Tractor losing its power

Damo810

Title says it all really. It seems fine on the level ground and around the yard, but once you go on the road with any sort of a load on it just dies, especially on the hills. You can put your foot flat to the floor and nothing happens. It's struggling with a wee 8X5 trailer with a load of muck in it.

Have changed all the filters and oil, drained the diesel and used new stuff and gave the air filter a quick clean. In all honesty, it did seem quite dusty, but would that hamper the power so much as to make it almost come to a stop with such a small trailer?

Tractors an A95 Valtra...

vinne

Damo810 wrote: »

Title says it all really. It seems fine on the level ground and around the yard, but once you go on the road with any sort of a load on it just dies, especially on the hills. You can put your foot flat to the floor and nothing happens. It's struggling with a wee 8X5 trailer with a load of muck in it.

Have changed all the filters and oil, drained the diesel and used new stuff and gave the air filter a quick clean. In all honesty, it did seem quite dusty, but would that hamper the power so much as to make it almost come to a stop with such a small trailer?

Tractors an A95 Valtra...

I'd say get a new air filter ,you could just take out the filter and give a short spin up the hill if it drives away fine it's the filter,if it does'nt back to drawing board.

pakalasa

No expert, but sounds like the governor, or modern equivalent, is not working. Time to give a mechanic a shout.

reilig

Cousin of mine had same tractor with same problem. It was dirt in the tank and the fuel lines. Tank had to be taken off and washed out. Fuel lines had to be blown out.

Bet the tractor runs fine when it's idle but when you put a bit of pressure on it and it needs extra fuel it just cuts out?

Could be caused by the new low sulphur diesel or else by poor diesel hygiene.

Dealer did the repair for my cousin and charged e350 Inc call out. Took about 3 hours.

Damo810

reilig wrote: »

Cousin of mine had same tractor with same problem. It was dirt in the tank and the fuel lines. Tank had to be taken off and washed out. Fuel lines had to be blown out.

Bet the tractor runs fine when it's idle but when you put a bit of pressure on it and it needs extra fuel it just cuts out?

Could be caused by the new low sulphur diesel or else by poor diesel hygiene.

Dealer did the repair for my cousin and charged e350 Inc call out. Took about 3 hours.

Yes. Going around the yard it's fine. Even the lower gears going up hills seem ok, but once you go on the road and go into third or fourth she dies if theres any sort of incline. Even on the level, pickup is very slow and sometimes non existent.

Half tempted trade it in, but it's the first bother it's given in the amount of time we've had her.

reilig

Damo810 wrote: »

Yes. Going around the yard it's fine. Even the lower gears going up hills seem ok, but once you go on the road and go into third or fourth she dies if theres any sort of incline. Even on the level, pickup is very slow and sometimes non existent.

Half tempted trade it in, but it's the first bother it's given in the amount of time we've had her.

Such a tiny diesel tank in them. Unlike other tractors, they are very regularly run to near empty. This means that dirt in the bottom of the tank goes through the fuel lines and causes a slow down in the rate that the fuel gets to the injectors. What year is it? Where and when did you buy it?

Damo810

It's an 03 and it was bought 3 years ago. Would the filter not be dirty if the fuel lines were bad? Might screw them off tomorrow and see what they're like..

reilig

Damo810 wrote: »

It's an 03 and it was bought 3 years ago. Would the filter not be dirty if the fuel lines were bad? Might screw them off tomorrow and see what they're like..

He had changed the filters twice before the tank was washed out and they showed no signs of dirt. It was stuck around the fuel line exit from the tank as well as in the beginning of this line. Mechanic told him that it was a common problem with them. He had a 05 that he bought new. It happened right after the introduction of the low sulphur fuel. He traded it for a 2012 A92 last year. Apart from 2 clutches in the A95 (Caused by the loader) and this fuel problem, the tractor never missed a beat. The small fuel tank was an issue for him as he has land a good few miles from home and if he was going to do a day's work, he often had to bring a drum or 2 of diesel with him.

jomoloney

can you drain the tank ,?
plug the drain hole throw a couple of gallons of kerosene in and leave over night , drain and maybe blow out the fuel lines, change filters again

any smoke issues? could be a pump problem if not dirt,

ally k

check the fuel outlet on the tank probably stuck with muck and dirt diesel these days not as clean as it used to be ..if that fails most likely the injector pump needs an overhaul..

pakalasa

We had dirt in our diesel tank a few years back. The tractor would cut-out suddenly. Drove us mad for a few weeks till it all passed through to the filters.

Damo810

pakalasa wrote: »

We had dirt in our diesel tank a few years back. The tractor would cut-out suddenly. Drove us mad for a few weeks till it all passed through to the filters.

