Help! I Ran Out Of Fuel.... Now It Won't Start!

Diesel tractors are notoriously hard to start when out of fuel. If you are changing a fuel filter you can take some steps to help you easily get your tractor started again.

1- Fill your tank completely full of diesel if your tractor is gravity fed (no transfer pump)

2- Fill your fuel bowl as full of diesel as you can before installing it open the tractor.

3- Bleed out all of the air starting at the bleeder closest to the tank and work up to the injection pump. If you loosen the bleeder at the injection pump first you will likely never get anything as it has too far to go.

If you have already tried to start your tractor or you have ran out of fuel then you will need to bleed the air out of the injector lines as well. To do this, follow the procedures above, then loosen the steel injection lines where they attach to the injectors. You will not need to remove them completely- just a couple of turns will do it. Then crank over you engine at full throttle for 10 seconds, let the starter rest 5 minutes and then crank 10 more seconds. Tighten the lines back up and you should be ready to go.

As always, if you are not confident that you can do this work yourself, be sure to contact a mechanic or someone that knows what they are doing.