[AT] "diesel" engines running backward

[charlie hill]

Dan,  based on my experience with a Detroit emergency shutdown I hope you 
never need to use it.  When I was a rookie driver in a Brockway with an 8V 
71 I pulled up to a stop sign one day.  When I pushed the clutch in and took 
my foot of the gas pedal the engine flew wide open and would not slow down. 
Being a rookie I had no way of knowing that the throttle cable had come 
loose from the lever on the injection rack.  I had heard about Detroits 
running away and assumed that was what was happening.  So, I pulled the 
emergency stop with the engine taching 2450 RPM's.   It stopped..... after a 
good bit of snorting and blowing.  One of the other drivers stopped and told 
me what was wrong.  We hooked the cable back up, I fired her off and away I 
went.   About an hour up the road I realized she was running hot.  I was 
close to our shop so I pulled in.  I told the mechanic but he was a smart 
A## who layed his hand on the top of the radiator and told me I didn't know 
what I was talking about and sent me on down the road.

The top of the radiator wasn't hot because there was no water left in it and 
about another hour up the road I coasted to the side, called the shop and 
told them to send a wrecker for it.  She was fried.
Something about pulling that emergency stop caused the engine to loose it's 
coolant.

I actually have seen 2 Detroits run away.  One was a 6 71 in a concrete mix 
truck.  They got it shut down but it was ruined.  The other was a 3 53 in a 
log skidder.   The mechanic fired it up after a new rebuild and forgot to 
hook up the linkage on the rack first.  It hand grenaded and blew parts all 
over the shop.  (no it wasn't the same mechanic).

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan Folske" <dfolske at nccray.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 7:42 PM
Subject: [AT] "diesel" engines running backward


> The 4-53 GM diesel in my Oliver 1950 has an emergency shutdown "flapper" 
> to
> prevent damage if the engine begins to run backwards. These are 2-stoke
> engines which will suck the oil out of the crankcase and burn it as fuel
> until they disentegrate if running backwards. One of the first things I 
> did
> when I got the tractor was replace the cable which operates the shutdown
> flapper. Probably never have to use it, but at least now I can if 
> necessary.
>
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at