Piper184

The fittings on my 284 with a Y385T engine were surprisingly 1/4″ NPT. Hope yours are too.

The valve in the oil filter is likely referring to the bypass valve that lets the engine get unfiltered oil should the filter become plugged. I wouldn’t dump oil back to the sump and cause no pressure. A plugged filter could cause low pressure though.

When you turn on the key switch but before you crank the engine, look to see if there is a light on the dash that comes on. The ones I have seen had a light for the alternator and one for the oil pressure in addition to the gauges. Mine has both and One time I got the wires mixed up between the sender and the switch for the light. Boy did that show some goofy readings until I figured it out!

OK, between I and II there should be a sediment bowl with a screen. This traps debris and water. Important thing to have.

VII is the hand pump or hand primer pump. It is mounted on the lift pump which is operated internally from the main injector pump. It probably has a plunger that runs off of a cam on the IP crankshaft.

The IP is connected to the gears under the housing on the left of this picture it is timed to the engine using the slots that mount it to the gear casing. On the right side of the IP is the governor inside the housing. More on that in a moment.

The hand pump is used by unscrewing it just like a bottle top. It is under spring tension and will pop up a little when unscrewed enough. This is used to prime fuel all the way though the IP. Both the hand pump and lift pump run fuel out III and up to the filter. From there it flows down to IV where it enters the IP.

V is the bleeder screw. You turn it open (counter clockwise) a half a turn or so and then pump the hand pump until all bubbles stop coming out of the bleeder. Then close the bleeder and push the hand pump plunger down against the spring and turn until it is tight. The engine should start puffing after a few seconds of cranking.

Side note here that is a bit of a controversy but Caterpillar recommends that fuel filters be put on empty, do not pre-fill as this increases the chance of dirt getting into the system on the IP side of the filter. Not good for the IP. Clean the old filter and housing. replace filter then use the hand pump to purge air from the system. Others will disagree and recommend pre-filling the filter.

Anyway VI is the injection lines leading to the injectors. You can crack the nut loose to make sure fuel is getting out of the IP at that point. You can also do this at the injector end of each line.

Two more things. The lever on the governor housing at the right of the IP is the throttle linkage. Stuck throttles are often caused by stuck governors. The governor is lubricated with oil that needs to be changed regularly. There is a drain plug on the bottom of the IP and there is a breather cap on the top of the governor that you remove to fill with fresh oil. Just use whatever engine oil you use. I change mine at each engine oil change. Anyway, there is a fitting to the left of the lift pump that looks like a screw with a short piece of pipe on it. There is a rubber cap that covers that pipe. When filling the governor you take the rubber cap off and fill until oil runs out of the pipe. Let it sit until it quits dripping before replacing the cap. This sets the correct oil level for the governor.

Above and behind (in this view) the throttle is the fuel cut off cable. This cable attaches to a lever that is spring loaded. When you pull the fuel cut off this lever is actuated, stopping the engine by cutting off the fuel internally in the IP. The lever turns a shaft that moves a rack inside. It is possible that the rack is stuck in the cut off position and you will not get any fuel out of the IP no matter how much you crank the engine. I would manually move that lever back and forth a few times to see how it feels. I have never had this problem and don’t know what it looks like internally but this pump is a knock off of a fairly standard Bosch pump and should be built the same way. A search for Bosch IP cut off rack should provide some answers. A stuck rack is not uncommon and will cause exactly the symptoms you are having.

Good luck and let us know what happens

No, it should not take 3 battery charges to get it to start. Don’t pay any attention to someone that gives that advice.

3 years is a very long time to sit with no fuel in the system. There may or may not be internal rust damage, but let’s skip over that for the moment.

The most common problem when you run out of fuel is air in the system that creates a blockage. As the injector pump tries to pressurize the fuel the air just compresses down and then pushes back when the pressure is released between strokes so the system just never gets full of fuel. Kind of like vapor lock on old cars with carbs. You need to find a way to let the air out.

Usually this is accomplished by loosening the line nut where it connects to the injector. Be sure to use two wrenches (line wrenches if you have them) when doing this so you don’t bend something. The nut only needs to be loose enough to let it leak at that fitting. Just break torque and maybe a half turn after that.

I would crack all of the injector nuts loose at the same time. Then crank the engine over for 5 or 10 seconds and watch for drips of fuel or bubbles. If you have a decompression lever, use that to let the starter spin faster.

Once you get solid fuel drips with no bubbles at an injector you can go ahead and tighten that one down. Keep going until you have fuel flowing at all of them.

There is a possibility that the injectors are stuck. We can cross that bridge if we need to.

Give this a try and let us know what happens. Post pictures of your pump and injectors if possible.

Good luck!

That is interesting. Thanks for posting.

The info I had indicated it was a one for one wire replacement.

I put a solenoid in my glow plug circuit years ago to take the strain off of the contacts in the key switch.

Glad you got it working.

Hi Dave,

No experience with the Ford switch but have saved the number just in case. My Jinma switch is working just fine after 14 years (I know I just jinxed it!)

I would suggest trying to spray some circuit cleaner into the switch. Likely just a little dirty inside. Could be the switch itself or just the key tumblers that are gummed up.