Ford 3000 fuel tank R/R and fuel system

[mx842]

Hey guy's, my hunt club owns a Ford 3000 diesel tractor that has been used and neglected. I am the chosen one that has the task of getting it running again.
To start off with it had a leaking fuel shut off valve. I replaced it along with the fuel and oil change. Once done I noticed it still had a leak somewhere that turned out to be a pin hole in the fuel tank. When I changed the fuel filter, I noticed it had some water and rust in the old one and figured I would just run it then change it again after 4 or 5 hours run time.
I blead the system and got it running and it seemed to run ok for about 30 minutes then shut down. It seemed like it just ran out of fuel so I blead the system again and started it back up but would do the same thing again. I loaded it on the trailer and brought it to my shop. When I changed the fuel filter I drained and flushed the fuel tank before I blead the system with hopes of keeping any water and rust out of the fuel lines but now I'm thinking something had already passed through and has stopped something up down line hopefully not the injection pump itself.
I was thinking since I had the hood off anyway, I would change the fuel lines going to and from the pump and possibly the injectors also.
I hate to think about it but I suspect the pump itself is bad, but I don't have any way to check it. My shop burned down last Dec. along with every tool I ever had, and I haven't had time or the money to replace most of what I lost. My insurance co has been really slow but they are finally turning loose a little money here and there so I'm starting to replace some of the things I need to do basic stuff. I'm ordering a service manual off this site and hopefully it will tell what tools I need to check the fuel system.
I'm hoping that someone can give mt a few tips on replacing the fuel tank and checking the fuel system while I'm waiting to get my manual.

 

[Abbby]

Can you explain how you drained the old fuel from the system? I acquired a non running dsl that has not ran for a while and would also like to drain out old without making a big mess. Thinking about just adding fresh and seeing if it will start. Not sure how good dsl keeps.

 

[sweetskillsrk]

Sorry to hear about your shop! Insurance companies love to take your money but don't want anything to do with paying out. Luckily, I've never needed my insurance over the years, but had plenty of friends have a rough go at it with their insurance provider.

I have a gas 3000 personally so I cannot speak to your diesel specific questions, however, if it were me, I'd bite the bullet and do a fuel system clean out, before you spend a pile of money on parts. Drain the fuel, remove the tank, and then seal it with POR15's fuel tank sealer kit. POR15 products are pricey, but their quality you won't find anywhere else. POR15 stuff is a one and done, no need to have to reseal/repaint, ever. While you're fixing the tank, take your fuel lines loose and blow through them to clean any junk out and make sure the lines are clear. Hopefully with a clean tank, you removed the source of your contaminates and she'll run. I'm with you, I sure hope you don't have to do an injection pump rebuild (one of the many reasons I stuck with a gas tractor). Hopefully that helps, keep us in the loop, we'll help as much as we can.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I bought a beat up 3000 for the diesel engine
once.
It had sat for 13 years. The tank was nearly
full of fuel.
I drained some of the fuel out and it looked
and smelled fine. I added the recommended
dose of Power Service to it and used all of
it in my other tractor.

 

[Eman85]

(quoted from post at 15:08:28 09/05/23) Can you explain how you drained the old fuel from the system? I acquired a non running dsl that has not ran for a while and would also like to drain out old without making a big mess. Thinking about just adding fresh and seeing if it will start. Not sure how good dsl keeps.

It doesn't "keep" well at all. I would not fool around and chance putting contaminated fuel through the fuel system. If you have an old tractor big messes are no big deal but you should be able siphon most of it without making a mess.

 

[mx842]

(quoted from post at 15:08:28 09/05/23) Can you explain how you drained the old fuel from the system? I acquired a non running dsl that has not ran for a while and would also like to drain out old without making a big mess. Thinking about just adding fresh and seeing if it will start. Not sure how good dsl keeps.

I guess I should have been clearer. I needed to replace the fuel shutoff valve and when you take that out pretty much anything in the tank will come out. I strained the fuel through a piece of fine mesh wire screen. I let it sit in the can for a couple hours so that any water would settle to the bottom, I then pumped about 3/4's of that into another can through a shop towel hoping to trap anything that might have slipped through the mesh screen. I held the pickup to the pump about 4" off the bottom so that It didn't pick up any of the water that had settled to the bottom. I then dumped this back into the tank and sloshed it around to flush out any remaining stuff that may have been left behind. This is when I found out that the tank had a hole in it because once all the crud that was on the bottom was gone a little leak turned into a larger one.
I had removed the fuel line right at the injector pump and blew air through it. I also removed the lines from the pump to the injectors and blew them out also. I'm thinking that is about all that you can do without pulling the pump off and going through that. I would rather not have to do that because you would possibly run into all sorts of other issues you didn't have before. If these pumps are like the other injector pumps, I have been around you have to be really careful because you can run into timing issues.

