JD 3010 LP

[Oldcowpoke]

Hello all.............I've had this tough guy for almost 30 years and it's been a great trade from a neighbor. Just lately it has been very tough to start after it has been running/working at normal temperatures. Starts great when cold. I've had to let it cool down for several hours....or mostly overnight (as I wear out faster than I once did.) Any ideas on where to start???? Oldcowpoke

 

[Tx Jim]

When attempting to start when engine is at operating temp does crankshaft rotate at same speed or lower speed? If lower speed vigorously move steering wheel from side to side while engaging starter. Moving steeringwheel can relieve hyd pressure while attempting to start engine causing crankshaft to rotate faster.

 

[JIM MN]

Do a little trouble shooting? Do you have spark after you are at normal temperature? Check for spark as soon as you try to start again. If NO, could be bad coil or condenser, check them out? If that is good, could be a bad LP vapor-liquid regulator, no LP to burn at start up? It has to be either no spark at spark plugs or no fuel.

 

[Oldcowpoke]

When attempting to start when engine is at operating temp does crankshaft rotate at same speed or lower speed? If lower speed vigorously move steering wheel from side to side while engaging starter. Moving steeringwheel can relieve hyd pressure while attempting to start engine causing crankshaft to rotate faster.

I will work with this later today......thank you

 

[Oldcowpoke]

Do a little trouble shooting? Do you have spark after you are at normal temperature? Check for spark as soon as you try to start again. If NO, could be bad coil or condenser, check them out? If that is good, could be a bad LP vapor-liquid regulator, no LP to burn at start up? It has to be either no spark at spark plugs or no fuel.

Thank you........I will check these out later today

 

[Texasmark]

My first JD was a 4020 LP I paid $5000 for it....1980 time line, and had to have it shipped 100+ miles to my farm. The weep holes on the side of the block were oozing fluid....had no idea what they were and what that meant......well $1000 and lots of work later, I found out that the engine had been into by somebody else, previously, and the "moron" that was into it the first time didn't know which color, cylinder sleeve O-ring went where....got the wrong one in the the right place and the leaking weep holes told you that something was wrong.....I forget the proper placement of the orange and black neoprene...probably orange for the water side and black for the oil side was how it was supposed to go but I got it per the manual.

That tractor started differently every time I attempted to start it.....it would run out of Propane half way through the afternoon of working, had to fool with the "Nurse Tank" drag along to the field thing, heat off the engine was intense. In the winter it was hard to fuel (low Propane pressure) and in the summer it had too much vapor, bled off who knows how much fuel to get the tank filled, again hard to fuel....get liquid to the tractor's tank rather than evaporating into the atmosphere while trying to get some liquid in the tank.

I got it sold (poor sucker) and replaced it with a JD 4010 diesel and I was in heaven........fueling was no problem, started instantly, winter or summer, pulled like an Oxen, miser on fuel, that I could refuel at the farm and didn't have to drag that nuisance nurse tank around, what a difference. Never bought a Propane again, and never bought any tractor that wasn't Diesel powered....after 45+years of "trying to learn how to farm".

 

[420tlp]

My first JD was a 4020 LP I paid $5000 for it....1980 time line, and had to have it shipped 100+ miles to my farm. The weep holes on the side of the block were oozing fluid....had no idea what they were and what that meant......well $1000 and lots of work later, I found out that the engine had been into by somebody else, previously, and the "moron" that was into it the first time didn't know which color, cylinder sleeve O-ring went where....got the wrong one in the the right place and the leaking weep holes told you that something was wrong.....I forget the proper placement of the orange and black neoprene...probably orange for the water side and black for the oil side was how it was supposed to go but I got it per the manual.

That tractor started differently every time I attempted to start it.....it would run out of Propane half way through the afternoon of working, had to fool with the "Nurse Tank" drag along to the field thing, heat off the engine was intense. In the winter it was hard to fuel (low Propane pressure) and in the summer it had too much vapor, bled off who knows how much fuel to get the tank filled, again hard to fuel....get liquid to the tractor's tank rather than evaporating into the atmosphere while trying to get some liquid in the tank.

I got it sold (poor sucker) and replaced it with a JD 4010 diesel and I was in heaven........fueling was no problem, started instantly, winter or summer, pulled like an Oxen, miser on fuel, that I could refuel at the farm and didn't have to drag that nuisance nurse tank around, what a difference. Never bought a Propane again, and never bought any tractor that wasn't Diesel powered....after 45+years of "trying to learn how to farm".

There is a sump on the carburetor, I have seen a grease build up there and it will mess up starting. There is a 1/4 " Allen plug on the bottom of the carb. Take it out and run a wire up there, if there is a greasy substance on the wire use carb cleaner and wire to clean out.

 

[da.bees]

I assume that you are switching from vapor to liquid soon after starting??????? If not,try it because running on vapor for long can drop pressure below operating pressure on a cool day. Your vaporizer or regulator could have changed the way it works over past 30 years.

Start with the ignition side to see if something happens to spark after engine heats up. With cold engine check volts at coil with key on then while cranking. Repeat when engine is hot. A drop in volts when hot can be caused by increased resistance through ballast resistor (wire or ceramic). Unless a person is accustomed to watching spark jump from plug wire to ground I highly recommend a visual spark tester ( Example from Autozone part 85-311 / sku 1267200 ). Check spark while cranking cold and hot. If there's no decrease in volts or spark ignition isn't suspect. On the fuel side. After 30 years you probably have throttle and choke figured out but things can always change as they wear. It's ordinarrly neccesary to choke propane at start but for how long can vary from one tractor to the next but a momentary bump is what it takes. On a strange tractor or in this case where start up has changed I bump it once after starter engages, wait 5 secounds as starter turns engine then bump again,3 secounds bump again 3 seconds then choke for 3 seconds. If no start I give carb a squirt of gasoline, carb cleaner or start fluid. If ignition has already been looked at and engine hasn't started by now I go back to double check ignition. If it starts when priming at carb you might consider using it like that while you familiarize with testing/adjusting propane vaporizers,regulators and carbs plus finding a parts source in the event you need some after troubleshooting. Unfortunately propane mechanics are few and far apart these days that know how to do anything but change parts until it;s fixed.