[klaaar]

Our machine has about 500 hours on it. It runs rough and does not have power it once did. Also we have a lot of trouble starting it in the cold, even in the 20's. Fuel filter was changed recently. Priming will help for a few minutes, then problem returns.

Is there a procedure to bleed air trapped in the fuel system? Also, we can't find a plug on the machine to connect to an electrical outlet to heat the block.

Any ideas on this one? We have 2 solid weeks of work for this machine, and its gonna be cold.

[Robert T]

It sounds like the fuel system is sucking air. If the problem started when the filter was changed it is possible that there are 2 gaskets on it one from the old filter and the new one. I am just guessing.
Is it hard to get it primed with the hand pump?

[klaaar]

"Sucking air" makes sense. When using the hand primer, it does seem to take very long for stiffness to develop - come to think of it maybe it does not stiffen at all like it used to (no giggling, please).

I appreciate the input, friend.

[Nathaniel Carr]

I have a 277b that was not working above an idle even throttled up. I put a bottle of Diesel 911 in and let it sit. The temps rose and I ran it for a few hrs. Seems fine now. The consenses among the mechanics at the local shop and the CAT mechanics is that there is H2O in the system. They say that the new low sulfur Diesel is a little wet and that the machines are having a hard time with that in the cold.

Try the 911 and also look to the water seperator.

I'm no mechanic though so take it for what it is worth.

[wvbrian]

Be sure and keep your fuel tank fueled up every night when you shut it down. As the fuel cools, the condensation in the airspace in the tank parcipitates out, and water will get in your fuel

[Pelican]

How cold is it where you are? Have you only experienced the power loss since it has been cold? Once temps drop below 25 you can experience fuel gelling or waxing depending on fuel quality. What happens is the fuel starts to solidify and crystal, these crystals can clog the filter and the injectors resulting in a loss of power. In severe cases the machine will shut down altogether and can not be restarted without either being warmed or treating the fuel and replacing the filter. 911 fuel treatment is about the best there is, I've even heard cases where adding this to a frozen fuel system will melt the crystals and allow restarting. Follow the directions on the label and if you have a bulk tank, treat that as well.

[klaaar]

The problem at hand is not fuel gelling. We definitely learned the hard way last year about untreated fuel. The same machine was frozen up, and stranded deep in a golf course - 10" of concrete-like sleet stopping any vehicles from reaching it to warm it up or jump start it.

This problem showed up in the fall, and is a problem even during mild weather.

[Robert T]

Another idea i have is something is restricting the pick-up tube in the fuel tank. try taking the fuel line apart as close to the tank as possable and blow air back into tank.
inspect suction lines from the tank all the way to the head. Look for damp fuel lines or any kind of rub marks on them...

[NCSULandscaper]

why not just take it to the dealer and have it fixed?

[Lanelle]

Our CAT dealer is running a huge sale on service work so Matt's suggestion might not hurt as much as you expect.

[NCSULandscaper]

i just took my machine to the CAT dealer a month ago, they had to replace a joystick because of a bad aux. button for the hydraulics...........they replaced that, changed some filters, hooked it up to the comp to see what else could be wrong, and added a couple extra hydrailic switched on the control panel for some extra features........took 4 hours with parts and labor it only came to $443.........pretty cheap when ure dealing with large machinery and it got fixed right

[klaaar]

When this machine gets back into our shop, we'll try some of the approaches Robert T suggested. After that, I suppose its time to bite the bullet and drag it to the dealer (35 minutes). Now that I've been looking closely in the engine compartment, I see a slight coolant leak and what appears to be an oil leak.

Yesterday my right hand man put this machine up to the fuel separator in bog mud. Had to use a good-sized mini ex with chains to get it out. Lost hundreds of dollars in hours. Last night the mud froze solid and we had a bullet heater on each track for 40 minutes before we could run her. Had to rent a generator. Lost a few hundred more dollars. What a sweet couple of days.