and then it died right away. My next question is could it be the ECM or ECU that could be causing it to die as i have multiple codes coming up and i am going to get a differant one to get it working properly. Would you buy a used one for half the price of a new one or spend the money and buy the new one, help.
is return line open back to fuel tank
You have to diagnose the problem when it happens, repeat the tests after it dies to rule out fuel starvation.
Tarp it up and stick a salamander heater blowing under it for an hour or two. This will let you take ice out of the picture. I would pull the tank plug and drain it out while it is warmed up. Could be ice and crap fuel that was not winterized with enough kero.
Did you call Deere and ask them what the codes are? I would do that before anything else, it can help point you in the right direction.
Well Im happy to report that i am up and running again after a prolonged period of cold weather and waiting for parts. It ended up being the ECU that was toast and had to purchase a new one from deere. Couldve probably bought from elsewhere cheaper but they had to program in the software to make it all work so it is better that i just get them to do it . Once i reinstalled the ecu it was just a turn of the switch and all is well again. Guess a guy learns something new everyday in this world, who woulda thought that was my mistery demon , thankyou to all that took the time to help diagnose my problem and can help anyone else in the future.