This post was edited by mx842 on 09/06/2023 at 10:14 am.

 

[mx842]

(quoted from post at 19:51:03 09/05/23) Sorry to hear about your shop! Insurance companies love to take your money but don't want anything to do with paying out. Luckily, I've never needed my insurance over the years, but had plenty of friends have a rough go at it with their insurance provider.

I have a gas 3000 personally so I cannot speak to your diesel specific questions, however, if it were me, I'd bite the bullet and do a fuel system clean out, before you spend a pile of money on parts. Drain the fuel, remove the tank, and then seal it with POR15's fuel tank sealer kit. POR15 products are pricey, but their quality you won't find anywhere else. POR15 stuff is a one and done, no need to have to reseal/repaint, ever. While you're fixing the tank, take your fuel lines loose and blow through them to clean any junk out and make sure the lines are clear. Hopefully with a clean tank, you removed the source of your contaminates and she'll run. I'm with you, I sure hope you don't have to do an injection pump rebuild (one of the many reasons I stuck with a gas tractor). Hopefully that helps, keep us in the loop, we'll help as much as we can.

Yeah insurance companies can be a real big pain. This might be a good time to bring this up. If you guys haven't done this before it might be a real good time to go through your shops and see what is really in there and make adjustment to your insurance policies. Most people have no idea what the value is of the stuff that is there. I know I didn't, I had no idea that I had over a half million dollars in tools and machines in that building. Insurance only covers a certain percentage of what it would take to replace the Contance of the main dwelling when it comes to unattached buildings on your property. Rider policies are a really good idea for big ticket items that you have laying around.
I thought about sealing that tank but it has to come out to do that and from what I'm looking at, it's going to be a real pain to get it out. A sealer kit is over $80 and a new tank is only around $140.00 so it didn't really make sense to pull it out then spend three or four days sealing the old one. I thought about it though.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Two Ford tanks ago I brought a new tank customer pay it did not fit worth a chit but I kept playing with it till I could get the fuel cap on.

Next tank was on my own tractor so I took the time to line it. I was surprised how well it went right back on : ) it was a perfect fit. Note that's why I went the extra mile, I knew it was gonna fit.

I doubt folks could afford to pay me to line a tank if you do it correctly its quite a chore. $140 is a deal even if you have to fight the fit. One fight for sure either way is the steering wheel has to come off, my tip don't tug, pull are hammer on the wheel are you may cause other issues to the power steering.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 15:08:28 09/05/23) Can you explain how you drained the old fuel from the system? I acquired a non running dsl that has not ran for a while and would also like to drain out old without making a big mess. Thinking about just adding fresh and seeing if it will start. Not sure how good dsl keeps.

Diesel will kepp almost indefinitely, unless it gets water in it, and then the water will be all crap but the fuel on top will still be good. I have had good success siphoning the crud on the bottom.

 

[Eman85]

(quoted from post at 05:12:56 09/09/23)

(quoted from post at 15:08:28 09/05/23) Can you explain how you drained the old fuel from the system? I acquired a non running dsl that has not ran for a while and would also like to drain out old without making a big mess. Thinking about just adding fresh and seeing if it will start. Not sure how good dsl keeps.

Diesel will kepp almost indefinitely, unless it gets water in it, and then the water will be all crap but the fuel on top will still be good. I have had good success siphoning the crud on the bottom.

Fuel is about $4 a gallon why would anyone take a chance of using suspect fuel? Just the price of a fuel filter alone makes it worth throwing old fuel away and using fresh.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 08:53:21 09/09/23)

(quoted from post at 05:12:56 09/09/23)

(quoted from post at 15:08:28 09/05/23) Can you explain how you drained the old fuel from the system? I acquired a non running dsl that has not ran for a while and would also like to drain out old without making a big mess. Thinking about just adding fresh and seeing if it will start. Not sure how good dsl keeps.

Diesel will kepp almost indefinitely, unless it gets water in it, and then the water will be all crap but the fuel on top will still be good. I have had good success siphoning the crud on the bottom.

Fuel is about $4 a gallon why would anyone take a chance of using suspect fuel? Just the price of a fuel filter alone makes it worth throwing old fuel away and using fresh.

Sooooo do you change yours out every month perhaps?? Why take chances???

