Odd Problem With Ford 4400

I was using the backhoe the other day, and I had an odd issue trying to start it. It fired right up in the morning, and then ran straight for about 4 hours. I stopped for lunch, came back to it after 20 or 30 mintues, and tried to restart.

I started cranking on it, and it didn't start? Which is unusual because once warmed up, it usually starts VERY quickly. I cranked on it a little more, and then realized by the exaust that it wasn't getting any fuel, so I thought that maybe I forgot to push the "kill" knob back in that allows the injector pump to push fuel, but that wasn't the case?

I continued to crank on it, and it just cranked and cranked and cranked, never would get any fuel? I could hear an air / sucking sound from around the pump, but couldn't pin point it. I knelt down to listen to the pump, cranked on it again, and it all of a sudden fired right off and ran fine?!?!? I used it flawlessly for another hour ish, and drove it home, and parked it.

Went to fire it up today, same thing happened (this is on a cold start now). I decided to give it a small woof of Ether. I knock knock knocked like ether does, and then fired off fine. But I KNOW it wasn't getting fuel the first time?

Thoughts?

Ether and knocking - you may want to re-think that strategy and get to that injector pump. These problems never fix themselves... of course I sure as heck wish they would sometimes LOL !

My first thought would be to throw away the can of ether. You need to check for fuel flow coming out of the tank and through the filter all the way to the pump.

Mark

Bryce: First lose the ether on those Ford engines. You can damage them quickly even with a little either.

As for your trouble. I am willing to bet that you have an air leak in the fuel system going to the injection pump. You can have a leak that will allow air into the system but not leak fuel out when running. So the next time you try to start it and it does not start right away check and see if you have fuel at the injection pump. IF your not sure, bleed it like you would when you change the fuel filters. If it starts right away then you know your fuel is bleeding off when it is setting. Then start looking at all the connections/fittings/lines from the fuel tank to the injection pump. These type of leaks can be frustrating to find. I had/have one on my JD 6620 combine. I finally put a check valve at the tank so it can't bleed back.

I agree with the others...but want to add one other thing you can check. Sometimes the cable for the kill switch gets weak, and instead of pushing the lever on the pump all the way back to the run position, it will kink over and the pump won't be able to send fuel to the injectors. Cure is a new kill cable. (YT sells them)

I recommend NOT throwing away the ether, (if you can actually FIND real ether anymore). I use it to make things cold like when I install a sleeve in a block. gm