start up on detroit 3-53

steel1st · Oct 27, 2015

I'm getting ready to try starting the engine after many years of sitting. It was stored under cover and isn't rusty on the exterior. I changed the oil and there was only oil, no water in it. It has an emergency shutoff cable to the intake and I can remove the aircleaner if it tries to run away. Should the rings receive any pre-lube like I would with a gas engine(squirt alittle oil down the spark plug hole)? What would you do? The engine is installed and not on a stand.

Thanks

Andy Martin · Oct 27, 2015

No ta diesel expert but I had a 353 in a motor patrol. I would oil it up good and spin it for a while letting it lube and loosen up. A little shot of ether and it should fire right up if it's got compression. Good little engines.

old · Oct 27, 2015

If it where me I would as you turn it over pour some ATF or other such in the intake to lube it up some. Sitting that long is has to have a cylinder or 2 that has some rust in it just form condensation and humility

Al Baker(pumpman) · Oct 27, 2015

I would be VERY careful to check and make sure the rack isnt stuck. I have seen many old Detroits that have either not started, or started and run away after extended sitting without running. Pull the valve cover and just make sure the rack movse freely. Good Luck Al

EricB · Oct 27, 2015

It may likely spin a number of rounds before starting and as soon as the injectors start spraying diesel you've got lubrication on the cylinder walls. Oil pressure may be a little slow
coming if you just drained and refilled the crankcase. For an engine that has been dormant for a long time it's a bonus to have oil pressure before you start. If you get grey smoke
you have plenty of lube in the cylinders. Detroit engines are pretty forgiving...unless you run them without coolant or oil (or serious overheating) they are not easily damaged. I
have owned and run many Detroit engines and they've been good to me. Generally guys love them or hate them LOL.

Dieseltech · Oct 27, 2015

Xs 2 what Al Baker mentioned.. I would not even attempt to start it if the rack does not move freely. And make sure the safety air shutoff is working correctly, it may be needed when it starts..

Traditional Farmer · Oct 27, 2015

I bought an Allis Chalmers HD14 with a Detroit think it was a 6-71 in it and it had been
sitting for 6 or 7 years.Put in a good battery and it fired up pretty quickly.

Dean · Oct 27, 2015

I would pressure lube it or at least fill the oil filter.

Also verify that condensation has not caused the oil bath air filters to overflow oil into the intake tract. Once it starts, it will run away if it pulls oil into the intake.

No oil in the blower inlet.

Dean

Den N Ms · Oct 27, 2015

Steel1st,Drain old fuel and put in some fresh replace fuel filters and fill them with new fuel before putting them on ,or at least drain the old ones and refill with new fuel. Like Dieseltech said,remove the valve cover and check the rack for sticking and be sure it has free movement.Remove the intake pipe from the air cleaner to expose the intake inlet.Have a heavy clip board or a 1/4" piece of plywood ect. and have it ready to cover the intake in case of a runaway.If it has been in the dry I would give it a good spray in the intake with some PB Blaster or some ATF mixed with diesel fuel in a spray bottle while cranking it over first with the kill cable pulled.(no easy way to lube the pistons and walls)Spray it good.Then set the kill to run,give it a shot of starting fluid and start it.Keeping the clipboard in your hand and ready.

M-MAN · Oct 27, 2015

An old Detroit mechanic told me years ago you never work on a Detroit without a manual or with the breather on there. The manual is so you can slap it over the pipe to block the air and stop a run a way.

bison · Oct 27, 2015

(quoted from post at 20:12:54 10/27/15) I bought an Allis Chalmers HD14 with a Detroit think it was a 6-71 in it and it had been
sitting for 6 or 7 years.Put in a good battery and it fired up pretty quickly.

had an HD 10 with a 4-71 in it.
Had been sitting for more than 10 years.
I put a batt in it, hit the starter, it turned over 5-6 times and it fired right up,..did not need ether either.
It ran like it had ran the day before
Oil pressure was right there too.

black · Oct 28, 2015

(reply to post at 02:53:28 10/28/15) [/quot

I bought a 230 Timberjack this spring with a 3-53 that was seized . Took the valve cover off and poured peretrating oil in he valves . Sat for a day or 2 rolled it over on the crankshaft . Put new oil and battery and she fired up and purrs like a kitten ---got lucky on this one --was prepared for a rebuild.

Larry --ont.

buickanddeere · Oct 28, 2015

(quoted from post at 21:59:38 10/27/15) No ta diesel expert but I had a 353 in a motor patrol. I would oil it up good and spin it for a while letting it lube and loosen up. A little shot of ether and it should fire right up if it's got compression. Good little engines.

Why would you pound an engine with ether ?

Andy Martin · Oct 28, 2015

Detroits like ether. I'm not a big fan of using it normally but a little shot in a 353 doesn't hurt a thing. Since they are two cycle the pressure get's relieved pretty quickly. Why do you question using ether on an engine that comes equipped with a permanent ether injection system?

Guido. · Oct 28, 2015

Hello steel1st,

Just crank the engine with the fuel stop in the off position until you get oil pressure. Would not recommend taking the ejectors out to squirt oil in the combustion chamber. Have something on hand that can shut air to the engine. If it has an emergency shutdown build in, make sure it works. NO EITther needed!. Buy the time you get oil pressure you'll have all the fuel you need to get it going. Two cycle or four cycle makes no difference! Starting aids have their place, only used when YOU KNOW you need them. They do a nice job granading ANY engines when improperly used,

Guido.

