Diesel Baptism: ECU 157.18
ECU 157.18…
It sounds like a class at the local community college or university, but it isn’t. It’s an error message on the console of my John Deere 2032R tractor. The symptoms? Loss of engine power, sometimes stalling out completely, sometimes idling at lower rpms. Occasionally accompanied by a red stop sign illuminated on the console just to help drive the point home to stubborn simpletons like me that something on the tractor is fucked up.
This is a recurrent issue for us. Like most things, it’s multifactorial. Some of it is the nature of diesel fuel. Some of it is the operating conditions. I’m sure that some of it is carelessness on our end: suboptimal fuel can maintenance, lax fueling procedures, etc.
The problem in medical terms? Clogged arteries. Similar to coronary artery disease. The problem in layman’s terms? Clogged fuel lines. In either case, impaired flow leads to suboptimal function. Unchecked, it can be fatal. No bueno.
When this happens, we typically send it to the infirmary, the good doctor performs an angioplasty and they send it back to the farm with a clean bill of health. Activity as tolerated. No restrictions. The problem is, once we get it in to the shop, they can’t always start working on it immediately. Wait lists… It has taken us weeks or even months to get equipment back. The record was something like 6 months.
Too many daily farm tasks are dependent on the tractor to be without it for a prolonged period of time if there is any way around it. I’m not a mechanic but I am mechanically inclined and can muddle my way through all manners of repairs if needed. The key is I have never let having no idea what I am doing slow me down. What’s the worst that could happen? (Insert your own worst case scenarios here…)
After doing a bit of research, I decided to dive in. The fuel filter seemed like a good place to start. I went to the local tractor dealership and got a replacement fuel filter. The old filter came off easily enough. I don’t have a good idea of what normal inflow should look like. The drip rate seemed slow to me so I spent a bit of time using pipe cleaners to make sure the incoming and outgoing lines were clear. Afterwards, I learned that forced air from a compressor is better way to purge the lines but the end result was apparent good flow. And a proper diesel baptism. Somewhere between a sprinkle and full immersion, but decidedly biased towards immersion.
It ran better, but was still konking out when the engine was stressed. It was functional for the most part but clearly needed a bit more work. The next step was to let the diesel run out a bit and then drain / flush the fuel tank. I asked the kids not to refill the diesel and to use it gently until it was near empty. I happened to be at the tractor dealership for another reason, and talked a little shop with one of the old timers. I learned that my tractor model has a plastic tank and that they can be prone to mold which can clog the system. He suggested an anti fungal treatment. Sounded reasonable.
When I got home, I found the tractor by the barn with a nearly empty tank. Perfect! I hopped on and started to drive it to the house where I had the tools to work on it. Shit! Half way there it ran completely out of fuel. I asked one of the kids to go get the diesel tank to refill it from the house. In the meantime, I removed the bolt at the bottom of the tank and cleared the dregs. There was a bit more residual diesel than I expected. Good thing I put a bucket underneath it to catch the spillage. I was curious to see what would come out. A small amount of dirty diesel followed by pristine fuel. Mission accomplished! I poured in the anti fungal treatment and stood by as the aforementioned kid began refilling the tank. My satisfaction turned to horror disbelief as I watched a slurry of dirt and debris disappear into my freshly purged reservoir. “Nooooooo-o-o-o!!!!!”
It seems that this is going to take a bit more work…
Redrain the tank. Blow out the lines. Check the other filter. It’s all good. We’ll work through it. It’s all about spending time together, living and learning.
Have you ever had victory slip from your fingertips before your very eyes?
How long was it before you were able to laugh about it?
