Hard Starting PowerMajor

Whats wrong?

Engine runs smoothly and has good power. I think this relates to the amount of fuel going thru the pump. There is a threaded shaft w/ locknut coming out the rear on the housing that the fuel shut-off is attached to. Can I increase the amount of fuel by adjusting this? or am I looking in the wrong area?

Do not adjust the threaded rod at the rear of the pump. This is set when the pump is set up on the test equipment and should not be touched. It is the maximum fuel stop and incorrect adjustment can damage the engine.

White smoke can be timing or unburnt fuel due to low compression, are the valve adjustments correct? 15 thou. inlet and 12 thou. exhaust (the ones with rotator caps).

I asked about the max fuel adjustment because I think a lot of people out ther use the adjustment incorrectly for idle speed. Recently I went to look at an early disel and the seller apologised for the high idle and said it would not start if he set it lower. I asked how he was changing and he was making this adjustment. I showed him the correct way on the intake stop.
Anyway this tractor was in terrible shape, leaks from every orifice, noisy like a freight train but it started from cold in less than a crank.

What oil are you using? A straight 20/30W or 10/40W depending on the temperature. Do not use a modern oil that can be used in engine and rear axle like Castrol Multipurpose, a better one would be Castrol Multiuse or just plain Castrol HD. The modern oils contain lubricants for the inboard disc brakes and this can plate the bores causing similar problems.

As Mark asks, what sort of rebuild did you do? Rings or liners and rings or pistons, liners and rings.

Did you have the front cover off and the timing gears? It could be possible that they were reassembled 1 tooth out on a gear, it is easily done.

Have you had the injectors and pump serviced by a diesel shop?

Sorry for so many questions but we cannot see the tractor. She should start very easily as you have seen with a worn out one.

I use 10W30 engine oil and tractor doesn"t do any heavy work. The tractor only smokes white at idle and at full throttle no load. Tractor was purchased with water drained so only started to drive onto trailer.

Injector pump has been rebuilt at some point in it life-time because it has the telltale hole drilled in the side cover.

There used to be an additive that went in the fuel to help break bore glazing but I don"t remember much about it.

It would be well worth trying to find some really hard work for her. It could be worth getting your local service man to put her on a dynamometer for a day if you have nothing for her to do.

I want to revisit the question about the "max fuel adjustment". If this was adjusted improperly, would this impact starting? It clearly did where it was used to adjust idle speed.

How would you check adjustment?

There is also the valve guides and seals question on the head?More than likely it is the rings than this area but you never know???

Also a word of caution when tinkering with the injection pump, if you do something wrong it could cost you the whole motor.Check the lift pump by cracking the bleed bolt on top of the fuel filter, if it is the original style, and see if fuel flows while cranking the motor.You can use the compression relief lever on front of the valve cover if you have one while turning the motor over.My lift pump has a "priming lever" on it and I use this instead of turning over the motor with the starter.

Also maybe Majorman and Sandymac can advise you on checking the cam timing.It is something I have not yet done to my small fleet.The injection pump timing would not be correct if the cam timing is off even if you set it to 23 degrees.

A couple other ideas came to mind about the hard starting...

1. When I had the engine apart to change pistons/rings I replaced the head gasket with a composite type whereas the original was copper. Would this make enough difference in compression?
Also what are your views about reusing head gaskets? NH said the copper type gasket was no longer available.

2. What about leak back thru the lift pump? There is no visible signs of leakage but maybe internal? I purchased a new pump for another tractor and will try that.

Do not re use head gaskets as this will lead to other problems like oil in the water or visa-versa.

Lack of hard work or a serviced injection pump at a reputable service agent are the most likely answer to your problem. I would try the easy one first, a run on a dynamometer could sort things out if you have no hard work.