MF148 cold starting...

[24/7 farming]

after a recent thermostat issue on out 148 were it appears to have stuck closed and resulted / aided in the head gasket blowing on the tractor it is now back on the road with the head having been skimmed, a full set of new valves and guides, injectors done, new thermostat and water pump, and is flying again.

while carrying out the works I had hoped it might also cure / improve a starting problem the tractor has had.... it does not like to start in the cold!! with daytime temperatures in and around the 15degree mark last week a touch of the key and the tractor started and was away, now that we have lost 10degrees or so in air temperature it becomes a whole mission again with the heater and a coughing a spluttering start, after 10-15secs it will recover and be fine.

have always assumed the poor starting was a compression issue, with close to 10khours on the clock it probably could do with some liners, rings, pistons etc,
I am just wondering tho, can a change of air temp of about 10degrees have such an influence on the starting ability of a tractor with low compression??, or might there be something else at fault...

 

[RobFZS]

in a simular situation with our 135 D: was gonna try a new glow plug, but looking at it, i don't think it has one D:

 

[Qman]

Put an Iskra starter motor on, it will spin it over faster. I've put one on my Perkins powered IH 475 and it now starts straight away.

 

[Mursal]

You should have fully battery voltage across the starter motor when cranking, you can check this with a cheap voltmeter. If you have not got this, you have bad or dirty connection between battery and starter or bad solenoid contacts. Even earth straps will cause this. Might even be worth cleaning the starter inside, checking the brushes for wear? Yes, temperature will affect starting, did you have a wee look to see if the heater was going on fire as it should? Sometimes working the hand primer before going for a start will prime the heater plug pipe with diesel.

 

[colhonk]

Never had any bother starting my 148, always instant whatever the weather,never used the cold start, must have a good compression and starter motor then.

 

[24/7 farming]

You should have fully battery voltage across the starter motor when cranking, you can check this with a cheap voltmeter. If you have not got this, you have bad or dirty connection between battery and starter or bad solenoid contacts. Even earth straps will cause this. Might even be worth cleaning the starter inside, checking the brushes for wear? Yes, temperature will affect starting, did you have a wee look to see if the heater was going on fire as it should? Sometimes working the hand primer before going for a start will prime the heater plug pipe with diesel.

must check the battery and connections, in the colder weather the battery might not be putting up the volts / amps needed to turn the engine over quick enough for a clean start? would anyone have any idea what amps should be in the battery for this tractor??

 

[Netherfield]

Typically for that tractor a '643' battery, depending on the make and quality between 90-110 Ah.

Check voltage at battery,check voltage at starter motor between earth and where the battery connects and then betwen earth and the other large terminal on the solenoid,all while cranking the engine.all voltages should be the same,if lower at the second check you have a bad connection in the wiring,if lower at the final check there is a bad connection in the solenoid,cured by replacing the contacts or replacing the entire solenoid.

 

[Netherfield]

One other thing,most vehicles have the earth from the battery connected somewhere close to it. I always used to make a new earth lead from the battery and connect the other end directly to the starter motor,either to the earth post or under one of the mounting bolts.

 

[agrimax]

With near 10k hrs on the clock it would be well worth a proper overhaul anyway. A decent overhaul kit is not expensive.The crankshaft journals will be oval too.Put a new one in and it'll be good for another 10k hrs.Under £500 should cover the parts and if everything's done up right, it should start without heat no matter what the weather.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

D

after a recent thermostat issue on out 148 were it appears to have stuck closed and resulted / aided in the head gasket blowing on the tractor it is now back on the road with the head having been skimmed, a full set of new valves and guides, injectors done, new thermostat and water pump, and is flying again.

while carrying out the works I had hoped it might also cure / improve a starting problem the tractor has had.... it does not like to start in the cold!! with daytime temperatures in and around the 15degree mark last week a touch of the key and the tractor started and was away, now that we have lost 10degrees or so in air temperature it becomes a whole mission again with the heater and a coughing a spluttering start, after 10-15secs it will recover and be fine.

have always assumed the poor starting was a compression issue, with close to 10khours on the clock it probably could do with some liners, rings, pistons etc,
I am just wondering tho, can a change of air temp of about 10degrees have such an influence on the starting ability of a tractor with low compression??, or might there be something else at fault...

Don't listen to what the others are telling you, basically it's buggered, but I don't like to see someone stuck, so I will give you 1k for it

 

[24/7 farming]

With near 10k hrs on the clock it would be well worth a proper overhaul anyway. A decent overhaul kit is not expensive.The crankshaft journals will be oval too.Put a new one in and it'll be good for another 10k hrs.Under £500 should cover the parts and if everything's done up right, it should start without heat no matter what the weather.

yep that is part of the long term plan!, also needing some cosmetic work done so plan is to spend a few months over the winter when tractor not needed and do all that is necessary... just need to find the time!! This latest repair was not a scheduled one!, so just done what was needed to get going again.

It was just that after it was all put back together and running again, the first time it was started from cold it fired on first turn of the key and we thought the starting problem had been solved!, it was only when the temps dropped back it struggled with starting again!

 

[24/7 farming]

D
Don't listen to what the others are telling you, basically it's buggered, but I don't like to see someone stuck, so I will give you 1k for it

lol, if i had got that offer the evening the head gasket went i might have taken it!!

 

[24/7 farming]

during surgery...

 

[agrimax]

What part of operations did the fencing pliers become required?

 

[Netherfield]

Radiator wants a good fettle as well.

 

[24/7 farming]

Radiator wants a good fettle as well.

not the most visually pleasing peace of engineering alright!, it fell out with a pretty hefty branch many many years ago i've been told and was patched together again with rad weld and been like that since! it was initially getting the blame for the overheating until we found the dodgy thermostat. the tractor did overheat two summers ago mowing hay on one of the hottest days of the year, the rad was taken off then and there was a ridiculous amount of crap washed out of it... checked it again this time but was grand, it does its job!! Never know though, if get around a major overhaul might treat it too a new one!

 

[Ley253]

When the head was off, did you check to see if the exhaust valve seats had sunk into the head? These engines seem prone to this, and they dont have to be down far to cause poor cold starting. For example,those on my engine had gone down over three mm. A further word of warning, if you get a black, mottled "plasticky" looking head gasket in the rebuild kit, Dont use it, it will fail. Mine did after less than a years ploughing matches, probably 60 hours. It was under a new head and was held by new studs and nuts!

 

[Mursal]

Well if it you are running a dynamo there's no way in the world the battery is fully charged unless you are cutting first cut with out and the engine is flat out? 20Amps maximum into the battery with the engine screaming, an alternator will put that in at tick over, as long as the revs put the warning light out. Try a donor battery in place if you have one, again be careful you have no voltage drops between the donor and the starter?

No tight tappets as the valve bed in?