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Ford 4500 3 cylinder diesel Injection pump plungers stuck?

retired life

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
Messages
6
Location
Minnesota
Have a ford 3 cylinder diesel tractor that think the pump plungers are stuck. Plenty of fuel to pump and metering valve not stuck. Worked good till parked for awhile. Started and run and then stopped. No fuel to injectors. Don't think shaft is broke because can take out bleeder plug and will pump out some fuel. Wondering if anything you can do before taking pump off or taking apart? Have injector lines disconnected at pump---no fuel coming out when turned over
 

thepumpguysc

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
7,445
Location
Sunny South Carolina
Occupation
Master Inj.Pump rebuilder
Theres a "maybe" solution.. it might work or it might not..
Get a compressor & blow air into the hi pressure OUTLETS on the pump.. 1 @ a time..
The internals {rotor} needs to be in-line w/ one of the outlet ports in the head..
Seeing u don't know which one its lined up with.. blow them all..
U really should attempt this while slowly rotating the engine by hand.. but I wouldn't worry about THAT..
Just blow them all & then bleed the pump & try to start it..
IF & that's a BIG IF.. IF they arent stuck to bad, the air "MIGHT" force them apart..
Did u see any rust when u took the cover off to get to the mv.??
 

retired life

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
Messages
6
Location
Minnesota
Theres a "maybe" solution.. it might work or it might not..
Get a compressor & blow air into the hi pressure OUTLETS on the pump.. 1 @ a time..
The internals {rotor} needs to be in-line w/ one of the outlet ports in the head..
Seeing u don't know which one its lined up with.. blow them all..
U really should attempt this while slowly rotating the engine by hand.. but I wouldn't worry about THAT..
Just blow them all & then bleed the pump & try to start it..
IF & that's a BIG IF.. IF they arent stuck to bad, the air "MIGHT" force them apart..
Did u see any rust when u took the cover off to get to the mv.??
 

retired life

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
Messages
6
Location
Minnesota
Thanks for the reply---Little rust when I took the top cover off. Everything was moving freely inside of cover. I'll try the air next.
 

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
I always wonder if this might have worked for one I had before I had seen the video on how the pump works internally. Sadly I will never know because the engine has been disassembled for parts.
 

retired life

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
Messages
6
Location
Minnesota
Well, after hrs of taking it off and cleaning every part good, Inserting new orings and seals, putting it back together, it works just fine now. It was pretty dirty inside and looked like old fuel crud from sitting. I haven't had a chance to put it to work yet, but moved it from where it was and didn't miss a beat. The air trick wouldn't work and I tried several times by turning the engine by hand apply air. The injector pump is missing the ID tag, so is there anyway I can id it. All I can figure out is it must be a Ford Industrial 4500 with 3 cylinder diesel and around maybe 70-71=? The numbers between the fuel tank and starter are unreadable and so are most of the numbers under the hood. As far as I can make out on model number under the hood looks like-D5011A Thanks for everyone's input.
 

thepumpguysc

Senior Member
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Mar 18, 2010
Messages
7,445
Location
Sunny South Carolina
Occupation
Master Inj.Pump rebuilder
Without writing a book.. theres only about 3 pumps it could be..
Go to Broken Tractor & look at the pics & read the discriptions..
I've NEVER seen the "air trick" work either.. but its written all over the web..{by the same guy}
 

Check Break

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
Messages
468
Location
USA
The injector pump is missing the ID tag, so is there anyway I can id it. All I can figure out is it must be a Ford Industrial 4500 with 3 cylinder diesel and around maybe 70-71=? The numbers between the fuel tank and starter are unreadable and so are most of the numbers under the hood. As far as I can make out on model number under the hood looks like-D5011A

Ask this question on Yesterday's Tractors Ford forum. Someone will give you the info for your pump.
I'm of the belief that whacking the pump (reasonably) with a plastic deadblow hammer to separate it from the pump body will dislodge a plunger that's sticking. Might not be any more valid than the shop air trick.
 

Grady

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2012
Messages
573
Location
NH
re: "air trick"

"you can put air in the outlet connector once its lined up, but only a small amount of air gets past the delivery valve, and thus to the plungers. That is why I suggested the transfer pressure tap. You will get full air pressure to the pump plungers once the charging port is aligned, which is why it would have to be turned while applying air. After all this messing around, it still may not help."


"The delivery valve will not let the air go back to the plungers to force them out.
The cam ring also has the rollers, shoes and plungers held in too.
Feeding air through the injection line will not work."

These are a couple comments from another forum regarding applying air to the pump. Apparently, the transfer pressure tap is the place to apply the air pressure - not the high pressure outlets. It also seems like a method for something that just happened - not something that has sat for a long time or needs a rebuild. My $.02
 
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