BD-154 Fuel Pump Problem( what am I missing challenge?)

Working on a 364 with the BD-154 diesel engine that has a seemingly simple mechanical fuel pump problem thats we can not figure out, hopefully someone can help because I'm now clueless.

Purchased tractor at estate sale 18 months ago, has 3,000+ hours). The fuel pump was leaking very badly when we got it home. This is the mechanical pump(also know as the transfer pump) next to the bowl asm, not the injection pump.
Purchased a new aftermarket fuel pump. Worked awhile and tractor stalls. No fuel exiting pump while cranking engine over. Maybe new bad pump? Buy new pump, cranks right up after maybe 10 hours same problem. Maybe trash in tank getting in check vales in pump causing problem? Remove tank and clean it out and flush lines and clean out bowl also new filter downstream from pump. Put on 2nd new aftermarket pump because we want to make sure this problem resolved. You guessed it, it cranks right up runs like a charm and after a couple hours use just dies in field while bush hogging. Tow it home and guess what! Good fuel supply going to pump and no fuel coming from pump when cranked(identical problem).
Maybe problem with aftermarket pump. So order pump from another source that appears identical to original pump(possible NOS) . Guess what!you go it, cranked right up runs 15 minutes and dies,fuel pump not pumping again.
Long story, but its surely not the pump, or is it?
Cleaned out tank, lines bowl, been through several pumps from 2 different sources and same problem.
I assume the pump is driven off a lobe cast on the crankshaft? And from what I can see through the fuel pump access hole looks OK.
Considering going to electric pump and giving up if I can not get a handle on this trouble.

Sorry for the long story but I'm out of bright ideas. Sometimes it the simple problems that are the most difficult to solve.
Not a total novice at this stuff, we just removed and rebuild the hydraulic to replace a broken draft spool valve without problem. But after this I'm going to demote myself to novice first class.

As always any and all comments and opinions are welcome.

BMD

Do you have a filter on the line from the tank to the transfer pump? Sounds like you are feeding the pump a diet it doesn't like. As for a cam lobe, I'd think that if it was worn it would pump less, not trash the pump.

Charles

I have never worked on or been around a 364 but if it has a vented fuel cap check to see that it is not plugged up.

Just thinking out loud here---if the aftermarket pumps have a slightly longer "throw", could it be that the diaphragm is getting stretched or torn from too long of a stroke?? Have you taken apart one of the old pumps to see what is the cause of failure?? If failure results from diaphragm fatigue---tearing or valves [inlet/ outlet] a person could go from there to get a handle on this problem.

I had a very similar situation on the same engine. What happened was the lever on the pump was working its way off the cam as the lobe was wore slightly angled. I ended up making a shim to fit between the lever and the pump housing to keep the lever on the cam lobe. Must have now worn the cam properly as I haven"t had that problem since.

Thank you!, Seeing Red thats could likely be whats happening. The pump works great till it quits and thats it, time to go get the 140 and tow chain.

Will check and see if any signs of unusual wear on the lobe and marks that would indicate the lever getting off crankshaft lobe.

May I ask how you proved the lever was getting off the lobe? Also how you determined which way to shim pump mounting screws and approx the amount of shim thickness since a little shim there should go a long way at the contact point of the lobe? One would think the lobe would be hardened enough it would never wear enough to cause a tracking problem.

With the fuel tank,lines, bowl all cleaned out and the screens on pump and bowl cleaned, it looks like it could possibly be a lever/lobe issue. That along with the sudden and complete failure to pump.

I would like to thank you and everybody else that has replied as this board is a fantastic resource. Kinda makes you wonder what we did for information before the Internet and forums such as this.

Thanks again
BMD

I had the same problem & tired of it. I put on a electric pump & put a cover over the hole for the mechanical pump. No more aggravation. Just be sure to use a low volume/low pressure pump.

Thank you for the reply also! That tells me that is a more common problem that I first thought.I could not find and reference to that problem anywhere on the Internet or in this forum.There probably are very few "new" problems on a 30+ years old tractor that someone has not seen before

Thats sort what I was planning to try. using a 3.5 psi electric pump and a inline filter on the pumps inlet side. Will probably play with trying to get the mechanical to stay on the cam but I not holding out much hope of success.

Again thank you for your input. With Seeing Red's and your input I feel like thats what my problem is and fairly easily resolved.

BMD

The shim got added between the pump housing and the lever. I just simply used a snap ring big enough not to fall off the lever shaft. The side that was worn was obvious when the pump was removed. I too thought the cam should be hardened enough not to let such things happen, but I realize we don"t live in a perfect world. I was surprised how much side movement there was in the lever. Maybe the mechanism was worn too much, but it works now so I will leave well enough alone.

Thanks for the info.

Apparently cam wear is a more common problem that you would every suspect. Its more likely the uneven cam wear and lateral movement in the lever add up to a lever that will not stay on the cam.

We are planning to try the shim and if no luck as "plan B" we'll convert to a electric pump as others have done.

BMD

Appears we have the problem resolved...This post is for someone in the future that may have this problem on a bd-154 or bd-144 engine(British designed engine).

Fuel pump arm was slipping off the crankshaft lobe to the rear of the tractor the crankshaft lobe was worn unevenly.
Used 2 e-clips 1/4 inch size to shim the fuel arm to the "front " of the engine on the arm"s pivot shaft. The e-clips pushed the lever arm to the side so it tracks better on the lobe. You could see the lobe had worn unevenly(slightly) by looking through the fuel pump arm access hole.
One could also elongate the fuel pump mounting hole on the pump so the pump could shift to compensate for the lobe wear tracking problem,or go buy an electric fuel pump and use a block off plate.

The symptoms is as noted before sudden loss of fuel pressure resulting in engine dying due to no fuel pressure output from the pump.

If you are reading this the problem is hard to diagnose and easy to fix.

Good Luck
BMD