D23J runs after 25 years

Congratulations on getting er going. Yes, I recall you having assorted challenges along the way. Those dang pony motors and starts seem to have a mind of there own. Some start very quickly and some don't. A one minute run before going to start seems a little short. Five minutes of cranking does seem a little long for the temperatures your talking about but I've seen some use all that and more.
Just takes time to build the heat.
I wouldn't do anything for awhile and see if it gets better or worse.
I'll pass on the "what's it worth" as sale price seldom matches renovation costs and time spent and I wouldn't want to discourage anyone just based on $$$$

If your tractor does not have the exhaust from the pilot engine going through the inlet manifold it can take a little time to heat them up to run temp. Any photos? Regards Andrew.

Apparently it hadn't run yet today which would have the engine temp somewhat cool (45F overnight).

Black smoke- I would have expected grey smoke (unburned fuel).

Pony speed: If it is somewhat low it will greatly retard the starting time. On my poor condition RD7 I sometimes manually open the throttle butterfly for more pony RPMs for a quicker start.

When to give it fuel: A couple of hints I've been been given are:
1) Crank until the main engine oil pressure rises to its normal reading then add fuel.
2) Crank until the engine head/exhaust manifold feels somewhat warm then add fuel.

Daron

Thanks for the responses. This model does not have the pony exhaust routed through Diesel intake manifold, so only heating of Diesel Engine is hot water from pony and compression heat build up. That is one of the reasons I moved it to RUN earlier, thinking the compression would heat up the combustion chambers sooner. You are right, the smoke is grayish in nature. Definitely unburned fuel as it had a very distinct kerosene lantern smell.

I do have some photos that I will try to post in next day or so. Don't have the grousers on as yet, I removed them to get a good cleaning of the track chain and the grousers themselves. Also makes it so much easier to work on the machine without them in the way, especially the fuel injection and pony clutch portions. In addition, I can drive it around on my asphalt driveway without tearing it up with the grousers, it drives nicely on the tracks. By the way, I put all new bushings and seals in the track rollers. This machine only ran in dirt on a farm, used as a plow tractor, so has never been in sand or gravel, thus the tracks and sprockets are like new, no sign of wear at all. It has only 760 total hours on the meter.

Thanks again for the hints. I suspect that since the exhaust is not going into the Diesel that it just takes a long time to heat up all that cast iron.

Ron

Ron, i got the same problem on my d23j4026..Diesel engine takes time to get going..My unit sat for about 20 yrs prior to restoring this past fall..Seems i still have to give it a shot of either.. For the $$ and time spent on restoring I always lose in the longrun on the re-sell.. Ron, Im in need of an airbrether/assembly for the pony..3 bolt flange at the dash area..Have any extra's or know of any? Thanks Shawn

Hi Shawn,

Don't have a spare air breather for the pony, have a friend with some parts, I will check with him and let you know if he has one.

Ron