Got me another project.

[wlhequipment]

Early to mid '80s (guessing there) Deere 401C diesel followed me home today. It runs but needs sleeve orings. The coolant dumps into the pan and turns the oil into a milkshake. It's got about 5K hours on the clock, and seems complete. It's a stout little machine. That front axle is beefy for such a small tractor. I'm excited to tear into it!

 

[wlhequipment]

Can someone set me straight here? Stanadyne pump, no pump output - no cheech. So I took the governor cover off, cleaned it out, dumped in some fresh fuel. Cranked it, and no new fuel is being brought into the pump body. With the cover off, it should have overflowed. It didn't. I took the inlet cover off, expecting to see a vane pump that's seized or trashed or something, but the vane pump is fine. So have a look at the pics. If I put shop air into the pump where the red circle is, shouldn't I see bubbles coming up in the governor chamber?

 

[56wrench]

Does that engine not have a fuel transfer pump on it and is it ok?

 

[wlhequipment]

Does that engine not have a fuel transfer pump on it and is it ok?

It's got an engine driven lift pump on the engine and a vane pump in the Stanadyne.

 

[wlhequipment]

To answer my own question, yes it should. The fuel circuit splits off in the pump housing. One branch goes to the metering valve and on to the pumping elements, and one branch goes through a 12-pt screw in the bottom of the pump housing, through a little check valve in that screw, and into the governor housing. That screw was blocked with rust and debris, so my governor housing wasn't getting fuel, and the passageways in the pump head and the plungers were so gummed, fuel wasn't going that way either. I've attached a pick of the pump head. It's pretty bad. I'm not sure it's salvageable at this point, but I'm going to keep trying to clean it up, and see what happens.

 

[wlhequipment]

This is my brilliant photography and artistic skills in one! I was cleaning out the pump head, and I took out the 3 screws, at location A, B and C to clean out the passages. In the background, it's blurry I'm sorry, is a little rod that fell out of one of those locations. I wasn't watching for it, and out it came. Can anyone tell me what hole it came from? There are 2 that are long enough to fit it in.

 

[wlhequipment]

That rod fits in A or B. C is too short of a hole. FYI.

 

[wlhequipment]

Is that called the vent wire?

 

[Acecadet]

In the parts breakdown from Deere it shows the dowel opposite the set screw side. So I would say hole “A”

 

[mg2361]

It runs but needs sleeve orings. The coolant dumps into the pan and turns the oil into a milkshake.

It more than likely needs liners with that many hours. I bet there is pitting deep enough to go through the liner causing your milkshake issue.

 

[wlhequipment]

In the parts breakdown from Deere it shows the dowel opposite the set screw side. So I would say hole “A”

View attachment 300742

Thank you so much! I looked on Deere's site and they didn't have anything published for the 401C. The pic is blurry just like mine are. I thought it was me, but it must be this site. It looks like 1 and 3 are the screws, but it looks like 2 and 4 are dowels maybe? And what's 5?

 

[wlhequipment]

It more than likely needs liners with that many hours. I bet there is pitting deep enough to go through the liner causing your milkshake issue.

I took care of a customers 410 a year or so ago, and he had used regular glycol antifreeze for years. Up until that point I had heard of wet sleeve cavitation, just never seen it. It was wild that the holes not only went all the way through, but they looked like little funnels. Wider on the outside of the sleeve (coolant side), and down to a pinhole on the piston side. I was all excited when I saw it, it was just that fascinating. The owner was a little less excited.

 

[wlhequipment]

In the parts breakdown from Deere it shows the dowel opposite the set screw side. So I would say hole “A”

View attachment 300742

It also looks like 1 is a slightly bigger screw than 3. That's also a clue. "A" (in my pic) is a bigger screw than the others.

 

[wlhequipment]

I found the diagram on Deere's site. I don't know why I couldn't find it before...

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/59829/referrer/navigation/pgId/171841

anyway the diagram shows #1 as a screw, and shows 2 required, so that would mean it's one of the smaller ones, and that would make it B. It also shows #4 as a retainer, and it looks stacked in with the dowel, which is not there as far as I can tell. Well, I have confused the hell out of myself.

 

[thepumpguysc]

Your vent wire retainer goes in B..
The vent wire itself is probably stuck in the head.. there’s a special tool that will take it out.
U need to seal the threads on all 3 screws when you put it back together.. do not use loc-tite..
Had u started your thread about inj pump problems I would have been here sooner..
I usually skip over any thread that list just the engine or say nothing about inj pumps.!!!

 

[wlhequipment]

Your vent wire retainer goes in B..
The vent wire itself is probably stuck in the head.. there’s a special tool that will take it out.
U need to seal the threads on all 3 screws when you put it back together.. do not use loc-tite..
Had u started your thread about inj pump problems I would have been here sooner..
I usually skip over any thread that list just the engine or say nothing about inj pumps.!!!

Hey! I was hoping you were still around . So that rod is the retainer? So the vent wire itself is buried deeper in B? Thank again!

 

[thepumpguysc]

Yes.. a lot of times if u slam the head WITHOUT THE ROTOR, flat on a table.. 2-3x it’ll come out..

 

[wlhequipment]

Yes.. a lot of times if u slam the head WITHOUT THE ROTOR, flat on a table.. 2-3x it’ll come out..

Very cool thank you so much.

 

[thepumpguysc]

If u get it out, run your fingers up and down the wire (both) and take off any burrs that u feel.. Normally a wire wheel will pull them off, but if not, it’s acceptable to touch it/them to a grinder..
DO NOT LETM FLY.!! Hold on tight..you’ll never find it/them.

 

[wlhequipment]

If u get it out, run your fingers up and down the wire (both) and take off any burrs that u feel.. Normally a wire wheel will pull them off, but if not, it’s acceptable to touch it/them to a grinder..
DO NOT LETM FLY.!! Hold on tight..you’ll never find it/them.

I whacked it alright. Whacked it good. Whacked it until my hands hurt. For the life of me, I can't tell if anything's in that hole, and possibly more importantly, whatever it is, isn't coming out. I think I found a reference to the tool I need to extract it. What is a vent wire, and is it something I really need to remove?