Ford 3400 Ind. not starting - Glow/Heater plug location?

[Bob L.]

Hey everyone,

Having issues with my 1967ish Ford 3400 Industrial tractor. This thing has been a workhorse and my only complaint has been it's penchant for not starting in colder weather, basically anything under 70 degrees has caused it to balk at least a little, but recently it's gotten far worse.

And now...now...it won't start at all, leaving me with, effectively, a lawn ornament.

I thought maybe it had been left too long so I drained the old diesel and put fresh in, thinking condensation might have been the problem. I bled the injectors to make sure I'm getting diesel through and checked the rest of the fuel system. I've tried a new battery, and then when that seemed to have no effect tried the old battery after a full overnight charging session, wondering if maybe the new battery was having a problem.

Nothing... Well....let me rephrase... The thing seems to try to start, it's turning over and belching exhaust like it's trying, but just doesn't seem to want to catch. Outside temp is way over 70 now, so shouldn't be that, which has left me wondering whether the glow/heater plug is at fault... I don't think I've changed it myself since buying this thing second hand, and I couldn't tell you how long it's been before then... But I cannot for the life of me find the damn thing!

Two things I thought were it, turned out to be (as far as I can tell) a water sensor (since water seeped out as I undid it), and an oil sensor (as oil seeped out as I undid it), but no where can I find the heater plug. And frankly I'm running out of ideas...

One video I found online for presumably this model (as most everything looked the same) shows the glow/heater plug located a few inches from the injectors, but all I found there was the blank head of a bolt.

Can anyone help? Or anyone have any ideas how to coax this thing to life once again?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ultradog MN]

Two things:
A Ford 3400 is not an industrial.
It is a utility.
Second, they don't have glow plugs.

 

[Bob L.]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Ok, I was only going by what the guy told me when he sold it to me many moons ago, I'll remember that for next time.

And so it doesn't have a glow or heater plug?? Then I'm at a loss...
I'll admit it was my, apparently, uninformed opinion that being diesel it would have such a thing, but if not I presume then it works on compression alone?

Any ideas what else I could/should be looking at to get this thing running again then?

Please?

 

[MSM]

Sounds like the engine is getting
alittle tired. Maybe a light shot of
ether in the air breather will get it
going.

 

[retired farmer]

Have you changed the fuel filter or filters on it?

 

[Apache_58]

Not starting wanting to start at 70 deg. F is pretty bad to begin with. So its probably low on compression.

Is it cranking over fast enough I wonder?

 

[Apache_58]

Not starting wanting to start at 70 deg. F is pretty bad to begin with. So its probably low on compression.

Is it cranking over fast enough I wonder?

 

[Old Ford Mechanic]

Sounds as tho the engine is either low on compression or the injector pump may be weak and need of a rebuild. The engine will most likely start with a little bit of starting fluid if it is turning fast enough. CAUTION ON THE STARTING FLUID, Spray only a small amount in the breather tube with the engine turning.If you spray too much it can cause piston damage. It would be better to repair the problem before more damage is done.

 

[Bob L.]

Turns out it was compression!

Having been informed it was no
glow/heater plug problem as this model
doesn't have one, I started checking the
fuel and injector lines and found one
that was loose!

Compression had to be failing because of
that, because having tightened down the
line (using zipties as a stop gap, I'll
get hose clamps for a permanent fix this
weekend) the tractor, with a little sweet
talking, started right up and ran as good
as ever!

Thank you all for your suggestions and
your help, it was greatly appreciated!