841 diesel just won’t run

[Markshells]

Would not start, cranks fine. Pulled manifolds and noticed massive buildup in exhaust ports. Piston look good and very little carbon on tops, cylinder ridge is minimal. Looking at valve seals/ guides. Any information would be appreciated

 

[Jim.ME]

Would not start, cranks fine. Pulled manifolds and noticed massive buildup in exhaust ports. Piston look good and very little carbon on tops, cylinder ridge is minimal. Looking at valve seals/ guides. Any information would be appreciated

Welcome to the forums.

Fill in the blanks to get more information. Is it a new to you tractor or one you have had a while? Running and quit or are you trying to revive a dead horse? New fuel or old? New filters or old? If new what brand and part number?

The more details you supply the better chance of getting good info.

 

[Janicholson]

Parts ASAP link
Yesterdays tractor parts (tractor parts link in white space above) has parts. Jim

 

[Eman85]

Compression test? When it doesn't start is there any smoke from the exhaust? Did this happen suddenly? Did it happen after doing any work to it? When is the last time it ran?

 

[used red MN]

Welcome to the forums.

Fill in the blanks to get more information. Is it a new to you tractor or one you have had a while? Running and quit or are you trying to revive a dead horse? New fuel or old? New filters or old? If new what brand and part number?

The more details you supply the better chance of getting good info.

Hello Marc, welcome to YT! Yes as Jim said fill in the blanks?? One thing that is an essential part of diagnosing a diesel that won’t start is checking for fuel being pushed to the injectors by the injection pump. This is done by loosening the lines on the injectors and cranking the engine to see if it squirts from the connections. This is a very close equivalent to checking for spark in a gas engine. Jim is asking if it has sat unused for a period. If so it is very common for parts in the injection pump to stick or gum up which then does not allow the pump to deliver fuel to the injectors properly.

 

[Markshells]

Welcome to the forums.

Fill in the blanks to get more information. Is it a new to you tractor or one you have had a while? Running and quit or are you trying to revive a dead horse? New fuel or old? New filters or old? If new what brand and part number?

The more details you supply the better chance of getting good info.

New to me. Dragged it out of a field where it has been sitting for years. It is complete and I’m excited about fixing it up. The pics are before and after shots of the exhaust ports

Hello Marc, welcome to YT! Yes as Jim said fill in the blanks?? One thing that is an essential part of diagnosing a diesel that won’t start is checking for fuel being pushed to the injectors by the injection pump. This is done by loosening the lines on the injectors and cranking the engine to see if it squirts from the connections. This is a very close equivalent to checking for spark in a gas engine. Jim is asking if it has sat unused for a period. If so it is very common for parts in the injection pump to stick or gum up which then does not allow the pump to deliver fuel to the injectors properly.

hi, the injection pump is not installed, I have rebuilt it and tested it , the injectors are being cleaned and tested, I know enough about diesel’s to be able to start the engine with a fogger or starting fluid to see if it has any potential to run. This one did not and it was decided to disassemble the upper end for inspection. I have included photos of the exhaust ports showing the massive build up of carbon. No air can go in if it can’t get out. Will do total rebuild of the head and rings and rod bearings. She will be fine after that. Thanks!

 

[Markshells]

Compression test? When it doesn't start is there any smoke from the exhaust? Did this happen suddenly? Did it happen after doing any work to it? When is the last time it ran?

Hi, engine would not pull air in, exhaust ports nearly 100% clogged with carbon. Removed head and cleaned the ports. Doing complete head rebuild plus rings and rods. Thanks for the input!

 

[Markshells]

Welcome to the forums.

Fill in the blanks to get more information. Is it a new to you tractor or one you have had a while? Running and quit or are you trying to revive a dead horse? New fuel or old? New filters or old? If new what brand and part number?

The more details you supply the better chance of getting good info.

I am trying to determine if this is a sleeveless or sleeved engine. Appeared to be sleeved but after cleaning the surface it may not be. Thinking dye penetrate testing to see if there is a separation between the cylinder and the block

 

[Keith Williams]

I am trying to determine if this is a sleeveless or sleeved engine. Appeared to be sleeved but after cleaning the surface it may not be. Thinking dye penetrate testing to see if there is a separation between the cylinder and the block

If the block has provisions for a spin on oil filter (not a conversion from a cartridge) then it did not have sleeves from the factory.
That said, sleeves could have been installed at any time, including at the factory to fix a bad bore.
HTH
Keith

 

[showcrop]

Irt looks like you are on the right track. The carbon build-up was probably due to poor running due to lack of compression.

 

[Markshells]

If the block has provisions for a spin on oil filter (not a conversion from a cartridge) then it did not have sleeves from the factory.
That said, sleeves could have been installed at any time, including at the factory to fix a bad bore.
HTH
Keith

Good information! Thank you!

 

[Markshells]

Irt looks like you are on the right track. The carbon build-up was probably due to poor running due to lack of compression.

I’m going to replace the pistons and rings, the bore is not worn excessively the ridges were nothing but carbon and were remover by scraping with a razor blade. I would have thought the wear would be worse. I do know that the head gasket was replaced before, maybe the head was not cleaned when it was done. The rings seem in good shape as do the bores. Curious.

 

[used red MN]

Hopefully it is understandable that this being your first post here that we have no idea what your level of mechanical knowledge is. If you reverse the roles and you were reading a post exactly as you wrote it I hope you could see why certain questions arose. We have people who come on here that have bought a tractor and are asking where to add oil to the engine, so to range is very wide.
It sounds like you may be doing the head work yourself. Due to the carbon build up in the exhaust ports I would have some concerns about the wear in the valve guides. Also keeping the valve installed height within spec is important on a diesel to maintain proper compression.
Just FYI, here is a link to the manufacturer’s online parts catalog, mainly providing it for your reference. I am not a Ford guy, it is interesting to see that there seems to be no mention of the information that Keith provided. Not saying he is wrong probably just an omission on the manufacture’s side.
CNHI Ford 841 parts catalog

 

[Fordfarmer]

If the block has provisions for a spin on oil filter (not a conversion from a cartridge) then it did not have sleeves from the factory.
That said, sleeves could have been installed at any time, including at the factory to fix a bad bore.
HTH
Keith

That's accurate... but, as far as I know, the sleeveless blocks (and factory spin on filter) didn't appear until the 4cylinder 2000/4000 models. An 801 should have sleeves.