# Stuff happens



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Friday I was telling myself how wonderful the day was....tedded some hay early, raked some other hay late morning and started to bale it about 1:00. Baled 2 rolls and the tractor just shut down. Got out bewildered and noticed the inline fuel filter was packed full of black sludge. Walked to the machinery shed and got another filter and put it on and started pumping the lever on the fuel pump.....heard a sucking noise. So I take the cap off the fuel tank and its bone dry. The fuel gauge was showing a 3/4 of a tank!....sender gone bad. I should have realized this as I was patting myself on the back about how great my 2355 was on fuel earlier in the day. Well I went and got 10 gallons of diesel and bled the line and main fuel filter. Cranked and cranked and cranked and about the time I was going to give up, she hit a lick. Got her going, got my hay rolled and was just plain giddy after having that deep sick feeling earlier. Life is good as long as we can take the good with the bad. Just some chit chat.

Regards, Mike


----------



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

My JD 401 did that once, said I had half a tank, died right in the middle of a nice sh*tty mudhole. Found out never run the 401 out of fuel, unlike the 400 backhoe we have that you can jsut dump 5 gallons right in and she'll pop off and run, the 401 requires removal of the hood so you can crack al lthe injection lines. Not only that, when the 401 runs out of fuel it runs out _now_ without warning while I've driven the 400 backhoe 3/8 of a mile to the fuel pump with it spittering and sputtering but it never died.


----------



## Toyes Hill Angus (Dec 21, 2010)

I've only had a few MFs, and they were older ones, 135, 165 and now the 275 and not one of them had operating fuel gauges. This way keeps you more honest. lol (you have to look in). All of them will only run out miles from the tank, and it seems that the easiest way to start them is to bleed the filters, the injection pump housing, pump up the primer some and tow them. I try to avoid reaching up under the hood to crack lines and trurn the starter over forever. Of course this won't work if you have a torque converter like modern backhoes and industrial tractors.


----------



## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

That is one thing I never had happen this week is problem with fuel but had a boat load of other problems. The water pump went on the loader tractor when I was loading the truck of round bales for a guy. Just picked up the new pump today but it was suppose to be a reman pump instead, only about $300 difference. At the other place our payloader got a flat tire, not easy fixing those big heavy tires. Went to spray a 30 acre feild yesterday with round up and had the sprayer break 3 times. What was suppose to be about a 2 hour job fron the time I left the yard to the time I return took over 7 hours to do but I did get done. Just have to fix the sprayer rite now. The only good thing was I did spread fertilizer on over 300 acres of hay this week.


----------



## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

That's just what happened to my JD4710 the other day. But the gunk in the bottom of the tank plug the line. I now use the old fashioned way of checking my fuel level---open that cap and look in the tank!

Ralph


----------



## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

rjmoses said:


> That's just what happened to my JD4710 the other day. But the gunk in the bottom of the tank plug the line. I now use the old fashioned way of checking my fuel level---open that cap and look in the tank!
> 
> Ralph


I have-ta do that with my MF165, but there's no way to to do it on the Kubota! That's one of my 2 biggest gripes about the 'bota, the fuel fill.


----------



## CockrellHillFarms (Aug 30, 2011)

My massey 165 is the easiest of all my tractors to get restarted after it runs out of fuel. Dont ask me how I know this. Just pump the primer after I undo a injection line or two and fire it up. lol. My 7020, the times we have had fuel issues with it, the easiest thing that works is to force air into the fuel tank with a air compressor until the lines have fuel. A few cranks and it usually fires up.


----------

