450 getting hard to start....?

[little1406]

My 450 has a recently rebuilt injector pump. Right after the rebuild, it seemed to start easily but maybe I was just starting it more often. Now, if I let it sit a week, it takes a lot of cranking to get the engine going. Recently I let it sit for a month between uses and it would not start at all....until I sprayed in some starter fluid.

The battery is good.

What might be wrong?

Thanks

[Tigerhaze]

There could be a variety of reasons for hard starting. Are your glow plugs working correctly? Are the fuel filters clogged? Is the vent or return lines on your fuel tank clogged? Have you bled the system? Is your starter worn out?

If you could tell us what other activities you did when you rebuilt the injection pump, that could help us narrow it down.

I would recommend against using ether in the future on an indirect injected diesel engine- you can cause damage to piston rings and eventually the engine will become "ether dependent".

[little1406]

Thanks, Tigerhaze.

AFAIK, my engine does not have glow plugs. There's no mention of them in the Service Manual and I don't recall any wires leading up to the cylinder head.

The fuel filter might be at fault. I replaced it once in the beginning when I had a severe diesel algae problem and I expect it's got some more gunk in there by now.

And air in the fuel system could be a problem but it seemed like right after I re-installed the injection pump that things were good with the starting....so why would air be a problem now?

The starter and battery seem good. The engine turns "normally" when cranking.

Yeah, I agree on not using the starting fluid routinely. The engine clattered rather loudly when I started it that way recently.

Scott