IH3588 2+2 No fuel out of injectors after sitting, clogged?

Tractor sat for 6-7 years, ran when before stored in shed.
I need to get her going again but after fueling, replacing both fuel filters and the primary rubber fuel hose I cannot get any flow from injectors.
0 smoke while cranking, doesn't even try to catch.

I think the pump itself is fine, as If I open the fuel filter bleed valve I will get a steady stream when I crank the engine over.
when i crack the injector rails I see a steady drip out of the tubing, but I'm not sure how much I SHOULD have.
Next step was to inspect the injectors, some were REALLY stuck in there I had to rock them with a 38 open end wrench to get to loosen and eventually release from the manifold,some were easy some were really hard.
The small fuel line return on the back of the injectors was packed with fuel squirting everywhere when I pulled the hose off back of the injectors but I never saw ANYTHING emitted from the injectors orifice.

I THINK I got a hoses, ect bled off OK.
Are these injectors servicable?
One of the six came apart into two parts when I was trying to remove it and the washerssprings ( got them all) came out of sequence and I donot know how to properly re-assemble it without disecting one of the other five.
If I was to try to clean them what would you recomend I soak the injectors In?
or will this even work?
If they are beond repair is there a source for replacements and are they exoribtant?
Is there something else I should be trying?
I have lots of Gasoline experienc but this is my first deisel wrenching so any hints or tips are welcome.
Thanks for your time and consideration,
Tal

You are going to have to take the injectors to a diesel repair shop or just exchange them for a rebuilt set.

Those tiny washers are shims to adjust the opening pressure of the nozzle. There is a very good possibility that the nozzle that came unscrewed also broke the two little spiral pins that keep the nozzle tip aligned with the body. It is also critical that the mating surfaces on the nozzle tip, spacers, and injector body be in perfect condition. Any imperfections will allow fuel leakage so that pressure is not maintained between injection strokes. That will result in uneven fuel delivery between injectors.

In the "Well, it's too late now" department, you should always drain the coolant to below the cylinder head whenever removing injectors from a 400 series engine. It is true for the German built engines as well. These engines have brass nozzle sleeves pressed into the heads that have coolant around the outside. When the injectors become stuck in the head it is possible to cause these sleeves to move before getting the nozzle out. When that happens you are likely to have a coolant leak into the combustion chamber.

After replacing the filters, use the hand pump on the back of the injection pump to prime them to get the air out. When you can get a good steam out of the second filter, without any air bubbles, close the bleed screw and give the pump about another hundred strokes. That will ensure fuel in the pump and in the return lines.

To bleed the injectors, connect the lines to all the injectors but leave the nut loose about a turn or so. Open the throttle to at least half way and crank the engine until you see a good spurt from around each line as that injector receives fuel. It will not necessarily spray out but you should see the fuel come up around the line above the nut. Continue to crank until you no longer get any air bubbles out with the fuel and then tighten the fuel line nuts. Do not crank for more than 30 seconds at a time and wait at least two minutes between cranking to allow the starter to cool.

If the high pressure head in the pump is getting worn out you may not be able to generate enough pressure to crack open the injectors while cranking. If you do not get smoke while cranking this is a good possibility. If the head is weak, putting in reconditioned injectors will most likely make starting problems worse. As injectors are used the opening pressure drops off and part of the reconditioning process is to restore them to the correct opening pressure. A weak head will not be able to open the injectors and you will have no fuel flow through them and no smoke at cranking.

I am to a gas mech. so the advice I give might not be as good as others but, I had a similar experance happen on my dozer and ended up being that the return line was blocked in the fuel tank causing back pressure on the injection pump. I cracked the lines to the injectors and got small amounts of fuel but, not enough pressure to make the injector function like suppose to. To the best of my knowledge there should not be any pressure on the return line. Try blowing the return & listing for air in the tank to see if it is clear from obstructions . GOOD LUCK!!

whoops about the coolant, unfortunately it was just topped off too or it would have been lower coolant levels.
upon removal the tip (is it a pintle?) of some injectors you couldn't see where fuel would be delivered, on others you vaguely could, so there is no doubt that they need cleaning.
My IH parts supplier insisted I also had an electronic fuel pump, but after further dissasembly and examination I determined that there was none visible, and all pumping was being done by the Injection pump (tractor has only 1 fuel tank BTW) But I don't know what kind of volume it should move, and I'm sure my gas fuel press guages would explode IF I tried to attach them to this fuel rail.
So HOW do I know?
I will drain the oil to remove any chances of existing coolant that I forced in with my sloppy injector removal process first thing tomorrow AM.

