D17

[trevor68]

My son bought a series 3 D17 gas burner to restore as an FFA project. When he got it it was locked up from sitting for 5 years. The owner said it ran well before being parked. Being a family friend I trust that is the truth. He followed the instructions on here to soak the pistons and break them loose. After a month of him working it he finally freed it up. It would now turn over and would hit with starter fluid but would not run. Found the carb nasty with wasp nest and the inside clogged with old fuel. He ordered the rebuild kit and cleaned and rebuilt the carb. Now it will not start or hit with starter fluid. There is fuel running back out the air filter side of the carb when he tries to start it. After trying to start it for awhile this evening he then checked the plugs and they are dry. (But sparking) When we hold our hand to the air intake of the carb there is strong suction. Being newbies to tractor restoration we would welcome any suggestions. Thank you!

 

[old]

Did he by chance take the throttle butter fly of the throttle shaft?? If he did he may have put it on wrong so it does not open up like it should so little if any gas get to the plugs

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Carb needle valve may not be seating,hope you saved the original all metal valve that came out of the carb.Did you pull the valve cover to look to see how many vales were stuck?

 

[DrAllis]

A cranking compression test needs to be performed to see if the engine actually has any compression !!!!!! Set the throttle wide open, all spark plugs removed, a battery charger on the battery and crank away, letting each cylinder hit 10 times. A good D-17 will have 140 to 145 psi cranking compression. Then, fix your carb. It has a problem I think.

 

[trevor68]

Thanks!

 

[trevor68]

He did pull the valve cover and the head. The valves looked good and none appeared to be stuck.

 

[trevor68]

Yes, he did replace the butterfly. We will check that. Thank you.

 

[rickdude]

Trevor, you could have any number of faults that could cause a non start condition. If you have compression and ignition then a lack of fuel could be a problem, a trick I have used on numerous occasions is to pull each spark plug and using a spray bottle like an old windex sprayer I'll put a couple of shots of fuel spray into each cylinder. Then after reinstalling plugs and wires I'll crank with the throttle part way open. If it fires then dies right away then Ignition and timing are likely OK, and you know the carb or fuel supply are the problem. If you get no life using this method, then you'd have to re evaluate the ignition or timing.

 

[trevor68]

Thanks for your message. We followed your suggestion and the tractor did hit when fuel sprayed into the plug holes. We thought we had good fuel flow. Pulled the carb and held a canning jar to measure fuel flow. It was much slower than we expected. Pulled the tank. The glass separator where it enters the tank on the inside was completely corroded and basically gone. I've ordered a new one and a screen. Hope this helps our fuel supply issue. I also ordered a kit to clean the tank and seal it. While we wait for parts I thought about attaching a makeshift fuel line and tank just to see if it hits. Thanks again for your reply.

 

[rickdude]

Glad it helped you Trevor, I am also in the process or resurrecting a WD45 that has been sitting outdoors for at least 10 years. Since it has been parked several people have messed with it so it has been a bit of a challenge to start. Somehow the fuel tank sat with 5 gal of water for some time so the sediment bowl and carb were full of rust. I was able to clean out the carb and make a new gasket. The start switch was bad, so had no power to the coil, with power supplied to the coil it had spark so I tried the spray of fuel direct to the cylinders and no luck. The centre pin had corroded off in the original coil, replaced it and still nothing. Fresh points and condenser, replaced plugs and wires, nothing. Distributor was also way out of time. Cleaned up and replaced a few other connections including reversing the battery polarity to positive ground and she fired up at last. The first run was a pretty short one though because the upper rad hose was completely rotted off so the coolant flowing into the rad poured directly on top of the spinning fan, that was a bit of a mess. Now she fires up on the first crank and much to my surprise the generator is even producing power.

 

[trevor68]

Ok, we did the compression test today. We have zero, sixty, thirty, and zero. What would your next step be? Should we check anything further or start shopping for rebuild kit?

Thank you!

 

[Aaron SEIA]

Pop the valve cover and see if any of the valves are moving. Can't say I've ever seen a test that low.
AaronSEIA

 

[DrAllis]

The long and short of it is this, even if the valves are moving, the build up of rust and barnacles on the valves and seats is causing at least some of your compression problem. So, removal of the head will confirm that (or not). The hard part is what about the pistons, sleeves and rings ?? You can only see so much and a heavy wear edge on the sleeves tells me a motor kit is in order. You might try and put the exact same amount of light weight oil in each cylinder (filling the piston bowl and then some) and see how many days (or minutes) it takes for it to drain away. They should all be the same. Diesel fuel would be good too.