It doesn't feel like it'll knonk or stall, just hasn't got the power, once you change down or put your foot on the clutch it's fine,and we've got diesel from a few places, so it's not the diesel per say. Thanks for the feedback lads.

jomoloney wrote: »

can you drain the tank ,?
plug the drain hole throw a couple of gallons of kerosene in and leave over night , drain and maybe blow out the fuel lines, change filters again

any smoke issues? could be a pump problem if not dirt,

We drained the tank already, ran some diesel through it too, and changed the filters.

And no it's not smoky either. Wouldn't there be black smoke if it was the air filter?

Muckit

Are the brakes sticking maybe?

Richk2012

Id say rellig has hit the nail on the head .
Happened to us in August gone .

Tractor grand when its tipping around the yard , but when its under pressure rowing silage at the time , it just kept dying .

Took of diesel tank off completely an cleaned dirt with air gun on the compressor , and then took off fuel lines and replaced one as it was corroded , and cleaned the other .
They were blocked with strands of hay believe it or not , which then caused smaller particles to cling to them causing a proper obstruction .

She must off been partially blocked for a while because the power increase was unbelievable .
Couldnt remember it had that much torque .
Went drawing straw the following week and it feckin ate the road :cool:

Damo810

Richk2012 wrote: »

Id say rellig has hit the nail on the head .
Happened to us in August gone .

Tractor grand when its tipping around the yard , but when its under pressure rowing silage at the time , it just kept dying .

Took of diesel tank off completely an cleaned dirt with air gun on the compressor , and then took off fuel lines and replaced one as it was corroded , and cleaned the other .
They were blocked with strands of hay believe it or not , which then caused smaller particles to cling to them causing a proper obstruction .

She must off been partially blocked for a while because the power increase was unbelievable .
Couldnt remember it had that much torque .
Went drawing straw the following week and it feckin ate the road :cool:

Aye, I think it's that alright. Looks like she might just get her walking papers though, have an eye on a few other nicer more modern machines.

@reilig You don't no what your cousin paid for that A92 do you?Or what i'd paid for similar 90-100HP machines new. Trying to debate further a new machine is worth the money or not.

Damo810

Cow of a thing is still giving bother. Died completely going up the road the last day, with nothing on, was in fourth, and all of a sudden she lost all power, engine ticked over fine, adn a few minutes later she was back, but still didn't have her full power.

Tractors become a right pain in the whole, as theres plenty to be done with it, but ye have no comfort bring her out on the road. Different stories coming from different mechanics, think it is the pump and injectors. What would they cost to get done?

It's got new filters, tanks been drained a few times and all the pipes going up to the fuel pump were taken off and cleaned (they were spotless anyways) but still no success. Any ideas?

DanielGibbons

Damo810 wrote: »

Cow of a thing is still giving bother. Died completely going up the road the last day, with nothing on, was in fourth, and all of a sudden she lost all power, engine ticked over fine, adn a few minutes later she was back, but still didn't have her full power.

Tractors become a right pain in the whole, as theres plenty to be done with it, but ye have no comfort bring her out on the road. Different stories coming from different mechanics, think it is the pump and injectors. What would they cost to get done?

It's got new filters, tanks been drained a few times and all the pipes going up to the fuel pump were taken off and cleaned (they were spotless anyways) but still no success. Any ideas?

I know it's not the same tractor, but I know our '88 massey 390 2wd was giving bother like that before. Died on a hill with a trailer full of cattle 10 miles from home :P

All filters were fine, but someone suggested dissasembling the diesel lift pump and cleaning it out. Surely to god it was full of sh1te. Now we clean it out at every service, always seems to be a bit in it.

Working grand ever since!

iverjohnston

I don't know anything about Valmets, I assume it has a lift pump? as the other person said, worth cleaning it.

For the sake of ten euro or so, it could be worth throwing in a bottle of "fuel injection system cleaner" and see if it makes any difference. If it does, you probably need to get the pump done.
Three years ago I had trouble with the loader, it would slowly loose power, until it would only idle. Throw in a bottle of the stuff, and she would be fine for a week. This went on all winter. When the cattle went out, I took off the pump and got it overhauled. No parts needed, the guy said it was filthy diesel had it all gummed up internally. Ran perfectly since.

larthehar

I would say a process if elimation is the way to go.. get a CLEAN 5 gallon drum of diesel, strap to the bonnet and pipe it into the filter.. take it for a spin up the road and see how see runs.. id she has a new found power.. the tank/pipe is the issue otherwise the problem is further on.. Don't bypass the filter unless you use an equivalent in line filter..

