670 w/perkins hard to start when cold

[shawnm]

Every year I dread seeing the weather drop in temp and I have to start plugging in my 670.

Right from the day we took this tractor home from the dealership it has been a bugger to start in the cold weather (0 celcius and colder). It'll crank and pour out white smoke and not catch. Plug in the block heater for 20mins and it will fire right up.

This tractor has never been touched and only has 1033hrs. It's whole life it has been on a 6' snowblower and a hay rake.

Is my timing out of adjustment? I have two 1100 CCA batteries so Im not concerened with lack of cranking power. I've heard similiar complaints from other owners of the 670-690.

 

[Tom-TX]

I have a MF-690 1983 model and the Perkins fires right up, no problmes whatsoever. I seldom use my heater, just bought it a installed it as an "in case needed" item. It fires up by just flipping the key on as fast as you can release the key. Best starter I have ever had, and it uses no pre-heat, no glow plugs, nothing buy comprssion. Has about 4600 hours, never been wrenched for anything except water pump and alternator rebuild. Tom

 

[Anonymous-0]

What kind of starting aid does it have? Most diesels need glow plugs or ether to start in freezing temperatures. If it starts after being plugged in for only 20 minutes isn't bad. Dave

 

[Jerry/MT]

I don"t have any specific experience with Perkins diesels but all diesels have stating issues when the temperature drops below freezing-some more than others. The windage drag from cold oil usually means they don"t crank as fast for the same input power from the starter. That, combined with the cold cylinders makes firing the mixture more dificult. The other issue is that even a good battery will supply less power in cold weather. If 20 minutes with the block heater makes starting easy than do that. I put my block heater on a timer and it goes on an hour before I have to feed,

The other possibility is to see if you can add a Thermostart unit. This dribbles in some fuel from the fuel return to tank line on a heated grid in the intake manifold and pre-heats the air charge. Look for a boss with a pipe plug on the intake manifold to see if it is compatible with a Thermostart.

 

[Jeff Z.]

The problem with cold weather is slower cranking and really dense air when it's cold outside.
This messes up the air to fuel ratio.
Too much air when it's dense.
The white smoke is unburnt fuel.
Ain't winter just grand.
On older engines it get's worse when they start loosing compression.
If you can store the tractor in an area where the air is warm even though the engine is cold it will start easier with warmer air entering the engine. Less dense.

 

[Jeff Z.]

On gas engines in cold weather the choke blocks off the dense air to improve starting giving the engine less air with the same amout of fuel.
Even though the choke let"s in less air with the choke closed the engine still see a proper air to gas ratio because the air is so dense.

 

[Ally Cat]

Here in Wisconsin. I found out what brand of diesel
fuel you use makes a big big difference in the
cold.I tried a lot of different fuels And amoco
premier works the best for me. Also a fuel additive
just for the cold will help.

 

[samn40]

Had a problem one winter with a 690,excellent starter all year
but when it come to winter feeding it was a pain.The older 590
with the same motor was great.noticed if you hooked up the
jump cables to another tractor it started great, so swapped
alternators and vice versa the 590 became difficult to start.
Wrong alternator fitted from day one! Fitted a new alternator
with a smaller pulley to speed up the charge rate as when
feeding we run at low revs with lights on. And no more
problems.It left the farm with 11600 hrs on the motor and using
oil but still easy to start.
Another point already mentioned is to renew your manifold
heater element and don't hold it on any more than the
recommended 20-25 seconds as this not only burns out the
element but also burns up the oxygen in the manifold and the
diesel needs to mix with oxygen to combust.
Sam

 

[shawnm]

Unfortunately I have no starting aids on the 670. I read through the manual and the only option available was a ether kit. I'd rather not use ether unless it's a last resort.

Another question, how difficult is it to bump the power on this tractor? It's a little lazy with a 6' snowblower on it.

