Jinma 454 stopped and I cannot start

if you can get some regulated compressed air to the tractor take the fuel cap NOT completely off and put about 5 psi in the tube that goes to the fuel tank . Take it easy not to much . of course make sure the fuel valve is open, but be ready to turn it off when air starts to free up the blockage on the screen in the tank. when freed up put a hose on the fuel source and drain into can .  let fuel settle and look at it for trash and water . Also a remote fuel tank could be put on the tractor temp. to get it to run to  a better location to work on ,if needed . and either pump the tank dry or use air to get the fuel flowing and drain the tank that way. check fuel for water and junk again , remove valve from tank clean screen and flush tank. replace any filters or screens that are questionable. good filters are your friend.

Here’s a quick read that will explain your issue. After you do as David suggests you will need to dose your fresh fuel with a biocide. Check for brown or black sludge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_contamination_of_diesel_fuel

I recommend Hammond’s Biobor JF mainly from my experience from using it on ships, treating 110,000 gallon fuel tanks, and my personal fuel storage tank for my equipment. There may be slightly cheaper alternatives but I cannot personally vouch for them.

Hammond’s also has a test kit to determine if you actually need to treat your fuel.

This pic is of a fuel centrifuge sludge tank full of diesel bugs that were removed from fuel. Nasty. The red stuff is fuel.

There isn’t anything available that I’m aware of that will dissolve dead bugs. If there was we would be using it, believe me. I have had to send men into the deep tanks once they were emptied and mucked out by hand once they were washed and vacuumed. I have personally witnessed those bugs bring a 10,000 hp diesel to it’s knees, with subsequent $24,000 damage to the fuel system. In another situation they almost caused the loss of a 600 psig steam plant because they were plugging the strainers to the burners that were firing at 30 gpm. If you do some research you’ll discover what a menace they are and the type of damage they can do. The trick is to keep your fuel clean and free of moisture. Keep your tank full if you aren’t going to use the tractor. Now, in your case you will have to thoroughly clean your tank, fuel lines, primary (sediment bowl screen and lift pump screens) and replace the secondary fuel filters before you put fresh fuel in. The live bugs are brown, dead ones are black, and you could have a combination of both. I don’t mean to be an alarmist but they are corrosive and can ruin your fuel injection pump and injectors.

One thing is that they(DA BUGS) must have some water to survive so keep the fuel water free. I would suggest any bulk fuel tank and the tractor be under cover and I am not suggesting a tarp. A roof.

I second what David said.

A lot of people don’t realize that a tarp, while keeping the rain off, also traps moisture, a lot of it, in the form of condensation. Even a tarp lean-to is better than a draped tarp because it doesn’t trap moisture.

sometimes the valve turn offs are backwards from how you would think they would work.  use regulated air(around 5 psi or so) to blow out the valve it could be that the valve has a internal blockage. You can leave the banjo bolt ,hose clamp at the fuel filter loose the let out air to help purge and get it flowing. Email deprivett@yahoo.com

I see lots of live active bugs, the brown sludge. No doubt your tank walls are lined with them.

You are not going to get fuel through the hard lines with the priming pump, so don’t even try. There is a bleeder screw on the side of the fuel injection pump and on top of the secondary filter housing (this filter is probably plugged as well). I suggest you make a temporary fuel tank from a 2 liter container so you can move the tractor.

CalMiller wrote:

Bob, I attached a couple of pics and have few more questions. I see the bleeder screw on the side behind the manual pump, but I have not been able to break it loose.

Instead of the slotted screw on the side you can use the hex screw to the left of the first injector line, or you can just loosen the banjo bolt to the left of it.

Where is the secondary filter you mention in above?

The secondary fuel filter is the spin-on, the bleeder screw is in the head. The only thing you have for a primary filter is the screens in the tank, sediment bowl, and priming pump banjo fitting. And these will have to be thoroughly cleaned as well.

If I get a temp tank set up, where do I connect it in to get temporary operation with the problems I have?

Connect it to the suction side of the priming pump, the side that goes to the sediment bowl, but don’t connect it to the sediment bowl.

Quote

the banjo fitting at the lift pump might have a screen in it, and that is a good place to put your temp. fuel line. I have put the compression sleeve of the fittings on a grinder went thru it and then used standard hose clamps on the nipple. This can only be done before pump all gravity.

no problem ,what I did not ask was do you have a bulk fuel storage tank ,if so check it out really well. If you get your fuel by the can, make sure your fuel source tanks have not went under water by a flood.(that happened here in the area caused a lot of grief) I would check out the two screens and spin on filter again in less that 10 hrs. even if the tractor is not giving you issues at that time just to see if things are cleaned up.(peace of mind).  And think of how the water got in the fuel to begin with , see if you can figure it out to prevent it happening again. good luck

I forgot to answer the rinse question, If the tank comes out easily  acetone, lacquer  thinner, MEK and nuts and bolts. I think any of these oxidizers will kill them bugs . Shake well  NO SPARKS PLEASE ,repeat as necessary. Try to protect the paint . Let air dry.. Bob might chime in with a safer method.

diesel is not like gas it will store much longer than gas will, I have heard that it stores better in steel cans than plastic ( I think this is true with gas too). And full is always better to help curb condensation . Maybe a diesel additive would not hurt either as a winterizer. Read the labels try to find the best one for you and try to ignore the B.S. in the advertising. Glad you got it going.

