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My alternator/water pump belt broke. Tractor over heated. I got the belt on and now tractor won't start I got full tank of fuel, I cracked the fuel line at injector and got fuel. I have good battery cranks very well. When it cranks I get alot of white smoke and it sounds like it wants to start but it won't. The fuel shut off seems to be moving from end stop to end stop freely. The tractor ran fine when I pulled into the workshop to put the belt on but after belt was put on now it won't start. All your help is appreciated.

Im thinking ,i just dont have any answers for u. Did u try ether ? Dave

Is your glow plug indicator lighting up? Mine once shorted somewhere and didn't get power to the glow plugs. I noticed the indicator not lighting up immediately and it turned out to just be a loose connection. Not warming the glow plugs or not warming them enough in this now colder weather would cause this issue. Beyond that if there isn't any air in the system, which there shouldn't be, I don't know.

From what I have read, ether can do real bad things to diesels due to the high compression ratios; don't do it.

Do it ! On paper it might not be good, but i dont know a farmer or excavator who works in the cold that doesnt have a can behind the truck seat. Sometimes thats all it takes when it wants to fire but doesnt. DO IT ! Responsibly . Dave

The issue with ether is if you have glowing glow plugs at the time you apply the ether it can create an explosive situation. If you wish to try ether, disconnect the GP's.

Guys im just having fun here and dont claim to know it all. Just for discussion. Dont u want an explosion in the combustion chamber, that is where the glow plugs r on this tractor. Some diesels that i have had do have a preheater on the intake and that may be a little more dangerous, i still however never had any issues with that. This would b my procedure for starting a lazy or cold engine that sounds like it wants to go; glow as normal, a shot of ether in or near the air cleaner, crank. Does it always work, no, does it work sometimes, yes. It can also help u figure out what your next step should be in getting her started. Dave

I used to have an awful time getting my 882 started back in the "Registry" days. I did the glow plug and starter upgrades and now it starts like a dream.
I don't know if the information on those are on this site or not.....if they are I'm not sure I could find it

No you guys r right ! I should not have recomended something so dangerous and controversial to another forum member. Sorry. Dave

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Dave - You gave a recommendation based on personal experience and success. Your experience counts and shouldn't be discounted.

I generally won't comment on things I don't really know about, but I had just thought that I had read that ether and diesels can be bad, that the high compression ratios can cause damage if the engine runs on ether. Your suggestion of spraying some near the air cleaner inlet is different than someone dumping half a can in through the top of the engine.

I have never dealt with diesels at all, so that make me more cautious to start with.

Personally, I have never had much use for ether for gasoline engines, because if you do your troubleshooting, you will make it run without it. There are the times that if you can just get it running at all it can help with troubleshooting.

Here is why you never use any type of starting fluid in a diesel or probably any engine.

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/2009/ ... ing-fluid/

That is a good write-up. I had always heard not to use starting fluid in an indirect injected (glow plug) diesel. But this is the first time
I had seen a complete explanation of why. I don't use it in diesels at all.

For gas engines I only use liquid starting aid as a quick diagnosis to see if the
problem is lack of fuel. But I do not use Ether. I either use carb cleaner or Seafoam Deep Creep or Seafoam Spray. The Seafoam products
have some lubrication properties. I only use enough to see if it fires. If it does, then I know I need to look at the fuel system to determine
why it isn't getting fuel.

Sorry guys but I have to agree with NOT using starting fluid in any engine to get it to start.
I actually think its the lazy mans easy fix to starting an engine with issues . I never use starting fluid in any engine .

I actually had a time when I was having trouble starting one of my cubs when my neighbor came running over with a can of starting fluid ....I sent him back home with said can . He's the same guy that scarred the cylinder walls on the outboard engine of his pontoon boat when he continually sprayed starting fluid into it to get it to start.....It washes oil off the cylinder walls , not good .

Where I once worked we use to build large tow behind construction type air compressors . They were powered by a large French made 3 cylinder John Deere diesel tractor engine .
These compressors were 150 CFM and made for the US military .
They were equipped with a canister that delivered a measured amount of starting fluid for cold weather starting when a button was pushed .
On occasion when using starting fluid to get them started , the engine would kick back and run backwards.
Any of you guys ever seen a large diesel engine run backwards with the exhaust coming out of the air filter breather , Its not a pretty sight , not to mention it didn't do the vane style compressors much good either .

This is just my opinion on the use of starting fluid , its just not worth the risk of engine damage .