pakalasa

When a tractor is stopped and engine idling, when you rev it up, even though the engine speed goes up, it is still using very little diesel.
Under load though, like going up a hill in high gear, a lot more diesel is pumped into the engine to get the extra power.
For some reason, you are not getting that extra diesel.

ally k

As said by other posters it cud be the lift pump not familiar with the valtra .. We run jd here but sounds exactly like the problem i was having we changed filters pipes and no better felt like it had lost 50 hp on the pull ....I took off the injector pump and sent it away to get done up put it back on and the difference was unreal seems like a different tractor to drive i think it took 290 euro to do up the pump

oooge1

I had a similar problem, with an a95,its a while ago now, but guy came out and changed oil filters etc. he lifted the floor in the cab and there is access to fuel line there. i don't know the terminology. but basically there is a long narrow pipe that screwed out and that was blocked up ..a compressor blew the dirt out.

washpenrebel

Question?

Did you let the tractor run out of diesel recently?

if you did then you will need to get an air hose and blow the diesel back to the tank from the filter. generally there is dirt in the fuel tank, if you let the tractor run out of diesel then the dirt is sucked up through the fuel lines blocking the filter. the fuel filter is important and if it gets blocked it could destroy your fuel pump. if you look in the glass bowl on the fuel line you will see if there is dirt in there.

Make sure and change the oil and fuel filters at recommended intervals.

Damo810

DanielGibbons wrote: »

I know it's not the same tractor, but I know our '88 massey 390 2wd was giving bother like that before. Died on a hill with a trailer full of cattle 10 miles from home :P

All filters were fine, but someone suggested dissasembling the diesel lift pump and cleaning it out. Surely to god it was full of sh1te. Now we clean it out at every service, always seems to be a bit in it.

Working grand ever since!

Was it a big job? Much to go wrong? We were thinking it was the diesel pump (i'm assuming thats the same as the lift pump mentioned here) and we were going to get it reconditioned, along with the injectors. But if it's not too big of a job to take off the pump, give it a cleaning I suppose we could give it a go ourselves, see if that helps..

oooge1 wrote: »

I had a similar problem, with an a95,its a while ago now, but guy came out and changed oil filters etc. he lifted the floor in the cab and there is access to fuel line there. i don't know the terminology. but basically there is a long narrow pipe that screwed out and that was blocked up ..a compressor blew the dirt out.

I know the pipe your on about, theres 3 small bolts in the middle of the floor cab, running down to the tank. We've had it off plenty of times, tis always clean..

larthehar wrote: »

I would say a process if elimation is the way to go.. get a CLEAN 5 gallon drum of diesel, strap to the bonnet and pipe it into the filter.. take it for a spin up the road and see how see runs.. id she has a new found power.. the tank/pipe is the issue otherwise the problem is further on.. Don't bypass the filter unless you use an equivalent in line filter..

All pipes were off, and she done 5 or 10 hours work, and when we checked the first fuel filter, there was very little dirt inside, and when the pipes were off they were clean as a new pen. We've ran 60 euros of diesel through the tank between trying new stuff, and draining the tank to no avail.

washpenrebel wrote: »

Question?

Did you let the tractor run out of diesel recently?

if you did then you will need to get an air hose and blow the diesel back to the tank from the filter. generally there is dirt in the fuel tank, if you let the tractor run out of diesel then the dirt is sucked up through the fuel lines blocking the filter. the fuel filter is important and if it gets blocked it could destroy your fuel pump. if you look in the glass bowl on the fuel line you will see if there is dirt in there.

Make sure and change the oil and fuel filters at recommended intervals.

Nope. And all fuel lines have been taken off, from the Tank up to the diesel pump, blown out with a compressor, but not a bit of dirt was in sight!

Thanks fella's..

pakalasa

larthehar wrote: »

I would say a process if elimation is the way to go.. get a CLEAN 5 gallon drum of diesel, strap to the bonnet and pipe it into the filter.. take it for a spin up the road and see how see runs.. id she has a new found power.. the tank/pipe is the issue otherwise the problem is further on.. Don't bypass the filter unless you use an equivalent in line filter..

If I was you, I'd try this. If problem still there, then I'd take off diesel pump (not the same as the lift pump, which is hand operated) and get it tested.

DanielGibbons

Damo810 wrote: »

Was it a big job? Much to go wrong? We were thinking it was the diesel pump (i'm assuming thats the same as the lift pump mentioned here) and we were going to get it reconditioned, along with the injectors. But if it's not too big of a job to take off the pump, give it a cleaning I suppose we could give it a go ourselves, see if that helps..

Nope, very simple job!

