using my 863 this last weekend, it shut down on what sounded like lack of fuel. I primed the system with the vent cracked and it just pumped air. hmmmm. filled the tank up to the brim, it ran about 10 minutes then, same thing. guess what the problem was......fuel probe broke off during operation from the brass elbow and fell into the tank. no sure if anyone else has repaired one of these with the engine still installed but thought I would share a few lessons learned. It can be fixed with the engine installed but it is a major pain to reach. I pulled the RH side access cover off by the RR wheel. It helps to pull the RR wheel off as well but I did it with it installed. Arm size and length is critical to actually reach the connection to pull it from the tank top. A short fat arm will not work. Long and skinny is the key. Basically you have to pull the brass elbow out with the rubber grommet from the top of the tank using your fingertips. Once out you can pull the elbow to the back of the engine to install the new probe. Key to success here is that the new grommet MUST go into the tank top BEFORE you re-install the probe. Once you put the new grommet in with fingertips again, work the probe into the grommet and push it down until it is secure in the grommet. hope this helps any who experiences the same PITA repair.
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That is actually fairly common and machines with 7+ years i'd guess. do a search and you wil find several posts. Some have abandone the original pickup and drilled into the tank in a easier to reach location.
Ken
Ken
the pickup tube was a failed design by the engineers at Bobcat , location and type of material used was a bad idea , also the screen that was originally put on the end of the tube clogged up frequently and was very hard to get out and clean now the tube that fell in the tank is going to deteriate into tiny pieces and pieces are going to get logged in the 90 degree fitting on top the tank if no screen is on the tube ,but if a screen is on the tube it will clog up even faster , as Ken said , it is much easier to just drill another hole and relocate the tube where it is easily accesable as it is going to give trouble again somewhere down the line , also it is better to use the hard plastic pickup tubing as I have yet to see one of those fail , the hard plastic is the same stuff used on trucks for air lines , but when you buy it for trucks it comes in a coil which I have tried to straighten out with out a lot of luck , have put a clothes hanger thru the tube for a couple of days but the coil comes back , Bobcat sells the tubing in straight lengths
Appreciate the feedback and advice, I'll keep an eye on it and consider moving it closer to the access plate. Maybe an inline clear filter before the primer or a sediment bowl?
