440icd cold weather starting
440icd cold weather starting
Hi, I recently bought a 440icd. Engine seems pretty strong and I was told it had been fairly recently rebuilt. It does not smoke and has good oil pressure, so I think it is in decent shape.
I was told it was hard to start in cold weather and that is no joke. I have read a lot of the posts on here and it sounds like different pistons and injectors would help a lot. That seems like it might be a major project, which I would rather not do at this point.
I also read on here that ether is acceptable to get these running. Here is my issue... ether makes it harder to start. I have no idea why that is. I have searched all over the web to find someone who has had this problem and I can not find anything. What I consider a normal shot of ether will cause the engine to crank over a lot slower and does not help at all. After a few seconds of cranking, it will go back to cranking fast. I found that if I just hit it with a very very small mist of ether every few seconds while cranking, it would help, but not much. Is this normal?
I was told it was hard to start in cold weather and that is no joke. I have read a lot of the posts on here and it sounds like different pistons and injectors would help a lot. That seems like it might be a major project, which I would rather not do at this point.
I also read on here that ether is acceptable to get these running. Here is my issue... ether makes it harder to start. I have no idea why that is. I have searched all over the web to find someone who has had this problem and I can not find anything. What I consider a normal shot of ether will cause the engine to crank over a lot slower and does not help at all. After a few seconds of cranking, it will go back to cranking fast. I found that if I just hit it with a very very small mist of ether every few seconds while cranking, it would help, but not much. Is this normal?
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- 1010 crawler
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- Stan Disbrow
- 350 crawler
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Hi,
The ether is burning as the cylinders compress and produce pressure that tries to push the piston down while the starter is trying to push it up. Sounds like a weak starter to me.
Stan
The ether is burning as the cylinders compress and produce pressure that tries to push the piston down while the starter is trying to push it up. Sounds like a weak starter to me.
Stan
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Useta Have: '58 JD 420c 5-roller w/62 inside blade
Useta Have: '78 JD350C w/6310 outside blade
Useta Have: '68 JD350, '51 Terratrac GT-25
Have: 1950 M, 2005 x495, 2008 5103 (now known as 5045D)
- gregjo1948
- 350 crawler
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Remove the small pipe plug from the intake manifold, install a petcock, add your ether there as you crank the engine.
JD 350B diesel 6way blade, Case 580B Loader/backhoe, Farmall 504 high crop w/ flail boom mower, International 404 , International 284 diesel w/belly mower, 1972 Ford F600 dump truck, Galion 3-5 roller, Allis Chalmers D17, 1620 Ford
It is an Optima that the previous owner bought. I do not know the size though. I also have a battery charger on it set to crank setting (which I think is 200 amps). Without ether it seems to crank over just fine.jtrichard wrote:X2 with Stan<< batteries,,, cables,, starter,,, every Detroit I have loves ether.... What are you running for batteries?
- gregjo1948
- 350 crawler
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Spray the ether lightly after you start cranking the engine. I think the ether actually expands in the cylinders causing more, and sometimes, too much compression.
JD 350B diesel 6way blade, Case 580B Loader/backhoe, Farmall 504 high crop w/ flail boom mower, International 404 , International 284 diesel w/belly mower, 1972 Ford F600 dump truck, Galion 3-5 roller, Allis Chalmers D17, 1620 Ford
I tried both spraying before cranking as well as spraying while already cranking. Neither works.gregjo1948 wrote:Spray the ether lightly after you start cranking the engine. I think the ether actually expands in the cylinders causing more, and sometimes, too much compression.
It will be spinning over fast without ether. Once I ether it (with what I consider a small shot of ether), it will slow down to about 1/4 of the speed until the ether clears out. If I go a little heavier on the ether squirt, it will pretty much stop cranking.
If I am really quick at hitting and releasing the nozzle on the ether, it does not seem to slow down much, but also does not help much either.
- gregjo1948
- 350 crawler
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Sounds like the other guys might be right. Check out the starter, cables, battery.
JD 350B diesel 6way blade, Case 580B Loader/backhoe, Farmall 504 high crop w/ flail boom mower, International 404 , International 284 diesel w/belly mower, 1972 Ford F600 dump truck, Galion 3-5 roller, Allis Chalmers D17, 1620 Ford
- Stan Disbrow
- 350 crawler
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- Stan Disbrow
- 350 crawler
- Posts: 2904
- Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 3:13 pm
- Location: Raleigh, NC
- Stan Disbrow
- 350 crawler
- Posts: 2904
- Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 3:13 pm
- Location: Raleigh, NC
Haha, yeah, I noticed that. Can not use single quotes, so I have to rewrite my posts. I work in the software field and a single quote is kind of a special character when saving data to a database.Stan Disbrow wrote:Danged debug mode!
Anyway, back to the issue. It does make sense if the starter does not have the power to keep cranking with the ether burning, but I am surprised that it cranks so well when it does not have ether.
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