The hose from the fuel tank of my 3DIII continually clogs up with dirt thus restricting the flow of diesel to the engine. Has anyone ever had a go at cleaning out a fuel tank and if so what it entails? Ive had a look to find the bung and where the hose screws onto the bottom of the tank and im not liking what i see. How in the hell is anyone expected to get their hand in there?

Yours disgruntled

As i recall, the union in the bottom of the fuel tank that the fuel pipe connects to is in turn screwed into a larger plug. It may even have a strainer fitted. in most cases i found that the sediment trap was'nt doing it's job and the lift pump was full of crap...

You'll never cure that problem but there is a way round it.

Best method I have found is to make a new outlet for the tank. Run the tank low and then drain off the rest of the fuel. Drill and tap a hole suitable for an on-off metal fuel tap. But drill it on the side of the tank about 2" up from the bottom of the tank in a handy place to get to. I did mine inside the cab. Screw in your new tap and fix the supply line to it. Then screw a bung into the hole where the supply used to come from.

The only thing to remember is that you can't run your tank as low as you used to.

Hello again William - fraid the only way round it is to cut a whacking great hole in the tank and scrape/hoover it out like I did on my mk 3 - see the photo. I used a plasma cutter to get a nice clean cut then sipmply welded it back together once cleaned out. On a safety note if your gonna do this make sure you fill the tank with exhaust fumes (in a well ventilated garage) or fill it with a carbon dioxide fire extinguishers contents to avoid a potential explosion Talk to you abot the jcb 1 soon

Had a bit more investigation. The flow of diesel from the tank is always good and clean. However when I re-attach the hose to the bottom of the tank the diesel flow is then not good. So then I conclude I need a new hose. I get a new hose and then the flow becomes better. However on one occasion today i have the same trouble all over gain - losing serious power and not being able to have full rev. I stop the digger straight away loosen the fuel hose union at the sediment trap beside the lift pump. The flow of diesel looked good. I put the hose back on. Scratched my head for 5 mins. Asked myself, "what the frig am I going to do?" After coming to no conclusion I jump back into the digger start it up and the dam thing is fine. I continue to carry on with my work and everything is fine. Now even with the old hose, stoppping the digger and letting it sit would cure the problem.

does this have a lift pump the flow out of the tank might be good but if there is no pump working itwill be running out of cooking juice to supply the engine this is only a thought like ,

If it has a lift pump there are non return valves and a filter screen within the pump.Also check the tank filler cap is not causing an air lock.Remove the cap and see if fuel flow is better.
I was givern a Fordson Major Muirhill wagon pusher a couple of years ago.It always proved troublesome to its previous owner.He had pump and injectors overhauled,still no good.The machine would work for a few hours and then loose power.
I had a good look at the machine.It did not have a lift pump fitted.
Put a pump on and it worked a treat.

Digger is now running fine. An air lock in the tank. Breathers were not doing there job. Well spotted Martyn (B100 Loader).