Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

It was running great for a while and then it started to show signs of starving for fuel. I suspected the tank and fuel line to the pump even before, hence I installed the fuel filter.

Decided to take the carb bowl off take a look. Sure enough, there was sediment. Took the filter off, look what came out of it, from the tank side. But some fine dirt was also coming from the clean filtered side.

So, time to fix it right.

Yep, time to clean the tank out for sure. That should fix starving for fuel situation.

What's your best way to clean up a steel tank on the inside?

The way I've done it in the past was putting gravel in and shaking it in all kinds of way. It works but it's quite a bit of manual labour. Not very fast either. Wouldn't mind finding a better way.

Put your gravel or old nuts and bolts in tie it to the back wheel of one of your other tractors and go for a ride. I usually flush it with diesel fuel and do it again.

I wish I had asked this earlier. Could have tied it to the 444 rear wheel, lift the wheels off the ground and run it on low speed for a while.

The kids just didn't want to fall asleep 'til late so I made it to the shop late too. Thought I have a look at the fuel pump as a way to relax a little. The pump that came with this k321 engine is not an original Kohler, rather one of those newer plastic ones. The diaphragm looked fine, so did the two valves. When trying to set the diaphragm back in I noticed the hooking piece at the bottom was now missing. Hm.. the diaphragm is like a mushroom, and it's leg goes in then rotates 90 degrees and it stays put. Took the base apart and what do you know.


This is the lever that gets actuated by a cam inside the engine. That tab is where the leg of the mushroom diaphragm gets attached, and it's broken from the lever.

My guess is that the pump was working occasionally because the lever would sometimes catch on that broken tab and pump a little, only to go off again and starve the engine. There, I relaxed.

JSinMO wrote: ↑Sun Sep 18, 2022 8:11 pm Put your gravel or old nuts and bolts in tie it to the back wheel of one of your other tractors and go for a ride. I usually flush it with diesel fuel and do it again.C4DC194F-A40F-422D-B932-2010196BA77D.jpeg

I have strapped a tank to cement mixer I have with handful of gravel really helps get the worst out. Then after rinsing with a bit of methalhydrate phosphoric acid (Krud Kutter for rust) swish around drain and allow dry time . In a steel tank some of that "dirt" is rust partials . Swish again with some gas . Then back together .

A safe way to clean it out would be vinegar and baking soda. Otherwise a strong acid wash would do the trick.

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The problem is that the differential spins the other wheel and this stops so I had told go back and forth. Maybe a good thing that I couldn't leave it running unattended and find it in the neighbour's yard.



https://vimeo.com/751422787

LOL, well it beats doing it by hand! How does the tank look?

This method of tank cleaning is the reason I enjoy CCI tractors and this website. The ingenious ways many of you approach repairs is what makes me a better mechanic. In spite of having over 50 years experience in machine maintenance the little GT's still throw curve balls at me when they decide to go AWAL.

JSinMO wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 7:24 pm LOL, well it beats doing it by hand! How does the tank look?

Not finished yet. Decided to give it a little acid bath too. Split one gallon of vinegar between the two tanks, added some muriartic acid for good measure, and filled them with water. Let it sit for about 20 minutes then rinsed. Then I gave them a swish with a little krud kutter, similar to what you call ospho but weaker concentration of phosphoric acid. Then I was called to kids duty so I'll give'em a good rinse tonight and then I'll try to take some pics of the inside. Would be nice to be able to dry them quickly but can't think of a way.

Eugen wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:53 pm

JSinMO wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 7:24 pm LOL, well it beats doing it by hand! How does the tank look?

Not finished yet. Decided to give it a little acid bath too. Split one gallon of vinegar between the two tanks, added some muriartic acid for good measure, and filled them with water. Let it sit for about 20 minutes then rinsed. Then I gave them a swish with a little krud kutter, similar to what you call ospho but weaker concentration of phosphoric acid. Then I was called to kids duty so I'll give'em a good rinse tonight and then I'll try to take some pics of the inside. Would be nice to be able to dry them quickly but can't think of a way.

As long as your not rinsing them with something flammable, if you have a halogen work light to shine on them they put out some heat. Or maybe a hairdryer blow some warm air inside. Or you could go the safest route and just let them air dry till the tomorrow!

