"New" MEP-002A Purchase

[Forester]

Will be picking up my, sight unseen, rebuilt in 2007, MEP 00-2A next Tuesday. Wish me luck!! I've been reading all the great posts on these units and will heed all the great advice and pointers. Hopefully I wont need any of it past the initial cleanup and startup pointers Right....??

 

[Triple Jim]

Best of luck, Forester! Keep us posted.

 

[DieselAddict]

Definitely wishing you good luck. Remember the golden rule with these - NEVER idle them. Its 1800 or bust.

 

[jamawieb]

Good luck! I would personally take fuel tank off and give it a good cleaning. Clean and replace the strainer/filters. Then take the cap nut off the injector pump and then take out the delivery valve holder so you can see the plunger. Turn the motor over with a 5/8 socket and see if the plunger, inside the injector pump is moving. If you don't see it move in and out, then your plunger is stuck.
If you try to start the motor and the plunger is stuck, then the plunger guide will break and you will have to rebuild the injector pump.

Keep us posted and I hope you're ready for the addiction.

 

[cuad4u]

Good luck! I would personally take fuel tank off and give it a good cleaning. Clean and replace the strainer/filters. Then take the cap nut off the injector pump and then take out the delivery valve holder so you can see the plunger. Turn the motor over with a 5/8 socket and see if the plunger, inside the injector pump is moving. If you don't see it move in and out, then your plunger is stuck.
If you try to start the motor and the plunger is stuck, then the plunger guide will break and you will have to rebuild the injector pump.

Keep us posted and I hope you're ready for the addiction.

This is some very good advice. Ask me how I know.

 

[gimpyrobb]

If you have any issues, I have IP parts and maybe a fuel tank kicking around somewhere. Post up and let us know.

 

[jacobsk]

Did you land one of the four PU/751/M units from Sparta Monday? If so those were some good looking units, you'll be pleased

 

[Forester]

You know I was wondering about the best way to verify that the IP was not gummed up. This is great advice and I will follow it to the letter - THANKS. What about spraying some sort of penetrating oil/cleaner/fresh fuel into the IP prior to turning the motor over by hand?

I am just about ready for the addition...with the exception of not exactly informing my better/nosier half that the $$ spent is no guarantee of a problem free generator.

 

[Forester]

jamawieb

You know I was wondering about the best way to verify that the IP was not gummed up. This is great advice and I will follow it to the letter - THANKS. What about spraying some sort of penetrating oil/cleaner/fresh fuel into the IP prior to turning the motor over by hand?

I am just about ready for the addition...with the exception of not exactly informing my better/nosier half that the $$ spent is no guarantee of a problem free generator.

 

[reset2]

Hi 002a users
I bought an MEP 002a out of New Castle (GL) about a year ago on a trailer. When I was going over it I found that the fuel tank had a bunch of crap (sludge) in it. Once I removed it and flushed it out some pin holes opened up. A couple were about 1/8 in size a couple places scattered over the bottom. I realize that the whole bottom is subject to leaking. What has been your experience in repairing a tank. I was considering wrapping an additional sheet of metal to cover about 1/2 of the tank (across the bottom and up sides) and soldering or welding the edges where the factory weld is. Any thoughts on this kind of repair or should a used tank be in my future.

 

[Ray70]

If you search around here you'll likely find lots of talk about cleaning and repairing tanks. My personal experience was to clean the tanks out good by sloshing a bunch of nuts bolts and screws around in the tanks 1/3 full of phosphoric acid (metal treat) or muriatic acid. then let it sit full overnight, then pressure wash the inside. Then I used Caswell Plating's 2 part epoxy tank sealer to coat the inside. Worked great to fill holes and leaves a thick epoxy coating on the inside of the entire tank. There are many other brands of tank sealer on the market, do some research because I read that some work and last much better than others. The Caswell Plating one got great reviews across the board so I went with that one.

 

[Ratch]

First, congrats Forestor! Loud, but cool machines the 002's are.

Second, reset2:
I've had limited success using fuel tank specific epoxy, but not much.
About 6 months or so ago, I coated the interior of the tank with a product called "RedKote", and the pinholes were all sealed perfectly.
With holes 1/8", I would use fuel tank epoxy to seal it, then maybe add a sheet metal shield to the bottom for mechanical stability, then coat the tank interior with RedKote.
They specify that you have to cut in half and then sandblast a tank that's had diesel in it, then weld it back together, then coat it.
Instead of that, I let the tank air dry a few weeks, then put coarse sand in it, attached it to the front of a cement mixer, and let it rotate for a day or two.
Then rinsed it several times, stuck a heat gun in one port, set it on high for a half hour, and it was like new. I put about 4 coats in that tank, with a week or more between coats.
That's insanely time consuming, but I didn't need the machine for a while, and I could run it from a gas can if I had to, so it was worthwhile. Don't skimp on your fuel tank.

