Wow...I screwed up...I just got busy and didn't think about it till it started sputtering... so I shut if off immediately (within 10 seconds) of the sputtering but too late. I put 5 gallons in it and started it up. It slowly declined for about 5 minutes till it quit and won't run. My father seems to think there is a plunger to drain the air out of the line somewhere on the fuel pump. All I can see is a small aluminum looking screw cap, about an inch and a quarter in diameter. It will only turn one full turn then it stops. It won't come out and allow me to "plunge" or pump air out of the line. It actually seems more to me to be a fuel shut off valve. Hey Orchard Ex,or anyone familiar with this little Komatsu, please help!
It'll come out. I replied to your PM with the bleed procedure. Might as well change the fuel filter while you're at it. I seem to stir up all the junk at the bottom of the tank when I take one that low on fuel.
thanks for the PM! that bleed procedure seems fairly simple but my plunger won't unscrew more than one complete rotation and won't pop up. Also, where do you get fuel filters? will any advance /autozone have them?
Autozone? Maybe?:beatsme Might have better luck with NAPA. If they don't have a NAPA part number, cross reference it to a Hastings FF887. Note: this is for my -6 model. Not sure of any others.
If you have not got it started yet and the plunger will still not come up try spraying a little penetrating oil around the plunger and working it. Maybe it is froze up and it is just stuck. The other way would be to loosen your injector fuel line nuts and crank the engine over. Be careful not to overheat the starter, Crank the engine over for 15-20 seconds and let it cool for a minute or two. It should take about three trys and you will start to see a little smoke coming out of the stack, and fuel around the injectors. When you see the smoke, tighten the fuel line nuts and see if it will start, If it won't, try procedure again. Also are you sure the screw you are turning is your primer pump? it may be a air bleed valve for the pump. Check to see if you have a lift pump located on the pump or engine. They usually have a lever for priming the fuel system also.. I also agree, change the fuel filter and if possible flush the suppy line from the tank, All the gunk sometimes will settle in it when you run them out of fuel. Hope this helps. Billy
OK, here's a range report: Bottom line, finally got it started with patience and ether. and more ether. (I know, bad juju) First, there is no lever to pump air out. The small round metal cap simply will NOT unscrew or come out. I put vice grips on the lid so I could get a better grip and had I twisted any harder I would have damaged something. On top of the fuel filter housing was a bolt painted red. I assume this is to bleed air out of the fuel. I opened it for a while very slowly while the engine was sputtering. fuel came out and I tightened it again. I don't believe anthing I did helped. It just worked itself out. Pretty frustrating.
Careful with that starting fluid, I wouldn't own a can.
& watch those glow plugs with that stuff too
Shame on you no more operating for you . l.ol. all kidding aside it has probably happened to all of us a one time or another in our operating carrers It's lots of fun when it happens half way down a steep bank and you have to hump alot of fuel up or down the hill. Happy dozing
I was running my D20 after it had been without a starter for the better part of the summer. I got it going again with 2 new Wal-Mart batteries and a 25 dollar off the shelf starter solenoid. That’s another question for later. I had worked it about an hour when it started skipping then lost power then almost stopped. I managed to nurse it back up out of the hole I was in. I checked the fuel level. That was OK. I pulled the fuel supply line off the lift pump. Flow was OK. I dumped the fuel filter and shook it out, no water. I was able to get my hand pump unscrewed but it seemed to not be working to well as it took forever to fill the fuel filter and bleed the air. So I took a big wrench and unscrewed the big hex fitting on the outside of the lift pump. Out popped a 3 inch spring and a bunch of grit. Believe me, it was a trick putting that thing back together, but I had had a similar thing happen on my old Massey 1100. Crud gets into the check valves of the lift pump and it can't pump if the valves won't close. Boom. Engine is starved for fuel. Take it apart, clean out the crud and it works like a hose. I finally broke down and took the batteries back out to get to the drain fitting under the tank. After unplugging the drain hole with a wire and knocking the mud-dauber nests out of the ball valve, I drained about a quart of fuel out. I poured most of that back in the tank because I saw no particles or water, but as I got down to the bottom there was about a half a cup of rusty crud in the bottom of the diesel can. So I contributed to our polluted environment and dumped it on the ground. I am now trying to figure the best way to put some kind of sediment bowl on the dozer which is accessible but out of the way. Problem is that the system is based on gravity feed to the lift pump and space is tight down there. I wonder if anyone can tell us if there is a rebuild kit available for the fuel lift pump on a 4D95S-W-1 4 cylinder Komatsu engine. Has anyone found a slick way to mount a sediment bowl on a D20, 21 between the fuel tank and the lift pump? John
John, I would install an inline filter. Check your banjo fittings at the fuel pump to make sure there are no screens in them.
strainer Thanks Dressta1 I'll check for strainers next time I'm down on the place. I'm two hours away in Dallas in the rain right now. John
Do not use either its hard on it, use a rag with gasoline and hold it up to the air cleaner opening next time and hold it real tight, This will start any diesel.
I didnt run mine out of fuel, or should I say there is fuel in the tank. but it would not hold and idel and now wont run. i did the unforgivable before reading these post and gave it a shot of starter fluid. that make it run for just a second. I replaced the fuel filter( the bowl was full of crap) and even flushed the banjo fittings, but still not running. loosened the injector fittings and fuel flows out or at least started to flow. But again still will not run.. ideas?