Diesel Ferguson 35 hard to start

I don't really have too much trouble starting mine. I have always used the
Aerostart (ether) to start it. My airfilter riser pipe is joined with a
rubber hose, clamped at one end and not at the other so I can pull it off
and squirt the aerostart down the air cleaner.

Depending on the newness of the can and the air temp it will take just a
tiny squirt or a long squirt with the engine turning over. I haven't tried
to do it prior to starting, but I will give it a go. Now that its summer
it should work.

I now put my throttle to about where it would be to get my 540rpm when I'm
starting it.

All I can think of is that it is having trouble getting the fuel through!?!

I still have plenty of problems with the tractor but it is cheap to run and
generally cheap to fix.

Solution? Just buy a few cans of starting fluid (aka: ether) and give it snort into the air intake before you start it. In fact, my tractor has ad the rubber hose that goes from the air intake to the space under the dash removed just for such purposes.

In the summer, one snort does it. Keep in mind that you have to crank this engine a long time (5-10 seconds) after it's started to fire - don't worry, the starter is designed to do this.

In the winter, I give her a coulpe of snorts and then stand ready to give a "booster snort" if she starts to slow down while she warms up.

I've never had to pull start mine - can't - I'm single and don't have anyone to drive the other tractor! I have run the battery down a few times, though...

Tim

They are hard to start, but run forever. Our old girl had probably 5000 hours, and the crank was still standard size.

The glow plugs (4) on later models, or the thermo-start mounted in the intake manifold on the earlier models help starting if they are working.

A block heater, or heater in the intake hose from the rad (easier to install), is almost guaranteed to kick it off. We had a 200 watt heater in the hose, and a half hour at 10 deg F, 10 to 15 minutes in mid-summer works great.

They run $15 to $30 Cdn here from auto parts stores, but they're 120 v. I suspect you're 240 v in Au; they should be available at that voltage.

Hope this helps. It's a GREAT tractor!

Jack