Okay, this isn't about an 18 wheeler, but I'm a moderator and can get away with this. Besides, we don't have a farm equipment sub forum on here.....

Last weekend, I bought another farm tractor. A 1989 Long, 4wd, 50 hp diesel, ran nicely, and it was already set up with fenders as I needed for use in the blueberries. I brought it home, and about the only problem I found was that it seemed like the starter would hang up occasionally, but on further testing it turned out that the battery in it was of questionable value, and a replacement battery cleared up the problem.

So this afternoon, I had the tractor hooked up to the brush hog mower and brought it up to my dad's to help him finish his mowing. Then I went back to my place and mowed for about 2 hours or so. All was going well, and I was cruising along quite nicely when the tractor just flat up and died. I shut off the PTO, and started checking things. I checked the fuel level in the tank and it matched up with what the gauge said was in it, and the battery connections were good, and the starter turned over fine. So I looked at the side of the motor, and immediately could see that the fuel pump had cracked into two pieces!

How this can happen, I have no idea. There is no stress on a fuel pump, it's just bolted to the side of the block,so unless if flat out broke on it's own, I am mystified. There is a faint chance that it broke as a result of a timing gear failing or something like that, and I won't know until I start taking it apart tomorrow.

I went up to the house and got my Dad to help, and pulled it in with the other tractor. Disconnected the mower and then used the skid steer to push it inside of the barn. So, I got about 3 hours use out of it after buying it.

Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.....

Both our yard tractor and lawn mower went out on us yesterday after refueling them.

From what we learned on-line, this ethanol fuel goes through something called "phase separation" if it's allowed to sit too long. Ethanol attracts water... and the water and ethanol bind together, separate from the gas, and sink to the bottom. Both engines pull fuel from from the bottom of the tank... and hence were drawing in the water/ethanol mixture with no actual gas.

A trip to Lowe's, some new filters and such, clean fuel... and we're up and running again.

Yours sound much more a PITA than ours was, Burky. And I'm hoping those little blueberry bushes get planted in good time. They've already been stripped of their young -- don't be starving them now! LOL

Good luck on the repairs, Burky!

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"Not all who wander are lost."
... JRR Tolkien

It was a bit of a pain, but probably nothing compared to what the bill will be for the parts for repairing it. At the very minimum, i am gonna have to pick up a new fuel pump for it. And, if there was a breakdown in the front geartrain, it's gonna be a lot more expensive. Ah well, these things happen.

And the funny part was about 10 minutes before it broke, I was sitting there thinking about how relaxing it is for me to get out and do farm work. I was content and all was right with the world until the engine went boom!!!!

Life is still good, Burky. But it has its moments... LOL

May the God of Inexpensive Tractor Parts be smiling upon you...

__________________

"Not all who wander are lost."
... JRR Tolkien

Does this 'farm tractor' come with a tow chain and have anything to do with my "Corn Cob Extractor Tool" thread??? Should have known, sorry to have made it public, Burky.....

Sounds like you bought someones problem there burky.

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A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

It did have a tow chain involved getting it back to the barn!!!

Actually, this is such an oddball occurence, that I don;t think the previous owner had any ideas of it happening. (Actually, the previous owner is dead, so I can't ask him directly!) I did my due diligence, asked around to 3 people that I know that own these tractors about any problems they had encountered, with nothing but an external add on hyd pump failing on one with a loader. So, I had reason to believe, based on my mechanical knowledge, that there was nothing wrong and litttle potential for failure.

To draw a parallel to trucks, here is a perfect example of buying a used truck. You can have it completely checked out, be confident you have selected a good truck, and then have something oddball break right after purchase. I have never heard of a fuel pump cracking in half, yet it happened, and from my own knowledge I would have never suspected such a thing to occur.

I am hoping that this is a pretty much standard fuel pump and it won't be much trouble to pick up another one.

Bottom line, I bought the tractor used with full knowledge that it was used, so there is no one to com back on with a complaint.


(The previous owner was on another tractor 3 years ago when he rolled it over while mowing a ditch. He was held underwater and drowned. This tractor has been parked in the barn most of the time since then until they sold it)

Got down to the dealership this morning and priced out a new fuel injector pump for the tractor. Amazingly enough, the price isn't too bad. A new replacement pump will run me right around 500 dollars, which is well under half of what I thought I would have to spend. My guess would have been in the 1100 dollar range, so I won't gripe about 500. I haven't ordered it yet, want to get everything apart first and make sure there is no problem with the gear train that drives the pump. I also picked up a parts diagram of how it is assembled, and that provides me with the answers I needed to take it apart.

I mean, how much is there to a fuel pump?!! Is it an old tractor? Maybe thats the farm world!!
Yeah, good idea---I try everything B4 throwing in the towel--my labor/time is cheap, as you know being a driver! ha ha

Well, on any diesel, the fuel pump is still a pretty precise piece of equipment, so I expect it to be kind of pricey. And, since there isn;t a huge supply of them out there wseparate from the engine, the odds of picking up a used one are only so so. In fact, the dealer thought he had a used one on hand, but by the time I get it from him, and then take it to a shop and have it rebuilt, I am almost going to be in the same spot financially as I would be buying a new one. So, I'll probably take that route.

The tractor is around 17 years old, which is not particularly old in the tractor world. It isn't uncommon to see 40-50 year old tractors (And older!) still in daily use. parts support for tractors from the 1940's is still excellent, and a lot of people have tractors of that vintage. My other tractor is 36 years old, and no where near starting to show any age, so they are a little bit different from trucks in that regard.