Cal, My 454 died a few times last week as I was closing up my summer house in Nova Scotia.
I was not getting fuel up to the injectors which I cracked open and the hand pump didnt seem to be working. I’ll bet my in line screen to the pump is clogged. I have always experienced good pressure while using the hand pump. I had to leave it in the barn in non working condition as I had no more time to work on it. Any tips appreciated…Scott

Cal, with these small tanks it’s best if you can remove them to clean them. Best way is to use a sewer cleaning tip with your pressure washer, with all tank hoses and fittings removed. That’s as close to Butterworthing as you can get inexpensively. Next best would be a high pressure spray from a garden hose with the tank upside down until you get clear water coming from the fill pipe. After that, turn the tank right side up and apply heat lamps for as long as it takes to thoroughly heat the tank and evaporate any moisture. You will need to change your spin on filter because you found bugs in it. Remember, they are very corrosive. In my case I found they badly pitted the valve seats in my lift/priming pump to the point where it wouldn’t pump at all – had to replace the pump (I have since removed the manual lift/priming pump and replaced with an electric pump).

Good advice from Bob. I think it is only a 4 gallon tank held down with two straps. You will probably have to at least loosen the instrument portion of the hood to get it out. Once out you can pressure wash it or rinse it out to get the bulk of the crud out.

I would then get a length of small chain at least a couple of feet long and put in the tank. Then block off the openings and fill half way with water and some Dawn dish soap. Cap it off and shake, rattle, and roll your way to cleanliness. You may have to do that a few times. Once it appears clean inside, rinse thoroughly with clean hot water.

Use compressed air to blast out as much water as possible then you can pour in some acetone and “swish and spit” a few times to get rid of any left over water. Pure alcohol will do the same as it will absorb water up to about 10%. Then some more compressed air sh0uld do the trick. (don’t forget to recover the chain).

Put back in tractor and ready to go.

Since I have not had the pleasure of diesel bugs, Bob do you have to do anything to clean the inside of the hoses and pipes? New filters all around for sure!

Will the bugs pass through a filter?

Unfortunately yes, the bugs will pass through a filter. It’s when the filters are overcome that they begin to back up and clog. These are microscopic, so when you see sludge that means there are literally zillions of them. And yes, the fuel lines should be flushed and cleaned as well. After everything is cleaned and reinstalled on the tractor, the fresh fuel must still be treated with the biocide for at least two tankfuls, and monitored (for at least as long, to make sure they haven’t reoccurred). Kind of a time consuming and expensive process, but it’s a lesson learned, and it’s still cheaper than replacing a fuel injection pump and a set of injectors.

Only problem with using compressed air to blow out the tank is that it too contains a lot of moisture, unless you have an air dryer system. I would still use the heat lamps, regardless.

True on the moisture in compressed air. Not as much of an issue this time of year depending on where you live I guess. That is why a shot of acetone or alcohol works great. Even if it picks up a few bits of water it will hold it when mixed with fuel.

Learned this trick in chemistry class after we scrubbed the glassware clean we did a final rinse with distilled water then a small shot of acetone swish and dump, water was gone and no contamination from wiping with a cloth or paper towel.

These bugs sound nasty enough that I might consider replacing all the hoses just for good measure. Hard lines are a little different. Remove and scrub with a really small bottle brush or really long pipe cleaner? What kills the bugs, bleach, acid, alkaline solution? Need something that won’t harm the pipes and hoses.

All this reminds me it is time to go to town and get a load of winter mix for the tractor…

A fuel biocide treatment is the only thing I know of that is cost effective and safe for all components. There are quite a few in the consumer lines but I recommend Hammond’s Biobor because it is used by the Navy and Air Force, and I have personal first hand experience with it at work treating 100,000 gallon fuel tanks on ships. It is also used at the fuel dock tank farms in Seattle.

That’s why subsequent dosings of fresh fuel and monitoring is recommended after a system clean out to allow the remaining dead bugs to pass through. Yeah, they are pretty nasty and very destructive. Don’t think I would bother with the pipe cleaners and brushes though. We have 1″ hard piped fuel lines everywhere, so that’s not going to happen. We also centrifuge our fuel but even that doen’t get them all.