Cat 277 Skid Steer OT?

Gary Mitchell · Oct 15, 2017

I have a friend with a 277 Cat Skid Steer that has starting issues. He told me that it had gradually gotten harder to start until he was having to give it a shot of ether to get it started. It would run poorly for a bit and then be okay. Now it won't start at all, just a little on the starting fluid. My feeling was that it is probably plugged filters and for sure a fuel related problem. He changed the filter though it was fairly new, with no improvement. Are there any hidden inline filters, etc? Any ideas? gm

JD Seller · Oct 15, 2017

I would check for air leaks in the supply and return fuel lines. It sounds like the fuel is bleeding off when it is not running, letting air into the system. A line can allow air in but not fuel out. So if the lines are rubber and have dry cracks in them replace them. IF it has steel lines remove the nuts on the ends and look at the flanges. It is common to have cracks around the base of the flanges.

FIX IT soon!!! If he keeps using the starting fluid he will ruin the motor. Cracked piston rings being the most common issue.

Robert Major · Oct 15, 2017

Hi I'm gonna go out on a limb a bit here and say thats possibly an indirect injection diesel from a bit of research I just did. If so it could be something wrong with the glow plugs why it's not starting right and got worse. Lots of the older indirect injection diesels would start messing around as they dropped glow plugs. The old 500 style Belarus is one, My 7.3 turbo F250 has dropped a few plugs to and that don't start worth a ---- on a cold day either without the winter block heater plugged in.

Enough either would eventually get them going as long as a working plug or 2 don't crack/ blow the head off with the explosion ! , but at the price of messing up the motors over time as JD said to. It was probably pretty good starting in the summer but if the temperatures cooling down for winter it's got worse. They need the heat to get that fuel to burn in the combustion chambers in the head. Does it white smoke un burned fuel when it's trying to start or when it was first running, more than it used to before the starting problems. That could be a clue to glow plug problems to.

Regards Robert

DR. EVIL · Oct 15, 2017

I had FOUR bad glowplugs in my 7.3L PSD and it still started when not plugged in for almost 12 hours at work in below Zero temps with 15W-40 oil in it. I cycled the glow plugs 2-3 times and it started on 4 cylinders, then ran on 5, then 6, then 7 and finally all 8 after a minute. I changed oil to 10W-30 when I got home from work that night. Was a month or 5-6 weeks before I replaced the glowplugs. Had a couple days it started at 15 below, but I did start it and drive around for a half hour at lunch.

Only way I'd shoot ether into a glowplug engine would be if the glowplug relay was unhooked. I've never heard of that ending well.

Robert Major · Oct 16, 2017

Dr EVIL I got to go through my truck and do the plugs/relay, I got 8 new ones sitting on the shelf been there for a year thats how enthusiastic I am to do it. Chances are I'm pulling the heads when one or more on both heads won't come out with the way my luck goes! They are under the rocker covers to thats quite the program one side as well.

I used to be able to cycle the plugs a few times and get it to go most days, it won't do that now if the sun goes behind the clouds. If it's been started during normal warm days it's ok for most of the day. If it gets down to -20 oc and it hasn't run for a day or more forget it even with the block heater.

I think the filter heater does more than the glow plugs now. I don't give mine ether at all , I know guys that will do it. They don't seem to listen that they may do it a few times and get lucky then crack something with to much and a good plug or 2 kicking in !. It can depend on how the plugs are wired to, on some machines if one goes non of them work some older tractors are like that I've seen.
Regards Robert

Gary Mitchell · Oct 16, 2017

Thanks to all. gm

Cat 277 Skid Steer OT?

Gary Mitchell

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JD Seller

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Robert Major

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DR. EVIL

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Robert Major

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Gary Mitchell

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