[AT] 3 cyl diesel problems

Sun Oct 27 16:23:51 PDT 2019

Wether you use starting fluid, WD40, or gas, the important thing is to control the amount you will be injecting into the cylinder. The engine is designed to take a certain amount of pressure in the cylinders.  Too much and you risk blowing something out. There’s also the possibility of bending/breaking a piston rod because you wind up slamming the piston down harden and further then it is meant to be.

----- Original Message -----
From: Stuart Harner <stuart at harnerfarm.net>
To: 'Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group' <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sun, 27 Oct 2019 16:40:49 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: [AT] 3 cyl diesel problems

For a gas engine it would depend on why it is not starting. If the mixture is too lean then using MAPP or propane adds some extra fuel to the mix, same as splashing a little gas on the air filter or just down the throat of the carb. Same as a primer or choke. Of course, if the engine is flooded, you are just adding to the problem. I am not sure if it will help at all with a diesel engine.

Since gas has an octane rating which is directly the opposite of the cetane (sp?) rating for diesel fuel it would seem counter-intuitive to use gas to start a diesel engine. You want something that is supposed to ignite under pressure, the octane additive in gas is there to prevent pre-ignition. 

I have seen many mechanics use good old WD-40 as a primer fluid for starting a diesel engine that is not getting enough fuel. It is light weight enough to light off easily and you can control the amount by how much of a “squirt” you give it. 

Ether can be used if done properly but it is very easy to overdo. A friend always said “just a whiff”.  Many modern diesel engines come with ether injection systems build in so it would seem that it is the proper primer to use when done right. 

While operating a scraper with a Detroit Diesel in it I discovered that if it was cold (no glow plugs) was to hold the fuel cut off lever and crank the engine. The engine then became a starter propelled air compressor which in turn helped warm up the head and pistons. Spin it a few cycles of thirty seconds and then drop the fuel lever for a few revolutions. If it didn’t light, start over. If you just started cranking, it would flood out before it got warm enough to light off. This also keeps the excess fuel from washing down the cylinder walls. 

Worth what you paid for it,

Stuart

From: AT [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Stephen Offiler
Sent: Sunday, October 27, 2019 2:53 PM
To: Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group
Subject: Re: [AT] 3 cyl diesel problems

Anybody use propane/MAPP?  Unlit torch pointing into the air box.  I use it on reluctant gasoline engines with a fair amount of success, but not so sure about diesel.  Since we're talking about gas-soaked rags or gas-soaked air filters on diesel engines, seems like a similar approach.  

SO

On Sun, Oct 27, 2019 at 3:37 PM Dennis Johnson <moscowengnr at outlook.com> wrote:

Be careful using this method. A few weeks ago my son watched a new hand try this on a crane engine by dosing the air cleaner with gas. Crane engine started and ran away throwing chunks out the side of the engine. Replacement engine from Germany was $60K, which company paid for by no longer paying the person who did it.

Moral is that while this method works, you need to be able to control how much gas it gets, and be able to pull the gas source away quickly.

Dennis

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 27, 2019, at 8:36 AM, Cecil Bearden <crbearden at copper.net> wrote:
> 
> I have had this problem before on a few engines that had weak fuel pumps.   I get a large rag soaked in gasoline and hold it over the air intake.  Not completely cutting off the air, but making sure the gasoline fumes are getting into the air intake. After finding this method, I have not used a primer pump since. Got caught on the side of I-40 with a truck that had fuel in one tank and ran out of the other.  I walked over to a truck stop, got a can of gas and a stack of red shop towels.   When I got back to the truck, I just opened up the air filter housing and poured gas on the dry filter.  it started up and ran after I pressured the other tank to send the fuel over the transfer line to the main tank......
> Cecil
> 
>> On 10/27/2019 7:14 AM, Milo Holroyd wrote:
>>> On 10/27/19 7:55 AM, ivan wrote:
>>> Helping a buddy out moving some dirt using a small bobcat excavator . He ran it out of fuel and thats when the problem started .  After you fill it then you use the primer bulb . It will start up ,run for about 10 seconds then sputter and die like its starving for fuel .  First try was a new fuel filter , the round spin on one bolted to the side of machine . No change . took off the fuel line where it goes into the injector pump and squeeze the primer ,fuel comes out .   He even tried grandpa's ,whack it with a hammer but failed .  Any suggestions ?    He said the engine is a kubota  3 cyl diesel . It was bought used 5 yrs ago and first tie its ever failed . Thanks , Ivan
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> It is starving for fuel. Providing nothing else is abnormal, ( hoses, lines, air leaks, etc) just hold the throttle full open and it will eventually push all the air out of the system.
>> 
>> You can also speed up the process if you can locate the bleeder that is most likely right on the injector pump, where the fuel supply line connects.
>> 
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