Any diesel mechanic's here?

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L

Lancester

Guest
I have a '78 Ford 555 backhoe with the 3 cylinder, non-turbo engine. When cold the engine lopes pretty good, sort of missing. I suspect a bad injector. What could I do to diagnose this myself? Also, once the machine get's hot it is VERY hard to steer. I'm guessing it's the power steering pump, but I'd hate to buy one & be wrong.

Also, what is a good source for parts for this machine besides the local New Holland dealer? I'm hoping for a discount outlet online somewhere.

Thanx.....
 
I suspect it's your racing cam on the backhoe that's in question. Perhaps you need to back it off a little. Another problem could be your muffler bearing might be siezed. That can cause lots of problems with the electronic flyback unit located in the differential shifting gear box. You might want to consider installing a Hemi diesel engine in that excavator to improve your quarter mile lap times. The best bang for your money though would be to add a 100hp NOS kit and a blower.

Stiff steering pump problems can usually be completely eliminated by the removal of the power steering pump and going direct drive or changing to poly bushings in your torsion bars. Of course a good after market rack and pinion would also prove effective. I don't have any of these problems with my Case 780 extend-a-hoe so you might want to consider upgrading.

Regarding parts for your backhoe, I always get mine at WalMart. They are very competative and usually have everything in stock. They also have a lot of dress up stuff like fuzzy dice, stick on ashtrays, kleenex holders, rubber floor mats with cartoon images, decals, and bobble head dogs for the rear dash. #-o [-( :dontknow: :confused:
 
On an older diesel like this the quickest way to check for bad injectors is to crack the fuel lines going to the cylinders when it's running. The good ones will make the engine lug, where as the bad one will have no effect at all. Then remove it and take to a shop and have it benched or just replace it. Worse case is it could be the injector pump itself, they go bad too.

Not sure on the PS setup, but have you checked the fluids lately, the oil does break down, get contaminated. Has it been changed reecently? some have a filter of sorts in the resivior, not sure on this model. I am thinking the fluid is bad. BUT, The last time my PS went out on my semi, I couldn't turn it at all at a standstill, so it could very well be that as well.
 
That engine lope could be the governor in the injector pump "hunting" for rpm as us black smoke guys call it. I suggest cracking lines also to see if any cylinder makes no difference on the miss. If the engine has a lot of hours on it the injectors/pump could need a rebuild$$$. If the fuel in it is old you may try some diesel fuel conditioner such as the siloo brand that napa sells, sometimes it will bring the cetane up in old fuel. As far as your p/s problem, you may have a steering cylinder that is bypassing internally and need to have a seal kit put in it. See if you can find someone in your area that has the gauge setup to test hot pressures and gpm flow. P/s pumps are also$$ and I 'd hate to see you throw one at it and not fix it.
 
Oh', & Hartman....

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One of my former workmates told me to run a quart of trans fluid with the fuel every once and a while to keep the injector pump and injectors lubed up as the newer fuels run a lower sulphur content. I don't know if this would help with the loping problem but it did help in my Mitsubishi Fuso Wrecker.
 
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