I will also check out the return lines as was suggested by the other poster, I thought it strange the volume of fuel in the returns piggybacked to the injector and thought that the quantity of fuel in the return being apparently greater than the fuel coming out the injectors was a clue to the possibility that the injectors had cloggedfouledplugged.
Thanks for the replies and I always welcome MORE suggestions!
tal

will explore it first thing in the AM, thanks for the reply.
Tal

very possible the fuel throttle valve is stuck in the pump. or the solenoid is not working if electric. pull the return line loose at the injectors where the return line goes to tank, and crank. will tell if clogged return line. I work with a lot of diesels that have sat a long time, and throttle valves on rotary pumps and delivery valves on inlines will be stuck enough they won't advance to start. Atf works the best for me to loosen them.

So are you saying I should charge the fuel filters at least partially with atf when I get the injectors back in?
or should I just let it pump atf through it BEFORE I put the cleaned injectors back in to clean the pump and lines without washing my cylinders down with atf(if it matters)

I cannot find an electric pump anywhere despite the fact that my IH dealer said there could be one.
I even pulled the rear hood piece and the bellows assembly so I could examine the tank in-depth and can find no electrical connections to the fuel tank other than the tank level sender, and there is no inline electric after examining all lines betwixt the tank and filter assemblys.

If the return line is pulled and cranked like you describe what would I see when I crank the tractor?
I had liquid fuel under some pressure when I disconnected mine to examine the injectors.
Thanks for your time and expertise.
Tal

(quoted from post at 22:56:29 06/14/08) ....I'm sure my gas fuel press guages would explode IF I tried to attach them to this fuel rail.
So HOW do I know?
....
tal

Click to expand...

Fuel injector opening pressure is 3600 to 3750 PSI new. Used injectors, 2900 PSI minimum. When I go through a set of those injectors I set them to 3600 PSI.

Unless the fuel injection pump has been replaced, it should be an American Bosch Model 100 pump. Those pumps use a sleeve type metering valve that if stuck would have to have done major damage to the pump. The valve slides up and down on the distributer shaft that rotates inside the valve and also functions as the high pressure pump. Also if it is stuck and cannot move up and down it will damage the control lever as you open the throttle.

The amount of fuel returned to the tank is much greater than is sent through the injectors. You should have gravity feed to the primary filter and then a line to the back of the pump where the transfer or charge pump is located. On the back of the pump is the hand primer pump. Loosen the bail and swing it out of the way and then stroke to knob in and out to pump the fuel back to the secondary filter and then back to the injection pump. If it is quite when you are pumping the fuel you should be able to hear it return to the tank

The elbow on the engine side of pump where the return line connects to has an orifice to restrict the amount of fuel returned to the tank. Unlike a Roosa Master pump which will not function with a plugged return line, the American Bosch pump uses a pressurized pump housing.

I DID notice that the hand prime pump was MUCH harder to pump than usual, is THIS a clue?
My injectors are in diesel shop being tested.
The dealer said that they had the bosch pump for about 1050 NEW if I did need that pump;
Why do they keep acting like I havean electic fuel pump I can't find one and I have stripped all of the hood off and examined the tank and likes.
Thanks for the help.
Tal

We have a 3388 and the eletric silonied went bad. It would push fuel but the needle was staying shut so it diddnt push enough. To see if it works just hold your hand on it and have someone turn the key on and off it will click when it opens and shuts. They are a few $100 new but we bought a replacement from a salvage yard for $80 bucks out a truck motor.

Man it takes a long time to prime that system!
Up and running thanks for the help.
Tal