On our tractor I think its 4 or 5 screws holding the top on, then theres a spring with a diaphragm.. once you get those out, theres like 2 little ports at the bottom, one for diesel in and one for diesel out. I'm fairly sure theres a gauze on the outlet port, clean that out.

I'm sorry my description is so vague, its a while since we've done it, she's soon due a service mind you :P

I don't mean the injector pump btw, I'm talking about the pump to lift the diesel from the tank to the injector pump. It has the little manual primer on it!

Also, I don't know if your tractor even has one. Maybe it's part of the injector pump, I'm no expert :P

Damo810

Ahh yes I know the pump yer on about. Always called it teh 'priming pump, not the lift pump :P Will take her off and have a look, and get back to ye!

satstheway

Big gause on a massy lift pump can block and will definitely kill power

colrow

Had the same on mine, it came from Holland, at first it was perfect but after a day bouncing round the bog, the next day it took ages to start, then any hard driving with a load or up hill it would die, but be fine on tick over.

It was just used on the flat in Holland, and when it was bounced around all the ****e and water on the bottom of the tank, went through the fuel system, the tractor boy cleaned the tank out, it had loads of crap in it, then replaced all the filters they were soaking wet with water, there were lots of little metal gauze filters on the lift pump and at other parts of the fuel line they were gummed up, with all these cleaned it ran perfect after.

My advice is why use an amateur when you can get a professional, it's worth getting a proper engineer to do a quality job, saves time and money in the long run.

Damo810

Well I had a lovely surprise when I got up to the farm today. Uncle had started the tractor earlier, ran it for a few minutes and it conked. He ran the battery flat while trying to get her going again. Battery's off and getting charged.

Sounds like the diesel flow is completely cut off now, lift pump is coming off tomorrow, see will that help. Really pissing me off, just when it's needed too..

satstheway

How did you fare

pakalasa

colrow wrote: »

...My advice is why use an amateur when you can get a professional, it's worth getting a proper engineer to do a quality job, saves time and money in the long run.

Exactly.

Damo810

satstheway wrote: »

How did you fare

Charged the battery and it started fine, brought her into the shed, took off the pump and it was clean, very clean, no dirt in sight!

Tried her on the road, and it died twice (fine once the clutch went in, didn't conk) but one thing I noticed was when changing gear, you'd swear the brakes were on at times, other times it's fine, so I theres definitely something wrong with her there..

F..ker of a thing might just leave the yard, and stay gone! Don't fancy spending 3-4K on it doing it up and then find out theres more problems with it..

dmc123

Damo.... The post is a year old, did you get sorted ??
I had this problem on several Valtras. And it's soul destroying at first, then really really simple.....

Many Valtra fuel tanks are steel.... Rust and debris accumulates in the tank and subsequently in the lines.... There is a banjo bolt..... (Hollow bolt with opening at 90 degrees to threads along the fuel line..... That's where the problem lies.... All sorts of crap accumulates there over a long time right at the bend, small amounts of fuel can get through at low revs, but when the pressure comes on dies a death..... Prob made worse if filling from drums and funnels.....

Damo810

Yes, it was fixed, the problem was with the handbrake. the tractor had been doing **** all over the winter and the handbrake wasn't releasing, so 'gentle persuasion' from outside fixed it, running perfectly now.

josephsoap

Apologies for bumping up this old tread but I am similar issues.

My tractor cutted out with mowing today, tractor is a MF 390, I opened the fuel pump gauze and cleaned it out (gauze was covered in slime) and tractor started

About 3 Mins later the tractor cuts out again ....I open the fuel pump gauze again and it’s not blocked but the fuel under the gauze appeared to be slime ...I cleaned out the fuel pump housing again and bleed the tractor and it started again.

Tractor cuts out again 1 min later, it appears that my fuel pump is now not getting any diesel....

Is there any other filter from the diesel tank to the fuel pump that may be blocked?

Would bad diesel have caused the slime or as I leave the tractor out all year round if water got into the diesel tank would cause a slime to form?

Who2

josephsoap wrote: »

Apologies for bumping up this old tread but I am similar issues.

My tractor cutted out with mowing today, tractor is a MF 390, I opened the fuel pump gauze and cleaned it out (gauze was covered in slime) and tractor started

About 3 Mins later the tractor cuts out again ....I open the fuel pump gauze again and it’s not blocked but the fuel under the gauze appeared to be slime ...I cleaned out the fuel pump housing again and bleed the tractor and it started again.

Tractor cuts out again 1 min later, it appears that my fuel pump is now not getting any diesel....

Is there any other filter from the diesel tank to the fuel pump that may be blocked?

