5 Mar
2002
5 Mar
'02
3:09 p.m.
Yes, diesels don't like cold weather, and getting them started can be
nasty, tow starting a vehicle that size is a pisser. On the other hand,
they'll usually fire in 4-5 feet.
I've heard that WD-40 is better than ether, but...our TDNM4509's and
%106's had ether cups from the factory. And while the 671 is usually
500HP, it is a pretty good sized beast.
On Tue, 5 Mar 2002, Roger Merchberger wrote:
Rumor has it that Gary Hildebrand may have mentioned
these words:
M. K. Peirce
Rhode Island Computer Museum, Inc.
Shady Lea, Rhode Island
"Casta est quam nemo rogavit."
- Ovid
I have driven diesel engines as a personal vehicle
for 170k miles.
There are tricks to get them started.
[snip]
One thing that works rather well is an ordinary
hand held air dryer,
stuck into the intake manifold. Spraying WD40 works quite well too.
And a lot less effort.
For those who think we're getting into a pissing match, I see this as a
serious, but amicable discussion.... That said...
Those techniques are great, unless it's a 500HP engine you're trying to get
started... I've been around my dad and helped him start, fix, grease,
change tires, etc. his trucks for several *million* miles as a vehicle that
"if it don't run, we don't eat..."
Trying to get that big of an engine that *doesn't* want to start takes a
*lot* more than a hairdryer & a squirt of WD40... [ Oh, did I mention the 4
*big honkin'* batteries? ;-) ]
Merch, learning about the diesel's quirks is
the best way to work with
them, just like learning a different o/s on a computer. If more people
had learned about the diesels back in the early 80's, we'd see many more
on the highways today. And if diesels were so bad, why don't OTR trucks
go to them??? 'nuff said.
I never said diesels are bad -- I just said that they don't start for $*it
in the cold, especially if they have a big engine... And the thread started
about people who'd prolly never run a diesel before, and would only run it
for a weekend or maybe a week - by the time the started learning the
quirks, they'd have gotten a *big* education, then arrived at their
destination.
Oh, and if you wanna pull hindsight into the fray, the biggest reason we
aren't all burning ethanol/methanol is because Congress said "it would take
20 years to change the infrastructure" during the big oil crunch of '73...
The work would have been finished almost 10 years ago, and it pollutes one
helluva lot less than diesel or gasoline...
There's nothing better than waking up, getting out of the cab of your truck
at the truckstop at 6 a.m., and taking in a big breath of diesel fumes --
still one of my favorite smells. (Honest - I'm not joking!) but that's why
most truckers from the northern parts either 1) shut down their truck for 2
months, or 2) stick to the southern states...
Laterz,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
--
Roger "Merch" Merchberger --- sysadmin, Iceberg Computers
Recycling is good, right??? Ok, so I'll recycle an old .sig.
If at first you don't succeed, nuclear warhead
disarmament should *not* be your first career choice.