Suggestions for servicing unused diesel

[Maka]

Roy
Your original check list is a good one.
Considering the cost of the engine I wouldn't skip any of them as some have suggested. They are easy to do and inexpensive.

I would add "pre lubeing" the engine to your list prior to starting. Some diesels have a hand pump on them for this purpose, otherwise you need to pressurize the oil system in the engine thru an oil port. Any good mechanic will have what you need to do this.

Basically you are creating oil pressure before you start it. This insures oil is everywhere it needs to be and no un lubricated metal is rubbing against metal unnecessarily.

Since you plan on keeping the engine long term I Wouldn't cut corners.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by brantleychuck

Charge battery and start, why all the fuss? Maybe change the impeller before, oil after.


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What he said. Go to ''YouTube'' and type in something like ''diesel engine'' or ''diesel engine start''. You will see people starting engine that have sat since Nixon was in office.

[MBWhite]

A lot of good advice so far in this thread.

Roy M:

Good for you to be so cautious/conscientious. Make sure your fuel is clean, nothing wrong with pumping a lot of your old fuel out and then adding it later on when the engine has been running for a while, but either way at least take a sample and give it a visual inspection. Also before it gets fired up let it spin for a tiny bit to build up oil pressure. Watch the gauge. Another last thing to do is if the valve cover is off take an oil can and give the valve rockers a squirt down. If the valve cover is on still, nothing wrong with taking WD40 or other spray oil can that has a tube and stick the tube in there and give a spray all the way around.


Cabo:

You have also gotten some good advice. Since you are in a spot here is another couple things to try. I am somewhat reserved about suggesting them to a stranger over the internet as they are what I consider to be improper but both have gotten engines started for me when nothing else worked.

First, is if the front pulley of your engine is somewhat exposed you can see if you can fit a 1/2-3/4 hp electric motor to the side and use a V belt on the motor and your front pulley to turn the engine over. If so then letting it spin over for half an hour might free things up. Try it with the injectors out first if they are already out. If they are not out then what the hell, try it with compression but you may have to help with the starter motor to get it spinning over first, and depending on the pulleys 1/2 hp may not work with compression.

Lastly, if you are totally up the creek and can't do that the last thing I'd try is using 2 batteries and some cables and jury rig 2 batteries in series and run your starter off 24V. Believe it or not I had an old guy show me this and not only did it get the motor started but the starter motor was fine afterwards and worked for at least a couple years after that when I stopped working on that boat. Just make sure the 24V goes only to the starter and not to the rest of the boat.


Good luck and best wishes to the both of you!

[Compass790]

Another trick you can try is squirt a little engine oil in the air intake whilst cranking. I have a single cylinder diesel which has low compression due to a very worn liner and thats the only way it will start. It's easy on that engine as I can see the intake valve as i dont have any air cleaner & three squirts with an oil can does the trick. Runs ok once it starts. Might be a lot harder to do on a 4 cylinder but if you can find a way?? That 150 psi compression is way low
Good luck

[cabo_sailor]

Right now I have a quart of Marvel sitting on the pistons. I'll top it off tomorrow. The mechanic from the BVI swears that his daddy taught him this and it works more often than not. He wants me to put a socket on the crank and rotate it a bit. When I can no longer rotate, he figures compression has been restored and good to go. To be sure it will smoke quite a bit until the MMO burns off.

Other strange thing, instead of pulling injectors, he poured it in the air intake with a funnel! He tells me to move the funnel around to get above all 4 cylinders.

If this works, I'll be totally amazed and not so poor as with a new engine. 😳😳


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[a64pilot]

Be real sure to pull the injectors and spin the engine over several times so that you blow out any excess MMO, before you try to crank it.
Diesels have high compressions of course which means small combustion chambers, you can hydro lock a Diesel with very little fluid, like a teaspoon on a small Diesel, and a hydro lock can do bad things like bust pistons and bend connecting rods.
I'd rock the crank back and forth several times every few hours, intent being to get the rings moving in the piston grooves and getting the MMO in there. Let the MMO sit, it can't sit too long.
Lots of people believe MMO to be snake oil, essentially mineral spirits and some peppermint smell, but look up it's origins, it's been around a long time. I've seen it do things, that I can't really explain.


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[a64pilot]

Once it cranks, slowly bring up the revs and the load. It's high combustion pressures that force the rings out against the cylinders and cause rings to "seat", your rings will need to reseat and babying the engine may well cause the rings to not seat, you need to put her under a good load and run it for maybe an hour, then change oil. If you can leave it tied up to the dock, in gear, that ought to put a good load on it, and if anything happens, you still at the dock.


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[cabo_sailor]

I'm already rocking the pistons by hand. But you can bet the first time that starter is engaged, the mech will be there. None of this, you did it wrong. As to how long it sits, he is a bit non-committal. Could be a couple days or a couple weeks. When we start to have difficulty hand cranking, we have compression and we'll fire her up. OK, makes sense and I can be patient.

I just realized that the OP's post was so close to mine, I may have hijacked his thread. 😥

Apologies but we're almost so close perhaps the two threads will eventually be merged. In any event, I hope the posts are helping you as well

Rich

Fingers and other appendages crossed.


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[Maka]

You can also spray WD40 in the air intake at start up time. It will lube as well as act as starter fluid,..... safer than ether.

[meridian28]

This is the same procedures we use with ford model-a's that have sat in barns since the 40's. MMO does the job.


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[cabo_sailor]

Originally Posted by Maka

You can also spray WD40 in the air intake at start up time. It will lube as well as act as starter fluid,..... safer than ether.

Afraid not Maka, they changed the formula on WD40. It no longer works as a starting fluid. We're back to using ether for that.


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[esarratt]

Originally Posted by Lojanica

Change oil, filters both gas and oil, then recirc fresh diesel with fuel conditioner and start it. Let it run until warm then change the oil and oil filter again and then run it for an extended period of time gradually increasing load until it's under full load for a long time.

Done

This is all I would do.