2018 L2501 HST 260 hrs - No power after 3 min

[psychocabbage]

Good day all,
Scenario - 2018 L2501 HST 260 hrs set to "M". Put rpm to PTO and within 3 min the RPMs will drop down significantly. Does not matter if you are going uphill or down hill. Happens on flat ground as well.

Before this issue: Tractor was working like a beast. Had to move a lot of blocks while I was building a retaining wall. I had the bucket in the air under load while tractor was at idle. It ran out of fuel and the bucket dropped on its own. I pulled the fuel filter, and for mine, I have to remove that jet bleeder as just unscrewing it will not let the engine start up after running it dry.

Fuel is from local feed shop. Dyed. Same fuel it was running before it ran dry. Got the engine started and has not been the same since. Noticeable change in the sound of the engine. Lower drone sound. When power saps, stopping will increase RPM but it will not increase to the PTO mark. It drops to about the Idle level and when It climbs its just about a 1/3rd of the way back up. Tractor crawls at this point. moves but not like its healthy. Hydraulics work without issue but I am guessing they too are down on max power since the engine cant spin up to max. Once it sits for a few hours I can get the RPMs to PTO mark again but will soon drop back down.

Any ideas to check?
So far I have cleaned all the air filters/radiators (temp is not climbing). Changed the fuel filter when it ran dry. Changed the oil and oil filter just because I wanted to get that out of the way.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[JasonW]

The tractor running out of fuel wouldn’t make the loader drop. What “jet bleeder” did you take apart?

Is it firing on all cylinders? How much run time since it was ran empty? Any trash/debris in the fuel filter when you changed it? Might be something in the 90 degree fitting by the fuel filter.

 

[Russell King]

Look at the fuel flow at the injector pump to see if it has good fuel flow or just a dribble. If you have some type of fuel lift pump you may need to see if it is pumping fuel correctly. If electric pump just turn key to run, if mechanical crank engine and fuel should come out in spurts.

You probably have something limiting the amount of fuel flow so have enough fuel to run okay for 3 minutes then the flow is too small for full RPMs. So you are looking for something clogging the flow of fuel. It could be at the tank outlet, in a fuel line or at an entrance or exit of the fuel filter. Some filters have a screen on the inlet, some have a 90 degree elbow. Either or both can get clogged by biological growth or grass or bugs.

Find that, clean it and tractor should be fine.

 

[jimh406]

This is a consolidated list.

https://grok.com/share/bGVnYWN5LWNvcHk_d235e12b-6045-460f-98a3-f103c4ae884a

 

[psychocabbage]

Look at the fuel flow at the injector pump to see if it has good fuel flow or just a dribble. If you have some type of fuel lift pump you may need to see if it is pumping fuel correctly. If electric pump just turn key to run, if mechanical crank engine and fuel should come out in spurts.

You probably have something limiting the amount of fuel flow so have enough fuel to run okay for 3 minutes then the flow is too small for full RPMs. So you are looking for something clogging the flow of fuel. It could be at the tank outlet, in a fuel line or at an entrance or exit of the fuel filter. Some filters have a screen on the inlet, some have a 90 degree elbow. Either or both can get clogged by biological growth or grass or bugs.

Find that, clean it and tractor should be fine.

thank you! Will start pulling fuel lines to see how its moving

 

[psychocabbage]

The tractor running out of fuel wouldn’t make the loader drop. What “jet bleeder” did you take apart?

Is it firing on all cylinders? How much run time since it was ran empty? Any trash/debris in the fuel filter when you changed it? Might be something in the 90 degree fitting by the fuel filter.

Some diagrams call it an air vent but when you break it, its name is jet something or another.. Some screws are not meant to be turned too many times.

 

[psychocabbage]

I have to unscrew this cap entirely when mine runs dry (3 times so far) Once I see fuel flowing from that I screw it back on and the tractor will fire up.

 

[psychocabbage]

Look at the fuel flow at the injector pump to see if it has good fuel flow or just a dribble. If you have some type of fuel lift pump you may need to see if it is pumping fuel correctly. If electric pump just turn key to run, if mechanical crank engine and fuel should come out in spurts.

You probably have something limiting the amount of fuel flow so have enough fuel to run okay for 3 minutes then the flow is too small for full RPMs. So you are looking for something clogging the flow of fuel. It could be at the tank outlet, in a fuel line or at an entrance or exit of the fuel filter. Some filters have a screen on the inlet, some have a 90 degree elbow. Either or both can get clogged by biological growth or grass or bugs.

Find that, clean it and tractor should be fine.

Ok.. So It seems to be better. will know tomorrow morning when I hook up the brushhog.
What I did:
Pulled the fuel filter. No water present. (I am assuming it would separate like it does with gas).
Pulled the line going to the fuel filter.. Flows like gangbusters. Assume no clog there. Pressed valve on fuelfilter and flows like crazy. Pulled the line exiting the fuel filter. Fuel drained from the line.Chased line to where its mounted on the engine and pulled it. Blew out the line with compressed air. Connected at the fuel filter and watched it flow. Reconnected.
Removed the airvent screw/cap. Broke it again. but kept it functional.Fired up the engine and waited for the fuel to get blown out of that vent. Inserted the neddle and screwed it back in place. Engine was running and stabilized. Replaced the cap since I broke off the thumb screw to keep the needle in place. Engine maintained PTO RPM. Closed everything back up. Pulled out of the shop and went to a dirt pile 1 min away. grabbed a full bucket of dirt.. Drive it another minute. Only slight drops in rpm. did a little dirt work. No bogging.

Thank you all for your prompt replies! Hope this helps someone else running into weird issues.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Chased line to where its mounted on the engine and pulled it. Blew out the line with compressed air. Connected at the fuel filter and watched it flow.

If you did what I think you did, you will very likely have issues down the line, as you very likely blew the check valves and or diaphragm out of the lift pump!
That pump does not like air compressor air.