I bush hog about 7 acres and finish mow 2. Well I did bush hog the 7 until my tractor quit running 3 years ago.
I have a Ford 3600 that ran like a treat for years and 3 years ago it just would not start. I don’t know squat about Diesels. My reading is pointing towards a bad injector pump as I have tried everything else.
In all reality the 3600 is far larger of a tractor than I need. I was thinking of selling the 3600 and bush hog and buying a DR pull behind bush hog.
I have an ATV to pull it with. I have a walk behind DR Field and Brush mower that has been great for nearly a decade now. So I was looking at their pull behinds as an option.

Also thinking of maybe just getting a smaller tractor but I don’t really need a tractor as all I use it for is rough cutting 7 acres 3 maybe 4 times a year.

Drag the tractor up to Maine. I hear there’s a guy up there that can fix anything.

At the very least, he might guide you through the process of diagnosing and fixing.

My father in law had a pull behind DR bush hog and I used it to cut 4 acres when he got too old and senile to do it. It worked well, but was slow due to what I was pulling it with. I pulled it behind his old Cub Cadet garden tractor that was about as fast as a person walking. Took the better part of a day to get it all cut. Typically, the grass and weeds would get up to about 3 feet or so and that's when it would get cut. His DR had a Briggs and Stratton commercial grade engine on it. It ran well. It definitely didn't give a finishing cut, though. But if the blade were kept sharp, it did a very reasonable job. Not sure how old it was. It's a good solution for a smaller plot of land. I never pulled it over rough brush. Just very tall grass and weeds.

They're okay, but don't limit yourself to just DR.

Also, unless things have improved, I'm not a fan of Briggs and Scrapiron engines. Honda GX preferably, or Kohler industrial.

I've got a pull behind that's actually a finish mower that we use like a bush hog. We pull behind a gator to keep the trails clear in the woods. Ours works great for what we want it to do.

There appears to be some sunk cost in your current tractor already - get a quote to have it fixed?

I would fix the tractor. If it cranks but won’t start, loosen the fuel line that attaches to an injector. Crank the starter several revolutions to see if fuel leaks out. If no fuel, the fuel cut-off solenoid might be bad or you have a leak in the line from the tank to the pump. Or you could have a bad pump

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
They're okay, but don't limit yourself to just DR.

Also, unless things have improved, I'm not a fan of Briggs and Scrapiron engines. Honda GX preferably, or Kohler industrial.

They haven't, at least with the v-twins. His is an older DR and it runs well. I have a B&S 25hp v-twin on my tractor with a california-compliant single barrel carb and it was nothing but problems. Every year like clock work it clogged and ran like crap. Not until I had the carb jet bored out larger and installed a fuel shut off valve in the line (and use it to cut off the engine when I'm ready to park it for a week) did the problems go away. Now it runs like a charm. Materially, they are fine. But the single barrel carb on a big thirsty engine is a problem spot.

Clogged up fuel lines & filter was my tractors fuel problem.
Lots of cleaner soaking and compressed air & new filter had it going in a couple of days.
Pull behind mowers take more space to turn other than that..... Cut grass is cut grass.

I have a Dr 44" Pro. I have bush hogged several miles of 20ft wide trails on the non wooded very hilly portion of our property in SE Ohio for a few years now. I created the trails in very dense and high (4 to 6 foot brush) and now maintain it a few hours at a time each time I am down there. Keep the blades sharp and it works like a champ. If my Pioneer can go over or through it,, the Dr cuts it. Very pleased with it.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
They're okay, but don't limit yourself to just DR.

Also, unless things have improved, I'm not a fan of Briggs and Scrapiron engines. Honda GX preferably, or Kohler industrial.

Not limiting to DR just want quality. Looming at DR as my other DR has given me zero problems. 10 plus years all I have done is changed oil, sharpened blades, and replaced one battery.

quote:

Originally posted by dbgeek:
There appears to be some sunk cost in your current tractor already - get a quote to have it fixed?

I have been trying for 3 years now since it went down. No one wants to work where my cabin is. Took over 2 years to get an electrician and I brought him from 2 hours away.

quote:

Originally posted by Suppressed:
I would fix the tractor. If it cranks but won’t start, loosen the fuel line that attaches to an injector. Crank the starter several revolutions to see if fuel leaks out. If no fuel, the fuel cut-off solenoid might be bad or you have a leak in the line from the tank to the pump. Or you could have a bad pump

quote:

Originally posted by Haveme1or2:
Clogged up fuel lines & filter was my tractors fuel problem.
Lots of cleaner soaking and compressed air & new filter had it going in a couple of days.
Pull behind mowers take more space to turn other than that..... Cut grass is cut grass.

I have checked the lines and replaced filters. I am getting fuel to the pump but she won’t start.

I have plenty of space to turn not doing a tight space.
I have a big field between the cabin and pond. I finish mow around the house and about 15-20 feet around the pond but leave the field rough cut.

Can you put the tractor on a trailer and take it somewhere?

Not a fan of pull behind mowers myself, I like belly mowers.

Why not rent one from home depot? Not to bad if you have a trailer. Plus let them worry about the engine.

Just food for thought.

Did you bleed the injectors? Have to bleed them after changing filters. Most older engines have to be thoroughly bled and bled, before all the air is out of the system.

Bleed at the pump and primary filter, then crack loose all the injector lines at the injectors. Make sure a tiny bit of fuel is pushed out at each injector line. Once they are all pushing fuel out, reconnect the injector lines.

If that does not do it, try a TINY amount of starting fluid. No luck, bring the tractor to a shop, or hire a professional to assist.

Find someone who mows/bales hay and ask them to pay you 1/4 of the value of the hay that they take off, and get it cut with no labor on your part and no equipment expense.

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
Did you bleed the injectors? Have to bleed them after changing filters. Most older engines have to be thoroughly bled and bled, before all the air is out of the system.

Bleed at the pump and primary filter, then crack loose all the injector lines at the injectors. Make sure a tiny bit of fuel is pushed out at each injector line. Once they are all pushing fuel out, reconnect the injector lines.

If that does not do it, try a TINY amount of starting fluid. No luck, bring the tractor to a shop, or hire a professional to assist.

To the best of my knowledge yes. But there is a good chance I did it wrong or maybe not enough.

I just don’t know enough about this diesel stuff.

Most likely your fuel shut off solenoid is bad (this is how it shuts the engine off), check the lever arm on it. I would shoot a small blast of ether into the intake and see if she rolls over. If you have air in the fuel lines (airlocked) she won't start either. Crack one of the nuts on an injector and roll it over and see if air or fuel and air are coming out, if solid fuel you're ok.

Diesels are relatively simple motors to work on compared to gasoline. Don't get discouraged......spray either and see if it will run a little while (20-30 seconds), it might work the air out of the fuel lines.