 

[DavidP, South Wales]

Hi,
According to my info you have a Perkins A4.236 engine fitted. It seems difficult to believe that no starting aid is fitted as standard. It would/should be easy to install a therostart device. If you look at the inlet manifold you should see a circular 'boss' which is blanked as
part of the casting. This should be where the thermostart would fit. I would not think that 236 engines fitted to European 600 series tractors are going to be much different to yours if it was made in North America. If you do not have this boss it should not be too difficult to drill and tap a suitable hole somewhere near the air filter pipe connection. The wiring should be straightforward with a 25 Amp fuse even if you have to fit a seperate switch. You will also require a small fuel reservoir such as the one fitted to the MF 35/135 etc. It should be plumbed into the injector return line. If this has been a long term problem then this should solve it, especially if you are in a 'cold' area.
DavidP

 

[shawnm]

(quoted from post at 09:51:44 11/23/10) Hi,
According to my info you have a Perkins A4.236 engine fitted. It seems difficult to believe that no starting aid is fitted as standard. It would/should be easy to install a therostart device. If you look at the inlet manifold you should see a circular 'boss' which is blanked as
part of the casting. This should be where the thermostart would fit. I would not think that 236 engines fitted to European 600 series tractors are going to be much different to yours if it was made in North America. If you do not have this boss it should not be too difficult to drill and tap a suitable hole somewhere near the air filter pipe connection. The wiring should be straightforward with a 25 Amp fuse even if you have to fit a seperate switch. You will also require a small fuel reservoir such as the one fitted to the MF 35/135 etc. It should be plumbed into the injector return line. If this has been a long term problem then this should solve it, especially if you are in a 'cold' area.
DavidP

I'll take a look this evening for the boss fitting. I can't seem to locate a kit to install the thermostart. I can locate the heater no problem but nothing else.

 

[Anonymous-0]

If you have no cold starting aid, there's nothing wrong with your engine. Ether can be an excellent cold starting aid if used properly. A small shot while cranking the engine is all it takes. Many, many diesel engines use ether for starting and last just as long as engines without. Engine manufacturers wouldn't recommend ether kits if it tore their engines up in short order. You just have to be very stingy when using it and you'll have no problems. Some diesel engines, like Kubota, strongly stress not to use ether and any engine with glow plugs should never use ether but if it says ether can be used in the manual, it's perfectly fine for that engine. Plugging the tractor in when it's cold is still the best though. Dave

 

[chuck41]

Shawn, It may have been mentioned but there is a
an ether injection system(accessory) avail from
your dealer. Then you can push a button while
cranking engine. You will have a new outlook on
this tractor. Sorry, I can't find the p/n of this
accessory. Chuck

 

[shawnm]

I am assuming that this is the boss for the thermostart or ether injection kit?

Could I install a thermostart into the boss, run 12v through a relay to the thermostart and have a small fuel tank plumbed down to the fitting? When the thermostart is activated will the fuel flow in with gravity or are the fuel return lines pressurized?

 

[Anonymous-0]

It would be easier to hook up an ether system than Thermo-start and probably cheaper. Dave

 

[DavidP, South Wales]

Hi,
The plug in your photo is significantly larger than the diameter of the standard thermostart. You would need an adaptor to make up the difference. All fuel return lines are of negligible pressure and a reservoir (recommend one from 35/135) mounted above will let a trickle of fuel in when the thermostart is activated. However you wire the thermostart a fuse should be used.
DavidP

 

[Jerry/MT]

The return lines on my tractor just dribble return fuel(Ford 4610). They are not high pressure lines. There is a "T" in the return line that has a plastic tube that runs to the Thermostart and acts as a fuel reservior for it.

 

[shawnm]

I haven't found a decent ether kit yet but I did take a video today showing it starting at -7C (19F). The tractor sat for almost a week and I just installed two new 1125 CCA batteries.

Timing issue?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auIb2jeq1NA

After a quick shot of ether to the breather cap and a second time cranking it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1xUdQLw8jU