Takeuchi TL140 Losing power going downhill

[jkb5036]

Hello.

I have a TL140 that I've posted about previously. It's been running great for a few years now but this past week it has been bogging down when I go downhill. It seems like it's losing fuel supply. I'll be driving on a slight grade downhill and it will bog down. When I get it turned around (very slow) and head back uphill, it regains power and runs like a new one.

Things I've done:
Fuel Filter
Electric Fuel Pump Filter
Drained tank (nothing found)
Cleaned separater (some debris)
Removed suction line from bottom of tank and blew it out from where it connects to the separater.

It has approx. 15 gallons in the tank right now and is still doing it.

I'm baffled right now. I'm going to replace the electric pump next. I'm thing maybe it doesn't have enough power to pull the fuel up the line when the backend of the skid loader it higher. Anyone else have any ideas??

Thank you.
Jerod

 

[Ronsii]

Does it make any difference on a full tank of fuel? and is the fuel tank completely secured so it cannot shift around? I've done a bit of work on a tl150 but never seen anything like this...


EDIT: I see in your other thread you had electrical issues due to corrodentia... is there any chance this is related maybe the power to the fuel pump is getting interrupted from a failed fix... or some groundhog dinner spot you missed...

 

[jkb5036]

Thanks for the reply Ronsii.

I'm still trending it to see when exactly it starts happening. It seems like it only does it only when it's been running for 2 hours or longer. If I fill it up after it starts bogging down, it still shows the same symptoms.

You have a good point about the wiring issues I've previously had, and maybe they are related. I may try running a new wire directly from switch to the fuel pump since the harness is so hard to trace. However, if I shut the machine off when it's bogging down and then turn the switch back to the ON position, I can hear the fuel pump running...

 

[f311fr1]

Electric fuel lift pumps can run but be weak. My ASV RC85 got where it was hard to start. You could hear the furl pump running with the switch on and fuel returing to tank. I put my spare pump on and problem solved. Amazon had a good deal on replacement pumps, $52.00 VS $325.00 from Perkins.

 

[DMiller]

Chances are you have something shifting as the nose drops, that will be the culprit.

 

[MasonMike]

Did you ever figure it out? Im having the exact same issue with my tl140 and am completely lost. Ive tried everything i can think of.

 

[Bls repair]

Water in fuel filter or water separator?

 

[BTallant]

I’m dealing with the same problem myself. Anyone come up with a solution?

 

[DMiller]

Would these machines have a ground speed circuit controller? Do they do this in Forward and Reverse?

 

[BTallant]

Mine seems to do it most when the nose of the machine is downhill and the engine is under load. I don’t think they have a ground speed controller but I could be wrong.

 

[DMiller]

I would be contact a service dealer as to safety features to prevent tip over, some form of weight on lift arms to angle of operation safety. Have you operated empty bucket in same conditions, is the speed reduction repeatable then?

 

[jimpad]

Anyone get this figured out, mine does it too.

 

[heymccall]

I get tired of showing pictures of a partially plugged inlet to water separator.

If you haven't physically run a wire through the inlet elbow, you haven't been thorough enough.

 

[jimpad]

Yea, I'm familiar with that... mine's clean. I'm starting to think it might be hot fuel... does it after a couple hours of running. What I don't understand is it only does it when going downhill.

 

[jimpad]

Anyone get this figured out?

 

[Delmer]

You could check this thread, post #7. Not your exact problem, but might be the same cause.

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/rough-running-and-stalling-out-under-load.34307/

There's two general causes, lack of fuel, or overloaded engine (simple right?). If the engine is overloaded, I expect to see some dark smoke, especially if it slows down close to low idle speed under load. If you can't see at least some color and the heat in the exhaust, then I guess fuel. If you see black smoke as the engine is lugging down, then I guess hydraulic. plenty of threads on Takuechis with hydraulic issues similar to this...

 

[jimpad]

For me, as well as most others in this thread, it's definately a fuel issue. If I'm going to be doing any downhill work I have to have the fuel tank topped off and then I can get about 5 gallons or work out of it before it needs to be topped off again. Symptom is, when it's front downhill the engine goes to a stuttering idle until I can get it turned around with the front uphill, then it goes back to full speed.

 

[Delmer]

That's valuable info. I'd say that #7 post would be the first place I'd look, or any rubber or plastic in the fuel system. even steel lines can crack, but they show the leaks more too.

 

[jimpad]

I've been into that filter prolly 10 times... it used to accumulate some crud at the banjo fittings which I thought for sure was the problem. But I've been into it so many times I think I finally got all the crud out of the system because lately it's always clean.

I can't imagine a cracked line would be attitude problem but I'll give em a check.

It seems to me like something is floating in the fuel tank and when it gets down to 2/3 full the floater covers the tank outlet. I've blown the supply line from the tank out many times with no noticeable change. Also, I've checked banjo fittings at screw on element filter.

Another thing I've wondered about is the fuel temperature... might it be getting hot and causing a problem? But this too doesn't seem like attitude would affect it.

 

[jimpad]

FIXED! Intermittent lift pump.