530 188 diesel won't start

I am missing something on my 530. over the winter i put new sleeves and pistons into the engine, new bearings, new valves springs keepers. new injectors new fuel filters among a lot of other work. anyway i thought i had the bugs worked out and have been using it just fine. it sat for a couple weeks and then i needed it to move a trailer load of gravel yesterday. I hit the key and it fired right up like it should. I walked around to the back of the tractor to put the hitch on and it died. ( it sounded like it was a little sick and then ran out of fuel). now it won't start. i have plenty of fuel flowing out of the line coming out of the fuel filters going into the pump. I topped the tank up to help with bleeding the system. the tank is so full that fuel is coming back down the return line when i pull the timing window off the pump. i barred the engine over to 8* BTDC and the line in the timing window is right on the money. i dropped the bottom off the oil bath and see nothing in it. I plugged the block heater in for an hour or so and it almost sounded like it tried to start once but did not take off. anybody have ideas about what it could be.

I'd try a little bit of starter fluid. If it fires and runs on start fluid then you may have a injector pump problem

Make sure you have fuel returning to the tank there is a check valve that needs cleaning.

Remove the return line & fittings off the top of the injection pump,
all the way down to the aluminum cover & try to start it..
IF it DOES start, shut it off & remove the small window on the side of the inj. pump.
The pump will be full of fuel so have a pan or a handful of paper towels ready..
Look for small bits of black plastic in the corners of the pump housing.
IF you find some, the pump needs to be removed & repaired..

I took the pump window off to check the timing, fuel freely flows out of it backwards from the return line. I tried to start it when the timing window was off. do I still need to try to run it with the return line disconnected? I took the pump apart about 4 years ago and put the upgraded metal drive coupling in with new seals and a new metering valve. I wonder if the plungers could be stuck from sitting for a couple weeks since last time I ran it. I hate to take if off again, I really struggled to get all the injector lines to be leak free.

"normally" removing the side cover will suffice.. BUT why not put it back on & try it w/o the connector??
The mv might be stuck also..check it.. THATS ALOT easier than pulling the pump..
Having the EID weight retainer cancels out having a bad flex ring but not debris in the return connector.{on top}
Hell, remove the top cover, check the mv & try to start it w/o the top cover.. its gonna be messy tho.
IF it has an electric shut off?? You WONT be able to shut it off w/ the key if the top cover is off, if it starts.
You have to manually move the mv w/ your fingers to shut it off..
IF it has a cable shut off?? just pull the cable to shut it down..

mine wasn't working either here just today, had to take the line off that goes to the pump then take that fitting out there is a little metal filter screen in there maybe that is plugged and not allowing fuel
to go through.

The inlet screen is clean and plenty of fuel flows out of the fuel filters, the return line is clean all the way to the tank. I took the top off the pump today. I used air and blew all the fuel out of the top of the pump so i could see in there. the metering valve goes back and forth when the throttle is moved and when the shut down cable is pulled a little flapper forces the metering valve closed so it can't open. it all looks like it works fine. with the timing window off the coupling can be seen turning and the lines line up right at 8*BTDC. i cranked it over for about 45 sec with the pump cover off and it did not start. What surprised me was it also did not fill up with fuel. I was expecting it to pour fuel out all over the ground but none came out. did i not crank it long enough or is the pump junk? i remember when i had it apart a few years ago i put new vanes into the transfer pump, new metering valve upgraded drive coupling. anybody have a DBGCFCC431-27AJ pump laying around for sale? thanks gus.

if it's not trying to fire up when your cranking it over but it will try to run if you spray either into the air then your pump needs rebuilt. went through this a couple years ago, luckily there's a injector
place kinda close to me (bout 2 hours) that could rebuild it. cost me about 1200 but I also called a junkyard nearby and they had one laying on the shelf for another 200. so I got a rebuilt one and one for
parts or to throw on if this one goes bad. not sure the numbers on my spare one, but maybe check some junkyards near ya or see if their are any injector shops around ya also. Hope that helps ya.

I tore into the tractor tonight. Took the pump off, and all apart. There was a lot of brownish rust inside it from a bad set of filters coupled with a rusty tank I had on it before I rebuilt the engine this winter. The advance piston in the bottom was really sludged up and seemed like the side without a spring was stuck pretty tight. Not sure if that will make the whole pump shut down on fuel delivery. Other than that it all looked functional. The fuel delivery pistons were not seized up, nor was the metering valve. I cleaned it all out with brake wash and oiled it up with kroil and plan on putting it back on in the next few days. It is amazing to think how many 1000's of gallons of fuel that little pump has moved since 1964.

I put the pump on today and blew air through the fuel filters real good. plenty of fuel coming out of the fuel filters but still no fuel coming out of the top of the pump. I give up.

I am retired after 52 years at a professional shop as a service technician, In all those years I have only done one or two of those pumps, I consider myself a good mechanic and I do not feel at ease working on the Roosa Pumps. I know that if I had more experience I would be perfectly at ease, Not to disparage your abilities as a mechanic but if I were in your shoes I would remove the pump and send it to The Pump Guy and have him go over it, It would seem highly reasonable that if you had rusty conditions inside that there may be serious issues with the critical parts. Also the level of cleanliness required on assembly and disassembly is critical, not the kind of a job that you would do in the average shop or on the tailgate of your truck LOL, Good luck , keep us posted

agreed, i just figured if it's all ready not working i may as well just take it apart. i have a book on it so i followed the directions which made it easy. i did successfully put a metering valve, upgraded eid weight retainer, and transfer pump vanes into this tractor 4 years ago, and in my bulldozer 5 years ago. My motor home 6.2 gm defeated me and now this tractor has gotten me on round 2 so I guess 50% isn't bad. if it was easy everybody would be doing it.

I got my pump back from "thepumpguysc" yesterday. He was real nice to work with, good communications and fast turn around time. He said the pump was under fueled, the transfer pump vanes were worn out, the metering valve was beyond worn out, and I had placed the timing marks on the coupling in the wrong spot. Also there were a couple twisted off screws. He fixed it all and readjusted it and had it back in just a couple days. I would like to thank him for all his help. I put the pump on the tractor with a new fuel filter yesterday. Blew all the injector lines out with air to make sure they were clean. I rolled it over for about 30 sec and it started right up. I really thought I would have to get somebody to pull start me with everything being dry.

Glad it worked out for you, thank you for supporting a supplier that contributes his expertise freely on this forum, he is just one of a few men on here who supply technical and actual repair services to us and need our support to keep their shops up and running.