 

[Ratch]

If you search around here you'll likely find lots of talk about cleaning and repairing tanks. My personal experience was to clean the tanks out good by sloshing a bunch of nuts bolts and screws around in the tanks 1/3 full of phosphoric acid (metal treat) or muriatic acid. then let it sit full overnight, then pressure wash the inside. Then I used Caswell Plating's 2 part epoxy tank sealer to coat the inside. Worked great to fill holes and leaves a thick epoxy coating on the inside of the entire tank. There are many other brands of tank sealer on the market, do some research because I read that some work and last much better than others. The Caswell Plating one got great reviews across the board so I went with that one.

Didn't see this, but a thick epoxy on the interior sounds pretty good.

 

[Keith_J]

I used POR's tank sealer, a urethane sealant. Light gray in color, it is still in great shape after 4 years. Every year the tank gets drained, mopped out and then refilled with fresh diesel. This new diesel I have been getting is crystal clear, should be a good time to photograph the clean fuel in the tank.

Oh yes, to rehash how bad this tank was corroded, it took me two days to chase down every pinhole, drill it out to sound metal and weld repair it. That is after phosphoric acid cleaning of the rust. I was at the point of replacing the entire bottom.

I also pulled every riveted and soldered fitting which greatly helped in the cleaning process. The drain plug was also pulled out a bit to make a positive drain sump so water would collect and could be drained.

regardless of sealer used, protect the threads with hot melt glue plugs. When done, a wood screw can be used to pull the plugs from the threads. Any remaining hot melt glue will just assure a great seal.

 

[ageregunner]

My MEP-002 had an extremely rusty fuel tank on the inside. I too used the 2 part Caswell Plating tank sealer. I followed Caswell's instructions and the result was great. It left a nice, thick epoxy layer inside the tank and so far I have had no problems. This Caswell Plating tank sealer is highly recommended.

 

[1800 Diesel]

Hi 002a users
I bought an MEP 002a out of New Castle (GL) about a year ago on a trailer. When I was going over it I found that the fuel tank had a bunch of crap (sludge) in it. Once I removed it and flushed it out some pin holes opened up. A couple were about 1/8 in size a couple places scattered over the bottom. I realize that the whole bottom is subject to leaking. What has been your experience in repairing a tank. I was considering wrapping an additional sheet of metal to cover about 1/2 of the tank (across the bottom and up sides) and soldering or welding the edges where the factory weld is. Any thoughts on this kind of repair or should a used tank be in my future.

Clean the inside as described in many threads on this forum & once you have all the crud removed from the inside surfaces, lightly sand the outside surfaces with a 7" HD grinder/sander with about a 40 grit disc pad. Blow down the surfaces, wipe with acetone & then apply fiberglass resin & chopped strand (IIRC 1 1/2oz) cloth over the holed areas and allowing a 4" or so overlap past where the holes are. Allow this to dry, then light sand the surface with 60 grit sandpaper, blow down & then apply a 2nd layer of chopped strand. This should take care of the problem for many years to come. Sometimes I apply 3 layers if the holes are larger diameter and many. When the final coat is dry, sand again to remove any sharp burrs or edges, blow down and apply your paint. I think I did another thread somewhere on this forum that has more details but that's the basics. Have repaired several fuel tanks--both gas & diesel product using this method & have never had a leak. The first gas tank I repaired was back in the mid 80s & it still doesn't leak... If you've never done fiberglass work, get someone over who has so you can get the right techniques. Don't make this fuel tank your 1st FG project! Good luck!

Kevin

 

[Forester]

jacobsk-

I did indeed get one of the units from Sparta. Boy i hope you're right about the machines, and I hope the low hours are indeed low hours and not non-functioning meters. By the look of them and the packaging/extras in the trailer I am hopeful that they are in fact sub 20 hour units.

 

[Forester]

Unofficial Pics

 

[1800 Diesel]

That one looks pretty nice to me!

 

[jamawieb]

Unofficial PicsView attachment 541167View attachment 541168

Unit looks really good. It's been reset recently, I see and it looks like you got some accessories (i.e. Aux. fuel hose and batteries). I have a feeling you won't have many problems with that unit.
As for spraying something into the injector pump before turning it over by hand. I have not found anything that works well, I usually use a q-tip and acetone to clean the plunger bore. Then use carburetor cleaner and spray in it.