Help Support SkidSteer Forum:
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2009
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- 170
Our 873 got contaminated fuel as well and we ended up buying a parts engine and swapping the injector pumps and injectors over. I believe they can be cleaned but not sure if it's something you'd be able to do yourself. I happened to stumble on a deal on a parts engine I couldn't pass up so we just went that route. Make absolutely sure your tank and all lines are clean once you have your pumps and injectors cleaned or replaced. My dad didn't (he decided that the tank was clean after draining it) and found out the hard way that it needs to be properly flushed, hence the reason for swapping out pumps and injectors...
thanks for the info, what is the best way to flush the tank? thanks
bobbie-g
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- Mar 15, 2004
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Never flushed a tank, but there is a drain. Under the skid plates beneath the engine is a 2" x 10" steel plate, held in place with three bolts. Crawl under the machine and you'll find it. Remove bolts and plate, and you'll see nothing but dirt and gunk. Gently clean that out with a stick or screwdriver, exposing two rubber bungs with steel inserts. One of those is for the hydraulic tank and one for the diesel tank. The hydraulic tank is steel and part of the "frame". The diesel tank is plastic, so it should be obvious which bung to pull to drain the diesel. I've always purchased a new rubber bung and new steel insert from the dealer before messing with them, and I always renew both when draining the hydraulic oil. I just don't care to find out I have a seeping bung after I thought I was done. The steel plug will pull straight out; you'll probably need a pair of visegrips to help pull it out, maybe prying with a screwdriver at the same time.
---Bobbie-G
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- Dec 17, 2009
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Ideally one would remove the tank and give it a complete and total clean, but on the 863/873 this is one heck of a job as the engine has to come out. My dad tried to flush his in situ and it didn't work. One of these days we're going to pull the engine and take the tank out to clean it properly... Like Bobbie-g says make sure you use a new bung, the old one WILL leak if reused in my experience...Never flushed a tank, but there is a drain. Under the skid plates beneath the engine is a 2" x 10" steel plate, held in place with three bolts. Crawl under the machine and you'll find it. Remove bolts and plate, and you'll see nothing but dirt and gunk. Gently clean that out with a stick or screwdriver, exposing two rubber bungs with steel inserts. One of those is for the hydraulic tank and one for the diesel tank. The hydraulic tank is steel and part of the "frame". The diesel tank is plastic, so it should be obvious which bung to pull to drain the diesel. I've always purchased a new rubber bung and new steel insert from the dealer before messing with them, and I always renew both when draining the hydraulic oil. I just don't care to find out I have a seeping bung after I thought I was done. The steel plug will pull straight out; you'll probably need a pair of visegrips to help pull it out, maybe prying with a screwdriver at the same time.
I just drained fuel on two machines that had water in the tank (OK I'm an idiot and pressure washed that area before I realized how the fuel pickup lines mounted). An 873 and a 753 both had the same steel plug and rubber seal. It wasn't too hard with vise grips and a screw driver. I did pump the fuel out of both tanks first with a cheap fuel pump. They still held a gallon or two. I flushed with a couple gallons of clean fuel. I'm still not convinced all the water was removed. I tried reusing the rubber gromments but found that both of the leaked. You can get the grommet online or at a Bobcat dealer. Make sure you take the plug with you. There are two different sizes of grommet that have the same part number. Good Luck.Never flushed a tank, but there is a drain. Under the skid plates beneath the engine is a 2" x 10" steel plate, held in place with three bolts. Crawl under the machine and you'll find it. Remove bolts and plate, and you'll see nothing but dirt and gunk. Gently clean that out with a stick or screwdriver, exposing two rubber bungs with steel inserts. One of those is for the hydraulic tank and one for the diesel tank. The hydraulic tank is steel and part of the "frame". The diesel tank is plastic, so it should be obvious which bung to pull to drain the diesel. I've always purchased a new rubber bung and new steel insert from the dealer before messing with them, and I always renew both when draining the hydraulic oil. I just don't care to find out I have a seeping bung after I thought I was done. The steel plug will pull straight out; you'll probably need a pair of visegrips to help pull it out, maybe prying with a screwdriver at the same time.
If you haven't noticed any issues with the motor running, just dump the fuel, re-fill and possibly add some fuel conditioner, get it moving around and you should be fine.
Any ideas on the contamination? of it's water, draining and additives will fix that for you. Even ensure your fuel filter has a water separator on it. Drain it every so often and you should be fine.