Ferguson Club Information Exchange

Hi,
New to forum.
Have an MF145 vineyard. I had been flail mowing for about an hour all good, temp middle of green, oil pressure good, sound normal, no smoke, revs solid high 2000-2400 rock solid stable then as I came up a slope through long grass it slowed and stopped fairly gracefully -
almost like fuel cutoff (not like mower caught something) and died.

Showing plenty of fuel and fuel visible in tank. It just wouldn’t start, cranked but no sign of life (in neutral obviously, pto disengaged). It normally fires instantly any weather however long it’s sat in cold and wet or hot.

Only thought is when I filled it from a metal can I saw a bit of orange rust go in. But it had run for an hour up and down hill and on slopes to side so if there was rust sediment to clog filter should have shown signs before.

Drained fuel filter and was a tiny bit of orangey red sediment but ran clear.

Sounds like fuel system problem, maybe injector blocked but I would have thought one would go first and run rough with vibration, it just smoothly powered down in a few seconds but without vibration. Which suggests maybe pump died.

Tried leaving it a bit and then trying, cranks fine sounds ok but no sign of wanting to fire up.

No idea how old about 4000 hours but sweet as anything until now.

Any suggestions appreciated.

The orange sediment would be water, if it was a small amount it should have been stopped in the fuel filter with the glass bowl on the bottom. If it got past the filters there is a good chance that the fuel pump rotor shaft has broken.

I think my first move would be to crack a couple of injector pipes first, wind it over and see if there's any fuel there.
Start by taking the fuel pipe off the tank and confirm a good flow there. If not, first take the filler cap off in case the breather is blocked causing a vacuum, if that doesn't work take the fuel tap out as there is a pencil filter on top of the tap. You might need to push a screwdriver or similar up into the tank if the crud is really thick (take your watch off first!). This will also flush any sediment from the tank.
If there is a good flow then work your way along the system one joint at a time. Blow each line through with compressed air if possible. Check the lift pump for broken or damaged springs and valves, or a torn diaphragm. Change the filters while you're at it and maybe pull the filter head and give that a birthday too.
Once you're at the inj. pump, drain it using the bleed screws, and pull both ends of each injector pipe to drain those as well.
Re-assemble, run through a complete bleed sequence and see what happens. If you get fuel all the way to the injectors but it still won't go then it would suggest a possibly expensive inj. pump problem.