Case for 485 diesel fuel line problems

In the past when my fuel filters are getting some age on them the track starts losing power. Yesterday when I was loading manure it started to fade out under load. Both primary and secondary fuel filters a less than 11 months old but I changed them out anyway. I use diesel 911 to keep the fuel treated year around and the old filters didn"t appear to have any gel or gunk. When I go through the air bleed process I can"t get any fuel to flow through the primary screw, the secondary screw is froze and I can"t get it open as of yet. I"m thinking the primary should flow first anyway so I"m not concerned about the secondary being stuck. The only thing I can think of that might have led to this problem was right before it started losing power I hit the manure pile pretty hard to break out a frozen section. I"m stuck on the fact I can"t get fuel to flow at the primary screw.

Check the lift pump is actually pumping fuel, they do go bad once in a while (diaphragm gets a pin hole), the other thing to check is the pick up pipe from the tank, if you jarred the tractor maybe a bit of crud got lose and is plugging the intake... try an airline and blow back down the intake pipe... Not sure on a 485, but is the fuel tank higher than the fuel pump or is it under the cab/platform? If it is higher then i would really suspect some crud in the fuel pick up pipe/tap.

Take the pipe off the fuel pump side of the lift pump first and try the lift pump, if you have no fuel there then check the pipe work to the tank...

I had a 585 that would act like that now and then. Usual problem was either crude in fuel tank ,or plugging the fuel line.I would take the plug out of the bottom of the tank and flush it out , then blow out the fuel lines.

Well several things:

1) Power service 911 is NOT for continuous fuel treatment. It is for systems that are ALREADY GELLED UP only. The regular Power service is what you should be using for year round treatment.

2) Not getting fuel flow to the filters is your main problem. If this is an open station IH 485 then they did not have a transfer pump. They depended on the fuel tank being high enough to gravity feed the filters and the injection pump will pull the fuel the little height when lower on fuel. To bleed them I usually opened the bleeder at the filter. Then take an air blow off nozzle and a rag. Remove the fuel filler cap. Put the air nozzle in the tank hold the rag around it to seal it off. Slowly blow air into the tank. BE careful to not over pressure the tank, you can pop the sides out of shape with too much air pressure. This will force the fuel up into the filters. It is best to have two people when doing this. That way you can hold pressure on the fuel while shutting the bleeders off.

Most of the time if you have the fuel tank clear full they will bleed themselves. You just open the bleeder and wait for the fuel to flow.

I have had to park the tractor with the back higher on a bank with a full fuel tank to get some of them to bleed.

3) Check the fuel lines under the platform. I have seen them damaged/crushed shut.

4) See if you have any fuel flow out of the bottom of the tank. You could have ice/water in the bottom of the tank.


The simple truth is that a IH 485 can be a real PIA to bleed at the best of times. The few cab models where better in that the fuel tanks where lower and they used a electric transfer fuel pump. They where easier to bleed. I have seen guys install an electric fuel pump on the open station ones so they are easier to bleed.

They also had the problem of getting small air leaks in the system that would allow the fuel to run back into the tank when ever the tank was very low. Had one that would do this but would not leak fuel. Finally found a bad housing at the primary filter.

Good Luck!!!

I'm thinking fuel line frozen/ice blocking fuel to fuel line

If the shut off valve on the tank is "on" and the primary fuel filter is removed, fuel should run out the filter housing by gravity.

If you unscrew one end of the equalizer hose on the tank, you can drain the fuel tank quickly and try it with fresh fuel.

I've never had to bleed the 495 changing filters. Shut the fuel off, swap out primary filter with a new pre filled new filter, repeat for second filter. Turn fuel on, turn key and start engine...

Thanks to all of you who offered help, the tractor did start this am which it wouldn't do yesterday at all. It is still wanting to die under load but today I'm dealing with the fall out from yet another ice storm so I haven't been able to work on it again. To clarify I don't use diesel 911 year around, I use the diesel treatment made by the same manufacturer but couldn't think of what to call it in my original post. I plan to remove the primary filter and open the tank shut off and see how much flow I have at the housing. This tractor doesn't have a cabo also answer one question. Thanks again for all of your input

Thanks for all your help, got it figured out. Kept going back from the primary to the tank until I got flow. Finally backed the shut off out and there was a clog right at the outlet. Tangled with enough diesel that my wife made me undress in the barn and bag up my clothes, it was a chilly trot to the house let me tell you....thanks again, sometimes a guy just needs a forum like this to keep working through a problem.

Glad you figured it out, even if it was a cold walk lol.