Cold Weather Starting Tricks ?

[The FLU farm]

If you had power there you could just put an oil filled space heater under it, very safe but need AC. they are inexpensive and economical.

I have generators, and long cords, and an inverter. Even a few good batteries.
But we haven't hit below zero many times this winter (yet), so I'm not worried (yet).

Yes, it's cruel to fire up a cold diesel, and it would be nice to have heat in the cab quicker, but...

 

[peakbagger]

A follow up on my third yearly spring starting experience. Given my poor experiences for the last two years getting my SEE started I decided to go all out. I got the boat tank and squeeze bulb out of storage and filled it up with some winter grade diesel I had left over. Over the years I had found the best place to put the boat tank hose is on the short hose between the fuel shut off valve and the strainer. I broke the connection on the valve and nothing dripped out. I hooked up the tank and then bled the fuel filters using the bleed pump. Plenty of air came out. I sit the tank up on the passenger seat so the fuel systems is under positive pressure. I then disconnected the hose between the air filter and the engine so I could get a good blast of starting fluid into the duct. I had charged up the battery in advance.

I gave the engine a crank and it quickly had the starting fluid initial spin over and then did not catch. I gave it several seconds of cranking and it started to get fuel and then started up. I expect it would have started with a constant spray of ether as that is how the ether starting system works.

I gave it a few minutes to warm up and then swapped it over to the regular fuel system and seemed to run well. Its obvious that the system leaks down its fuel system when it sits over the winter. Usually its fine all summer until fall. Its still surrounded with 18" of snow in partially thawed ground. I got it moving but unless I get around to cutting down my chains and installing them, its gong to sit for a few weeks as its down in a hole.

Nevertheless its the best spring start to far.

 

[The FLU farm]

Nevertheless its the best spring start to far.

You certainly have more patience than I do. Right or wrong, I expect them to start...as long as the batteries are in decent shape.
Especially the Winter SEE, which seems to inject ether without even doing anything with the knob.

Love that smell, by the way.

 

[peakbagger]

Spring #4 success! George at Unimog Center may not be SEE expert but he is a Unimog expert (he has a SEE for personal use and has sold one in the past) . He had suggested at one point last summer that the OM 352 fuel injection pump has an internal "check valve" that retains fuel in the fuel pump between starts. His guess was this valve might be leaking down over the winter. He suggested that prior to starting in the spring that I prime the system with the newer style Bosch primer until the valve releases in the injector pump. The new style primer pump is the one that does not have to be unscrewed before pumping. I pumped the pump numerous times until I heard an obvious click and hiss coming from the area of the injection pump. I made sure the batteries were charged and hit the button. It did take a bit of cranking but it did start. This is the first time its started after the winter without the boat tank.

George recons the Unimogs he buys with injector cleaner ( I think he used a Stanadyne product). Looks like I need to do the same. Nevertheless success. If its like the past years it will start fine until it sits over the winter again.

BTW if you have the screw top old style primer pump that looks like the pump on a coleman stove or lantern., do yourself a favor and get the new style Bosch. The military did this conversion so you may already have one. EI has then for sale for relatively cheap. Its a direct replacement.

 

[The FLU farm]

Uh, oh. I thought that was common knowledge. Pumping the primer if it wouldn't start/keep running, that is.

Also, I don't fully understand the hate for the old style primer pump. Yes, I replaced one with a new style, but that was because the old one started leaking. I'll rebuilt it at some point.

And please remind me about looking at the injector cleaner I ended up buying, for one that needed it badly. Naturally I can't remember the name now, but it was picked after a fair amount of research.

EDIT: It's Liqui Moly

 

[peakbagger]

Uh, oh. I thought that was common knowledge. Pumping the primer if it wouldn't start/keep running, that is.

Also, I don't fully understand the hate for the old style primer pump. Yes, I replaced one with a new style, but that was because the old one started leaking. I'll rebuilt it at some point.

And please remind me about looking at the injector cleaner I ended up buying, for one that needed it badly. Naturally I can't remember the name now, but it was picked after a fair amount of research.

EDIT: It's Liqui Moly

i think its this Stanadyne product https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/stanadyne-diesel-fuel-injector-cleaner-16-oz

I previously would pump the primer until the air was out of the filters and usually pumped several times after that. This year I probably pumped 50 times until I heard the relief valve in the injector click and hiss.

My old style pump just did not pump as well, there was some slop in it so when reaching down from the hood opening and trying to pump up and down I think some of the effort end up going into side to side stiction. I am not the only one who recommends the upgrade, its pretty well universal. I think EI throws one in their SEE filter kit. Yes the old one can get rebuilt but the Bosch design seems to be superior design.

 

[The FLU farm]

Ah, I'm lazy and just reach in over the tire.
Had I needed to remove the hood every time, I would've given up and sold the SEE.

I also gave up on bleeding at the filters, except in the most demanding cases, and just used the primer pump.
Keep in mind that I had to go through this every 5 to 15 minutes for a while, after the necessary clean-outs of the strainer.