 

[mx842]

I guess it's time for an update. I finally got the time to start on my project. After a six pac and a whole lot of really colorful words I got the hood off and the tank out. I was a real bear because of the way some of the bolts were positioned. I bought a new cap and fuel guage along with another fuel shut off valve. At first I thought the threads on the valve were wrong because it just didn't want to screw into the tank. After looking at it for a while I decided to run a thread chase through the threaded hole and then it went in ok, it was still a little tight, but I got it in there. The gauge was fairly straight forward. The return line fitting on the new tank was larger than the old one But I just went to advance and got a short piece of 1/4" fuel line and put two hose clamps on the tiny 1/8th " metal return line and it seemed to tighten up enough, hopefully it won't leak.
The steering wheel came off fairly easy, I guess because I had been putting Kroil oil on it for three days in a row before I attempted to pull it off. I had to take a center bit and drill a small indexing hole in the center, so the puller had something to bite into and keep it centered.
I was thinking I was going to have a really hard time getting the tank mounted and the rear hood back in place but I was lucky because a friend just happened to come by and I sweet talked him into helping me get it back on. Actually, I don't think I would have been able to get it bolted back up if he had not drifted by when he did. Still it took the better part of an hour to get it together. I had one small problem getting the tank bolted in. This tank was supposed to be a direct drop-in for this tractor but the bottom bolt hole was a good 1 1/2" off. I left it off for the time being thinking I could drill another hole latet on. I'm going to call Yesterday's tractor parts and ask about that option before I do in case I have to send it back.
Getting the rear hood back in place was the hardest part because of the way the wiring was run and I had to put it on and take it off several times before I could get it to fit. I still don't know what I'm going to end up with when I try to get it started. Also I'll have to loosen the tank up and put some shims in one side to get it to where I can get the fuel cap on without a bit of a struggle.
Oh, an I think I found the problem of why it was shutting down. When I replaced that leaking valve, I drained that tank and flushed It three times and thought I had gotten all the loose stuff off the bottom but as fate would have it there was still more in there and it made its way to the valve and stopped it up. I don't know how any fuel at all could get by but there was just enough getting by to prime the system and get it started. That's a load off my mind knowing I probably won't have to replace the injector pump. I'm still going to replace the lines going to the injectors though.
I'll check back in when I get her running.

 

[mx842]

(quoted from post at 08:14:18 09/14/23) I guess it's time for an update. I finally got the time to start on my project. After a six pac and a whole lot of really colorful words I got the hood off and the tank out. I was a real bear because of the way some of the bolts were positioned. I bought a new cap and fuel guage along with another fuel shut off valve. At first I thought the threads on the valve were wrong because it just didn't want to screw into the tank. After looking at it for a while I decided to run a thread chase through the threaded hole and then it went in ok, it was still a little tight, but I got it in there. The gauge was fairly straight forward. The return line fitting on the new tank was larger than the old one But I just went to advance and got a short piece of 1/4" fuel line and put two hose clamps on the tiny 1/8th " metal return line and it seemed to tighten up enough, hopefully it won't leak.
The steering wheel came off fairly easy, I guess because I had been putting Kroil oil on it for three days in a row before I attempted to pull it off. I had to take a center bit and drill a small indexing hole in the center, so the puller had something to bite into and keep it centered.
I was thinking I was going to have a really hard time getting the tank mounted and the rear hood back in place but I was lucky because a friend just happened to come by and I sweet talked him into helping me get it back on. Actually, I don't think I would have been able to get it bolted back up if he had not drifted by when he did. Still it took the better part of an hour to get it together. I had one small problem getting the tank bolted in. This tank was supposed to be a direct drop-in for this tractor but the bottom bolt hole was a good 1 1/2" off. I left it off for the time being thinking I could drill another hole latet on. I'm going to call Yesterday's tractor parts and ask about that option before I do in case I have to send it back.
Getting the rear hood back in place was the hardest part because of the way the wiring was run and I had to put it on and take it off several times before I could get it to fit. I still don't know what I'm going to end up with when I try to get it started. Also I'll have to loosen the tank up and put some shims in one side to get it to where I can get the fuel cap on without a bit of a struggle.
Oh, and I think I found the problem of why it was shutting down. When I replaced that leaking valve, I drained that tank and flushed It three times and thought I had gotten all the loose stuff off the bottom but as fate would have it there was still more in there and it made its way to the valve and stopped it up. I don't know how any fuel at all could get by but there was just enough getting by to prime the system and get it started. That's a load off my mind knowing I probably won't have to replace the injector pump. I'm still going to replace the lines going to the injectors though.
I'll check back in when I get her running.

Well, a new problem has popped up. once I got a good stream of fuel going to the pump I ended up with a pretty good leak at the pump. I was trying to find it when my lines came in. I had suspected I had a leak where the #1-cylinder line went into the pump, so I replaced the injector lines first. I also had a small leak at the return line going back to the filter so while I was at it I was going to un-seat the banjo bolt where the return line went to the pump and it was so tight the whole fitting where it goes into the side of the pump un-seated and now a small leak is a big one, so now I will need to replace that also. I remember now those lines were on so tight I left them alone for fear of either twisting the line off or exactly what just happened.
This thing is really being a pain, every time I fix one thing something else screws up. Hopefully if the bank account holds out along with my patients, I might get this thing fixed someday.

This post was edited by mx842 on 09/27/2023 at 10:51 am.