Would bad diesel have caused the slime or as I leave the tractor out all year round if water got into the diesel tank would cause a slime to form?

I’m having the exact same issue with a 398 at the moment. Changed the fuel filter about two months ago. Changed the filter the other day and it was rotten. Problem is it started loosing power again today. I think it’s time to clean the tank and try that.

josephsoap

Yeah I’m thinking the same ....unfortunately not a job I can do myself

patsy_mccabe

I was getting dieel from a small local merchant in 20 lt drums as my tank started to leak. The level of dirt in the bottom of the drums was shocking. Switched to a larger ourfit in Limerick and the diesel is spotless by comparision.

cute geoge

There is a gauze in the fuel pump and there is also a gauze in the fuel lift pump in the 390's

satstheway

I have seen problem of 390 dying when opened up a bit. There was a slight blockage before the lift pump.
Take off pipe and blow back into tank. If any restriction take pipe from the tank syphon fuel out first and tap the retaining ring and the whole thing comes out. Easy enough tank to clean.

DanielGibbons

We have a 390, must have it 15 years now.

We learned the hard way that the priming pump MUST be opened every service (yearly) and cleaned out.

Despite this, we recently removed the diesel tank and cleaned it out. You’d want to see the crap that came out of it.

Based in Mayo/Sligo, and will be staying around Athlone from July. If any of ye want help with this job let me know.

josephsoap

satstheway wrote: »

I have seen problem of 390 dying when opened up a bit. There was a slight blockage before the lift pump.
Take off pipe and blow back into tank. If any restriction take pipe from the tank syphon fuel out first and tap the retaining ring and the whole thing comes out. Easy enough tank to clean.

Having trouble with the 390 again

I removed the fuel lift pump cover and now there is no diesel getting into the fuel lift pump housing.

I took out the black pipe that goes from the diesel tank to the fuel lift pump housing and the pipe is completely stuff.

Would putting compressed air up this pipe clear the blockage ?

The pipe arrears to run from the fuel pump to the top of the diesel tank, it appears quite hard to access there if there is a further blockage there

emaherx

josephsoap wrote: »

Having trouble with the 390 again

I removed the fuel lift pump cover and now there is no diesel getting into the fuel lift pump housing.

I took out the black pipe that goes from the diesel tank to the fuel lift pump housing and the pipe is completely stuff.

Would putting compressed air up this pipe clear the blockage ?

The pipe arrears to run from the fuel pump to the top of the diesel tank, it appears quite hard to access there if there is a further blockage there

Had same issue with 390 a few years ago. Blew pipe out back towards tank and never had the issue since.

josephsoap

emaherx wrote: »

Had same issue with 390 a few years ago. Blew pipe out back towards tank and never had the issue since.

Cheers emaherx, was that the same pipe I was talking about ?

Pod123

one of the best things I ever bought was a proper filter system for the diesel tank. Regardless of the year of the tractor a good filter system is cheap in comparison to repairs. Get one with a good micron and let the diesel flow by gravity through it. Some people have a pump to fill the tractor tank for the tank is low but it does not give the filters a chance to work.
On another note machinery should be filled at night and the tractor tank should be filled up to avoid condensation.
I learnt the hard way when I had a tractor that gave me grieve. I got a new five gallon drum and used this as a diesel tank to eliminate problems and ripping up stuff. Turned out to be a small line crack in a fuel line. Also use proper diesel-petrol hose not pvc as this gets hard in time and cracks.
A headache when you get this problem as you feel your day is wasted.

emaherx

josephsoap wrote: »

Cheers emaherx, was that the same pipe I was talking about ?

Yes, exactly the same. It's just a pipe back to the tank there is no filter at the tank end so it's fine to blow the pipe back. First filter is the gauze in the lift pump.

josephsoap

emaherx wrote: »

Yes, exactly the same. It's just a pipe back to the tank there is no filter at the tank end so it's fine to blow the pipe back. First filter is the gauze in the lift pump.

Cheers emaherx hopefully I’ll get it going tomorrow.

I took the other pipe off first and traced it back to fuel filer ... realized then I had opened the wrong pipe :-D

patsy_mccabe

Helped bleed a newish John Deere yesterday. There I was looking for the lift pump. Another guy came and had it going in minutes. The fuel pump (electric) is in under the left floor mat. Just lift a small cover there. Slight tip with a wrench and it was running again.

Farmer

That's progress for you. The Morris Minor used to be like that - a tip on the electric fuel pump and away she went!

josephsoap

emaherx wrote: »

Had same issue with 390 a few years ago. Blew pipe out back towards tank and never had the issue since.

Cheers emaherx, blew out that pipe this morning, bled the system and she fired up again