jd5105 hard starting cold weather

[LarryNMO]

Hello guys I have a jd5105 diesel that I've had for about a year. My problem is when it gets to 30 and colder it will not start. It has a preheater which works good. Starts good when the temp is warmer. Last winter I added diesel fuel treatment for the winter season and changed the fuel filter and it did'nt start then and it not starting this season. There was one time last summer when it wouldn't start. I had talked to a jd dealer and he told me that sometimes the rubber fuel lines will leak out and that I could install a shut off on the fuel line and open it up when I needed to use it. I noticed when the fuel tank was only half full it was hard starting so I kept the tank full. I did have to loosen the lines on the injector pump to get it to start. I'm not a diesel mechanic ,but trying to figure this one out. Thanks Larry

 

[buickanddeere]

(quoted from post at 22:48:43 01/02/15) Hello guys I have a jd5105 diesel that I've had for about a year. My problem is when it gets to 30 and colder it will not start. It has a preheater which works good. Starts good when the temp is warmer. Last winter I added diesel fuel treatment for the winter season and changed the fuel filter and it did'nt start then and it not starting this season. There was one time last summer when it wouldn't start. I had talked to a jd dealer and he told me that sometimes the rubber fuel lines will leak out and that I could install a shut off on the fuel line and open it up when I needed to use it. I noticed when the fuel tank was only half full it was hard starting so I kept the tank full. I did have to loosen the lines on the injector pump to get it to start. I'm not a diesel mechanic ,but trying to figure this one out. Thanks Larry

Plug in the block heater 2-3 hours before starting.It's normal for a cold diesel to have starting problems. How is the thermal start in the manifold working "good" and the engine won't start? How old are the batteries?

 

[leon]

So, did it start better when the tank was full? Are you using JD 15W40 oil? If you can get it, I'd recommend No. 1 Diesel fuel whenever temperatures below freezing are expected, i. e., all winter long.

 

[Sid_GA]

Not sure if your problem is the same that I have had with my 6200 doing that but when you mentioned the dealer said the lines would leak out, it sounded like it is doing what my tractor did. It has a fuel tank lift pump and a check valve between the pump and filter and the check valve would leak back and I also had the lines crack and let air in so I replaced them all and it fixed that. Since you said bleeding the injectors would make it start, that sounds like it could be the cause. Good luck. Sid

 

[LarryNMO]

Thanks for all the replies. Yesterday I did plug in the block heater for about an hour and half and it sounded like it was going to start, but didn't and it will do that everytime I try to start it. I just installed a new battery couple weeks ago chg. up good. The thermal start heats up the block really warm. Back when the weather was warm if the fuel tank would get low it was hard to start and after filling the tank and getting fuel to the injector pump it started fine. I'm not sure if this tractor has a fuel lift pump or if it's gravity feed to the injectors. If it is gravity feed I thought maybe what is going on is when the tank is about half full or lower the level is lower than the the injector pump it doesn't get fuel there. But I also think it wasn't set up like that.

 

[Tx Jim]

5105 came from factory with no lift pump. Gravity feed from fuel tank to inj pump. Have you considered adding an electric lift pump?

 

[LarryNMO]

No, Jim I really didn't know about the electric lift pump. Can this be ordered on line and where would it be installed in the fuel system? And if Leon is still out there I do use 15w 40w oil but have not switched over to diesel #1 yet. Today at 3pm I went out to see if it would start and it did but it is 41 degrees?????? Thanks Larry

 

[Mike M]

I replaced all the rubber fuel lines and installed an electric fuel pump on mine. Electric pump sure makes bleeding the filter easy now !

Mine sits in the garage which stays above freezing so I don't know about when it is cold out ? but at 30 - 40 degrees it fires right up.

 

[Tx Jim]

LarryNMO
You can add the electric fuel in the line between the fuel tank & filter. Ditto on making fuel system easier to bleed.

 

[Tech 7]

If this this tractor is equipped with the cold start advance mechanism I would be curious to know if it is working properly.

 

[Lee B]

I'm tending to think that it was set up like that since the powers that be, can't be made to care about long term operational quirks such as +half tank deal. Worked good enough to get it out the door and time for a new tractor is their thinking when it gets right down to it.

You could extend fuel return line fitting with some small brake line such that the return flow enters the tank submerged and close to the bottom instead of just dropping in from the top. Swear I'm gonna do this someday, but they ALL need it done - I'd be at it for the rest of my days. Electric lift pump will surely help some, but I'm thinking it's the air bleeding back from the top return line fitting at the tank doing most of the loss of injection pump prime. Moving return to bottom of tank another possibility but will require draining tank obviously. They can make a check valve that works to perfection against 2,000 PSI, but for this kind of miniscule flow with non-pressure, it's just not possible to do with any kind of reliability/long life in my opinion. Submerged fuel return eliminates the need for reliance on a working check valve?