[AT] Need some help

[Dennis Johnson]

Years back Detroit Diesel did research on engine failures. I think this was done for extending engine life during WW2. The simplified results were that diesel engines wear out after a certain amount of particulates were ingested. The length of time it took to ingest these particulates did not matter. If all the particulate quantity was invested in a few weeks the engine was worn out in a few weeks. If it took several years to ingest the same amount of particulates, the engine would last for several years before needing an overhaul. I do not remember the weight of particulate, but do recall them showing it in a  bag about the size of a 1 or 2 quart zip lock bag.
For your generator engine this means that you will take a few months of life out of it. If you have a good air cleaner system and do good maintenance, this means your engine life changed from about 18 years life to 17 years and 9 months life, provided you do not continue to feed it a regular diet of pencil lead.

Dennis


Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 25, 2017, at 12:49 PM, Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I think the problem is that it's not pure graphite, it is mixed with clay,
> and there'd be at least some concern about the gritty particles scoring up
> some moving parts.  The good news is that there's not much of it, and it's
> likely to just blow out the exhaust port immediately.  And I think he
> already tried the vacuum trick.
> 
> SO
> 
> 
> On Sat, Feb 25, 2017 at 11:07 AM, markagreer <markagreer at embarqmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> Pencil lead is graphite and is fairly soft. Powdered graphite is used as a
>> lubricant in some applications. If you can't suck it out with a piece of
>> 1/4" tubing or a drinking straw, it will probably just disintegrate into
>> graphite dust and not be a problem.
>> 
>> 
>> Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
>> -------- Original message --------From: Dick Day <dickday0 at gmail.com>
>> Date: 2/23/17  9:41 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: ATIS <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> Subject: [AT] Need some help
>> The generator that sits on my carry-all (on the back of the Boomer) was in
>> my shop for a general clean-up.  I had just finished adjusting the
>> intake/exhause gaps and was ready to put the cover back on, when I got some
>> help from an unwanted assistant.  My wife's cat.  I had used a pencil to
>> see when the piston was up and the valves were both closed.  I had the
>> pencil sitting in the cylinder to see when it was at the tdc.  The cat
>> jumped up there and manager to push the pencil just hard enought to break
>> the lead off.  So, I have a tiny piece of lead sitting on the top of the
>> piston.
>> 
>> I'm not up to tearing the engine down and would need to take it to a repair
>> shop.
>> 
>> Will the engine self-destruct with the top of the pencil sitting on top of
>> the piston?  It cannot be more than an 1/8" long with a fairly sharp point.
>> 
>> I have done this same procedure for years and never had a problem.
>> 
>> Suggestions?
>> 
>> As always, thanks.
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