Thanks Todd that is a very good link and a lot to take in. My father had a bota 12 hp 2 cylinder that was a hard starter, luckly he did not use it in winter or he would have been out of luck. My experience has been more in the constuction field, backhoes, loaders, trucks and some farm tractors. Like jlaws said some of these units even had ether systems mounted right on them. These r some cold weater tips i have learned over the years, the hard way; always have mutiple sets of long booster cables, at the end of the day u park so the battery is closest to the street or driveway and out of the western wind, batteries only die in october or november, buy conditioned fuel as soon as u can, and last but not least, always have a can of ether at arms length.Dave

My hunch is on non functioning or diminished capacity glow plug/s.
If you don't have heated storage you might want to consider a block heater.

The white smoke means you are getting fuel it just isn't being ignited. Your glow plug are either not working or you are not getting power to them. A quick check of a volt meter will tell you if they are being powered. Some Kubota plugs were rated to take 12V and some were not. You'd have to know which ones you have as if you put 12V directly to plugs not rated for 12V you could burn them up. Can you get the tractor inside and warm it up or is it sitting outside where it's cold?

You could have, (and I hope not) when it over heated damaged the engine. If it got too hot, and has lost compression you will see this too. Older nearly wore out diesels will smoke white on starting until they get warmed up good.

If it's smoking you are getting fuel, so it's an ignition problem. That is either probably caused by in your case imporpper glow plugs and it being cold outside, or you have lost compression. I'd start with the glow plugs and making sure they are working. I believe you can pull the plugs, ground them again and check to see if they are working out of the tractor. Be careful if they do work they get really friggen hot on one end!

Starting fluid, is it generally a no go on glow plug engines.. yes yes it is.... but as someone previously said do all the farmers know this? uhm... no they do not. So it is used from time to time to help a cold engine start. The trick is with starting fluid, is that it doesn't take much.....


You can make up your own mind on it, but the safe bet is to not use it.


On a gas engine I'm lazy I guess I use it all the time as a quick diagnosis to see if it's a fuel or spark problem as to why it won't run...


Now the big diesel pulling tractors... they have to use starting fluid on start up and they seem to use a bunch as their compression is so low they won't start any other way. But then once they get running they have 3-4 Huge hair dryers out front to overcome that low compression....

Charles, we need an update ! I went down and looked at my 1572 and mine does have a block heater right behind the fan below the valve cover up front, i dont know if its stock who or when installed it. Charles said in the first post that it always ran good up untill this exact point so im wondering if when the belt let go it took out a wire or if a wire did not get hooked back up in the replacement of the belt. Let us know please ! I hope your eyes are doing better. That is no fun,i have had 2 detached retinas. Dave

Is this unsolved mystery bothering anyone else ?

Finally found out why 1572 would not start. It seems the valves are worn and does not allow for enough compression. The head is at the machine shop now. I am just waiting to see what the cost for valve job will be. I am guessing not cheap. I am hopeing to have it back for the PA plow day. I was looking foward to plowing with two diesels this year. No one seems to know how or why the over heating incident was related. Also found out why it overheated. Altenator siezed up and belt shcredded thus no water pump.

Thanks for the reply !! I have been on the edge of my seat for months I once looked at an 882 that had a stiff water pump and cause the belt to break. The owner did not even know the belt was off, he just said something was wrong with the electrical system. When i pointed this out another guy was looking at it also........he blurted out.....I WILL TAKE IT ! At least u have some other diesels. Dave

Supposed to pick the 1572 up on thursday I already have the 1772 and 1872 ready for plow day now we just have to hope for good weather.

IF YOU WANT TO RUIN THE DIESEL USE ETHER!!!!!!

I have seen what happens when ether is used with glow plugs.....just like a bomb

It will ruin the rings instantly!


NO ETHER WITH GLOW PLUGS PERIOD!

Non glow plug diesels can handle small amounts of ether.

Look at some of the International tractors and you will see the ether injector setup as a factory item on the tractor.

A shot of ether on my 1845B skid steer is how it is listed in the manual to start it when it is cold. No heaters of any kind on it.

You just don't want to over load the intake with ether.

My Ford F-800 Diesel dump truck with the Ford 185HP Diesel also says to use a shot of diesel when it is cold to start it.

Just don't use ether with any type of heating device that exposes the ether to the elements.

We use wd-40 for starting diesels. Because it's isn't as combustible as ether and works well. We do this on our dt466 international diesel in our dump trucks. Try it it won't burn the rings.