I have a backhoe with a Detroit 3-53 engine. I have verified no fod in tank or fuel lines, replaced the mechanical pump, verified the pump shaft is turning, replaced both primary and secondary fuel filters, replaced starter solenoid and rebuild starter. Engine fires with white smoke but doesnt continue running after letting off starter. Is the only thing left the fuel injectors? What else could I look for?
Does it have a blower shut down lever, and has it been tripped? If they've really been at the engine with the ether cans or its just really tired, they can be hard starting because they don't have enough compression to get rolling. Sometimes then a snort of the nose candy will get it rolling (not a lot, just a little when cranking). But I'd check the shut down lever first.
I've checked the blower shut down and it's not tripped. I typically use Ether to start and when I did today it just ran a little longer at a briefly higher RPM.
try taking taking return off at fuel inj. pump that goes to the fuel tank, will not run if not returning fuel to tank,,, also the fitting that connects line to inj. pump
ok, I'll check that tomorrow.
broken blower drive shaft
I checked the fuel return and it was clear and decided to open the fuel line at the inlet of the Secondary fuel filter and the fuel is not flowing. Is there any reason the mechanical fuel pump drive would turning intermittently?
The fuel Pump drive is on the Governor. Would there be any reason the drive would only turn sometimes?
Why would you be needing ether this time of the year in North Carolina? Is this engine that tired? What drives the governor? Is it driven off the blower? Any chance of a picture or two of this engine? Might help to determine how it's set up Detroits can be configured amny different way and everyone will be just shooting in the dark without a clear picture of how your particular engine is built
If youre seating a the wheel of backhoe, the blower is on the left near firewall and governor is on the right near firewall, fuel pump is bolted to governor and starter is underneath fuel pump. I'll look for some photos.
My dynahoe has the same 353 arrangement, make sure your kill cable is fully pushed in (and adjusted properly to the gov.)also what oil are you running in it? and how long since changed? And... I don't see you mention the air cleaner or moisture separator...
Attached is a image of similar config with governor and fuel pump.
Not sure the viscosity of the oil. It probably needs to be changed. Is the shaft that drives the fuel pump powered by the engine oil hydraulically? The air filter is new and don't think it has a moisture seperator.
Is this a new problem on an engine that has been running fine? or a new engine that came with a problem? The fuel pump is shaft driven, if it only turns sporadically, then something is broken. Easy for me to say, right.
You check the screen in front of the blower???
It's been an intermittent issue for a few years. I installed the rebuild fuel pump, verified that the turning and the engine ran fine last Saturday. I tried to start it yesterday and it wouldn't start. Just run for 5 or so seconds and stop. Does the fuel shut off in the governor cause the drive shaft not to turn? Could something be hung up there?
Check for blockage? no, but I can add that to the list.
Don't know what this is in ???? but my dynahoes have fuel lines that run across the front of the engine behind the belts and they have been rubbed through causing air in the fuel system, also any kind of blockage in the tank( rust flakes.debris/etc...) can randomly/intermittently block the fuel outlet causing the pump to pull hard which can bring air into the system anywhere it can(and will) took me a while to figure this out on one of mine
The governor controls the fuel rack. Do you have reason to believe the fuel pump is not turning? or are you saying that it's not pumping fuel sporadically?
So... are you saying the shaft is NOT turning part of the time???? if so then you have something broke.
The mech fuel pump seems to sometimes work, sometimes not work.
most likely something is plugged up, and/or sucking air. most likely on the suction side of that pump. You could use a gauge to check, or take the suction side apart and find the blockage.
Wouldn't it be easiest to just suck fuel from a clean bucket and a line first, to see if the pump is actually working, and then to chase down fuel line issues? Is there some reason you installed a new fuel pump? Those mechanical fuel pumps are pretty simple, and aren't usually a problem. Are you saying this because you know the shaft that drives it isn't turning, or that you don't see fuel being returned out of it?
This is one of the first things I do when tracking down fuel issues that don't seem right... I also made up a clear hose and attachment fittings so I could track down just where air bubbles were first appearing in the system this little tool has come in very handy quite a few times not just with my own equipment. Maybe just give us a hint on who made the machine the info could make figuring it out a whole lot easier Certain pieces of machinery have their own problematic traits and fixes
Agree I'd be trying to confirm if the pump is turning. One simple test would be to as crane operator says hook a hose to the suction side of the pump and stick it in a bucket of clean fuel and then have a hose coming off the output side of the pump running back to the bucket. Then crank the engine over. It should pump a steady stream of fuel after a few seconds cranking. You could get all fancy and after you have flow of fuel connect a presure gauge to the ouput port and crank over some more, should be able to pump around 60 psi. As for how the pump works it is a simple two gear gear pump that is driven directly off the shaft in the governor any time the engine turns the pump should turn. No hydraulic drive or in/out clutch. I'd be more thinking a plugged line or fitting in the tank or a suction leak in the line from the tank to the primary filter, the filter housing itself or the line from primary filter to the pump. That's why crane operator and others like myself are saying to do a test by eliminating everything up to the pump on the suction side. Those gear pumps are very tough, we used them on shop built washstands for years and they would pump dirty solvent for years with out a problem. So unless you have an extreemly dirty water contminated fuel system it shoould work just fine.
Thank you, I'll try that and report back.
I pulled the fuel pump yesterday evening and found that the box tubing coupling is too short and unless in the very middle of the drive shaft from the governor and the shaft of the pump it un-couples and the pump is not spinning. The coupling was provided in a rebuild kit about 3 - 4 years ago. I have to figure out a way to properly space it.