What was the engine HP of the early D4400 engine in a 7J, was it only about 38 drawbar HP? If that tractor had the correct engine in it from the 6U/7U series D315 the HP would be a lot higher, sounds like that Cat has survived about 8 of it's 9 lives already.....

Hi Team,
slowly re-loading computer with some of Toby's great tutorials.
Link is to doing this on a D3400 D2 engine but the method is still the same--ONLY major difference will be the lifter height measurement for the D4400 which is 1.734" --I used to always set the lifters at one thousandth of an inch less then the spec. figure to advance the timing to aid easier cold starting--in this case then I would use 1.733".

I urge everyone to take a few minutes to check out Toby's tutorials on the full D3400 engine dismantle, inspection, repair, re-assembly and adjustments of the entire engine and its accessories.

Here is another useful tutorial on pony start for D2/D4.

Cheers,
Eddie B.

Yesterday I drove the cat over to the shop to check and set the injector pump lifters. I dont have a dial indicator to verify TDC so I went off of the flywheel Mark's alone.

The settings of the four ranged from 1.590"-1.630

Set to 1.733" or as close as my over seas mic tool would read, its within a thousandth or two.

Now the cat wont start. I purged the air, ran it on the pony for a good 45min. Then towed it for a good half a mile. Just getting smoke and intermittent pops the whole time. Even fed it a can of ether witch I never had to before... no start.

Is it possible there are other fuel pump cam specs for the D4400 other than the 1.734" ?

Unfortunately as Eddie mentioned, it is somewhat common for the last person to have installed the flywheel on those old girls to have gotten it wrong. Causes all sorts of trouable when the next guy goes to set the fuel pump lifters and valve clearances.

Easiest way to check marks without much disassembly is to watch the valve rocker arms for any cylinder “rock” at TDC of the exhaust stroke. That is when the exhaust is closing and the intake is opening. You should be right on top of a flywheel TC mark with that cylinder listed. If not then it’s time to get out a depth mic or even just a dial caliper can be used to find the actual TDC.

An alternative is to install some sort of obstruction that a piston hits near TDC. Rotate engine up until piston contacts stop. Make temporary mark on flywheel. Then rotate crankshaft backwards until piston contacts stop again..... make another temporary mark. TDC is halfway between the two temporary marks. You only need two marks for a 4 cylinder as each one is TDC for two cylinders.

Well you got fuel in the cylinders thats for sure! With those smoke rings coming out I think it's got valve problems.

It runs!!! The fly wheel was off just like you guys suggested. Bought a dial indicator and set them to 1.732" as a trial setting. As soon as I flicked the compression release off it purred like a kitten. I've never had one start so easy.

I put some paint pen marks on the fly wheel for future reference.

Thank all you guys one again.

Good! timing makes all the difference.