Guido. · Oct 28, 2015

Hello buickanddeere,

Because he can? Or................

Guido.

buickanddeere · Oct 28, 2015

(quoted from post at 14:09:08 10/28/15) Detroits like ether. I'm not a big fan of using it normally but a little shot in a 353 doesn't hurt a thing. Since they are two cycle the pressure get's relieved pretty quickly. Why do you question using ether on an engine that comes equipped with a permanent ether injection system?

In cold weather a block heater is better than ether.
Properly priming the fuel system is better than filling the tank, being lazy and spraying ether until it primes.
Ether keeps my father-inlaw employed. Few are the persons that understand using a little wiff.
The factory ether starting aid is installed as the lesser of two evils. A shot through the factory system or Bubba given'er a good snort.

stonerock · Oct 29, 2015

have a 4430 if you want it to start in the winter time your going to have to use ether or it wont start, and I don't mean a little squart

buickanddeere · Oct 29, 2015

Use a block heater , check the injection pump timing, de stroke the hydraulic pump and update the starter cables/connections.

RodinNS · Oct 29, 2015

I would probably pull the valve cover and make sure the rack is moving freely. I'd also pull the intake hoses/breather and make sure that the emergency stop flapper is working CORRECTLY. Don't wait until it runs off to try and remove the breather. It's too late then. Also, with the breather removed you can then put a book or plywood over it if it does run off. Filling the oil filter is also a good idea so it builds pressure quicker... but aside from that I'd just fire it up.

Rod

JMOR · Oct 29, 2015

I know assuming is a bad thing, but .......I assume that the Detroits are more prone to run away than others or else they would all some emergency air shut off. So the question is why are those more prone to run away?

Wemedeeres · Oct 29, 2015

IIRC to shut down a Detroit you shut off the air unlike other diesels where you cut the fuel, I think the emergency shut off is just that, for emergencies, you pull it, it trips the flap and the air is cut off.

JMOR · Oct 29, 2015

(quoted from post at 19:15:58 10/29/15) IIRC to shut down a Detroit you shut off the air unlike other diesels where you cut the fuel, I think the emergency shut off is just that, for emergencies, you pull it, it trips the flap and the air is cut off.

understand, but as per my question, why only air shut off on Detroits?

RodinNS · Oct 30, 2015

Detroits have fuel shutoffs the same as everything else. The air flapper is simply an emergency shutdown to cut off the air. The reason they're perhaps somewhat more prone to running away is mostly due to their unit injector fuel system. Each injector has it's own rack attached to considerable linkage attached to an externally mounted governor. Long story short... it's not that difficult to have it stick or hang up on something.... or be seized if it's sat long enough. When you compare them to a common Roosa pump, they are quite complicated... likewise most inline pumps with hydraulic injectors are compact with the critical parts contained in one housing. A Cummins PT system is regulated by simple pressure... so all of these systems have more fail safes generally speaking.
Detroits also have a nasty habit of building up oil in the blower boxes and flipping the blower seals.... so they run off on their own oil. Sometimes the only shutdown is CO2.... or extinguishing the oil supply.

Rod

JMOR · Oct 30, 2015

(quoted from post at 01:49:16 10/30/15) Detroits have fuel shutoffs the same as everything else. The air flapper is simply an emergency shutdown to cut off the air. The reason they're perhaps somewhat more prone to running away is mostly due to their unit injector fuel system. Each injector has it's own rack attached to considerable linkage attached to an externally mounted governor. Long story short... it's not that difficult to have it stick or hang up on something.... or be seized if it's sat long enough. When you compare them to a common Roosa pump, they are quite complicated... likewise most inline pumps with hydraulic injectors are compact with the critical parts contained in one housing. A Cummins PT system is regulated by simple pressure... so all of these systems have more fail safes generally speaking.
Detroits also have a nasty habit of building up oil in the blower boxes and flipping the blower seals.... so they run off on their own oil. Sometimes the only shutdown is CO2.... or extinguishing the oil supply.

Rod

hank you very much! I have seen the injector system but not though about the hang up/seizing aspect. All makes sense.

steel1st · Oct 30, 2015

Happily the PO found the manual and sent it too me, In the instructions it states "G.M. Diesels are not equipped with cold weather starting aids. However, starting fluid(pressurized can type) sprayed into the air cleaner intake is recommended as engine is being started". This is under ...When colder than 40 degrees F.

buickanddeere · Nov 1, 2015

There are a lot of things that were ok in that era that we know they are not too smart now.
The local machine shop counts on ether to have enough business to stay a float during the winter months.
There is no excuse for using ether instead of a block heater . Using ether instead of properly priming a dry fuel system isn't too swift either .

steel1st · Nov 2, 2015

Today I had a little time so I hooked up a battery, cranked the engine less than 5 seconds and I saw oil pressure. I was ready to block the intake just in case of a runaway and took the cover off the exhaust. Cranked it only about 3 turns and she fired off amazingly quick. I didnt touch the throttle only the start button. The problem was the belt started squalling because the water pump was froze up. I couldn't find my strap wrench before dark so that will have to wait. The oil filter was leaking too, so I have to deal with that also. Any ideas with the water pump? I was just going to try to break it free, by trying to work it back and forth. I'm going to drain the coolant before the next startup attempt. I may work on the brakes 1st too as they will need to work before I can move it.

start up on detroit 3-53

New User

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

New User

Well-known Member

New User

Similar threads