JSinMO wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:42 pm
As long as your not rinsing them with something flammable, if you have a halogen work light to shine on them they put out some heat. Or maybe a hairdryer blow some warm air inside. Or you could go the safest route and just let them air dry till the tomorrow!

Ahm, wouldn't flammable dry up much faster?!

The 444-gas tank was very rusty inside and the fuel filter in the tank was missing. I found a fuel filter at a local ACE hardware store and inserted a bunch of marbles that I removed from rattle cans. Shook it very hard for a while until my arms got tired then removed the marbles. I used this etching product from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J5 ... UTF8&psc=1, then I followed up with a sealer https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3 ... UTF8&psc=1
I was lucky to find no pin holes in the tank. It's been working well ever since. A time-consuming process but it's worth the extra time and effort to do so.

Keep the Peace
Hary

Thank you @Harry, I will order the one pint can of POR15 sealer, so I won't have this problem again in my life time. I cannot find a suitable mesh filter replacement like the one that's in there now.

Note to anyone doing this in the future, if you get to read this: the little mesh filter is inserted in the nylon elbow fitting. If you don't take this out of the tank before doing marbels/nuts and bolts/gravel shaking the filter will get damaged or lost.


No pin holes in either of the two tanks too, thank God!

I agree with Spike, thanks for all the great info and ideas. Will be coming back to this thread when I dig into the fuel tank of the 155 (which sat outside with fuel from 20 years ago). It's since been drained but pretty bad inside.

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Eugen wrote: ↑Tue Sep 20, 2022 12:16 pm Thank you @Harry, I will order the one pint can of POR15 sealer, so I won't have this problem again in my life time. I cannot find a suitable mesh filter replacement like the one that's in there now.

Note to anyone doing this in the future, if you get to read this: the little mesh filter is inserted in the nylon elbow fitting. If you don't take this out of the tank before doing marbels/nuts and bolts/gravel shaking the filter will get damaged or lost.


IMG_8229.jpg


No pin holes in either of the two tanks too, thank God!

Would this style fit your tank? This one happens to be for a Case VA. Here’s the link.

https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/9N95 ... _30013.htm

Or maybe this further down the same link page.
Here’s one for a Farmall Cub. And the link

https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/Farm ... 27R91.html

If you look around at different tractors models on that site there may be more. Hope it helps!

I see these on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Miaowa-Joint-Fil ... 96&sr=8-39

Keep the Peace
Harry

thank you guys, it appears to be 1/8 NPT male thread so at least one of the ones you @JSinMO pointed to should fit. @Harry , that one fits the honda engines and is metric.

I also did some searches and found some I could get, but I'm not sure if I will, as this one although old, doesn't seem to be damaged. If I could find one decently priced locally I would, just so that I put something new there. Will update on what I'll end up doing.

Unbelievable to me but the one I picked up at the Ace Hardware cost me $3. I was looking for one in the store and asked an elderly employee if they had any. He walked toward an aisle, and I followed. He reached down on a bottom shelf pulled out a box and took one out and said is this what you're looking for? I said yes, how many do you have. He said three and I said I'll take them all for $3 each. Bargain of the day for me. I've used two of them and have one on the shelf for my 226 project.

Keep the Peace
Harry

That's providence @Harry , when you find a hard to source part in a local store at a price like that.

I was able to move a little ahead tonight. Reassembled the fenders, gas tank with new fuel line, 3pth. It's not exactly Lego so it took me about an hour and a half. Then I installed the fuel pump just as the team was arriving home from shopping at Walmart. Wasn't able to take any pictures before it got dark.

Noticed some leak below the fuel pump so I made a new gasket for it. Cleaned up the carb nicely, re-installed. New fuel line, new clamps everywhere, new fuel filter. The tank is clean too. Now it runs beautifully once again. The new owner may not even realize it, but the fuel delivery system should be good for a long time. Now it's time for this tractor to do some work: gravel duty, plow out the potatoes, and more...

Wanted to provide an update. After being plagued by fuel delivery problems for a while and fixing it right, the 644 always starts without any struggles. Today it started after sitting for more than two weeks. Even the battery was weak and cranking slowly, it started. This tells me clearly that the tank, fuel line, and pump all contributed to the problem. The project 644 also starts immediately. Took both for some action today, it felt good get some seat time. You all have a great end of the weekend!