runaway engine?

[WillWagner]

That's 4

 

[Katahdin]

Going back to the 1 inch opening on the air filter housing....how about mounting a fire extinguisher inside the cab and running the hose to that hole? If the engine runs away, just press-and-hold from inside the cab. Would it work?

 

[BIG_RED]

Yup, if it flowed enough CO2 to kill the engine.. You'd want a big extinguisher.. I'm thinking the tiny beer-bottle-sized ones wouldn't do it. I was thinking CO2 from a 20 oz paintball cylinder. They cost like $40 and you can fill them with Argon/CO2 off your welding rig. Or just hook up a spare shield gas cylinder..

 

[yellobronc]

Ok...is there a safe way to test the fire extinguisher method....and it needs to be a CO2 type not ABC?

 

[zeisshensoldt]

How high are the chances of something like this happening? Could you just be driving down the road and then, "oh look my deuce is at full throttle who is it going to kill first?" It almost makes me not want to drive my deuce anymore.

 

[BIG_RED]

CO2 ONLY! The ABC ones have powder and liquids in them (They hurt your eyes - ask me how I know ), Two things you DO NOT want in your engine. Basically you need a gas that displaces enough oxygen to prevent your truck from burning fuel in it's cylinders. Almost any non-corrosive, non-flammable gas would work. CO2, Argon, Helium, etc..

 

[panshark]

Ok...is there a safe way to test the fire extinguisher method....and it needs to be a CO2 type not ABC?

We know that CO2 is not harmful to an engine, because it is a gas--which is compress-able. The issue with liquids/powders is that they are not compressible. Some may argue that liquids are to a small extent compressible, but the margin is so small that it holds no bearing on the discussion.

I would say that a good test would be to fire up the truck, bring it up to operating temperature, and have soldier B press down the accelerator (do not rev over redline) while you spray co2 into the intake. Is it a cheap test? maybe not, but I would say it is safe.

 

[overlordofmars]

I had a 1968 Detroit do just that, we had it run away right after we rebuilt it, some one messed on the reassembly of the pump. It went right off the scale on the tach before we could stop it. When we finally got it fixed and back up, it had one **** of a rod knock. There went the rebuild right into the trash.

 

[hndrsonj]

Going back to the 1 inch opening on the air filter housing....how about mounting a fire extinguisher inside the cab and running the hose to that hole? If the engine runs away, just press-and-hold from inside the cab. Would it work?

Why not just plug the 1" opening and leaving the mushroom loose? You can kill it with your hand.

 

[Katahdin]

With my hand huh.... like this?

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NRaqgab0_w[/media]
The engine runs away at about 1:30...

 

[hndrsonj]

With my hand huh.... like this?

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NRaqgab0_w[/media]
The engine runs away at about 1:30...

I wouldn't do the rag. But you can easily kill a deuce with your hands if the fording opening is plugged. (a board does work better tho)

 

[engineman2]

The easiest albeit not cheapest is a CO2 fire extinguisher. Keeps powder off of everything and will definitely stop a runaway. I keep one in my M1008 and we keep them in all turbo machines on the farm. About the covering the intake with a board, etc I would be sure the rest of the intake is sturdy as I have done this, only to have the engine vacuum a portion of line father down until it made its own hole.

Also, about the lubricity of the fuel...Yes, some of the sulphur compounds added lubricity to the fuel by reacting with the nickel in the ip components as well as in other ways. Fuel manufacturers say they get around this by adding extra stuff to add back the lost lubricity. I still add some Opti-lube XPD, it's some of the best stuff there is IMHO.

 

[uscgmatt]

I was waiting for his flannel shirt to get sucked into the belts.

I think the extinguisher would work best, but the really cold gas hitting the hot engine might do its own damage. I dont know time for more research.

 

[engineman2]

So long as you don't put the end of the extinguisher right in the intake it'll warm up before being drawn in. It isn't too cold anyway, having been sprayed with one. lol.

 

[zeisshensoldt]

Since I'm new (and frankly scared ****less) to this whole runaway business i better get this straight. Now, the only thing that will cause a runaway is when you lose a seal in the turbo? How does a turbo lose a seal, overheating? And to counteract this issue, you can either put something over the turbo or inject a c02 fire extinguisher into the mushroom intake? How common are runaways? I mean if diesel engines were that unreliable they would have been phased out by now, so runaways can't be that common. At least that's what I'm hoping.

 

[m16ty]

With my hand huh.... like this?

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NRaqgab0_w[/media]The engine runs away at about 1:30...

They gives a new meaning to the name "screaming jimmy".

I thought the compressor wheel was going to eat his fingers when he tried to smother it.

 

[engineman2]

Runaways are fairly rare, but cause massive engine damage if allowed to continue for much time. Two ways to stop runways. Put vehicle in highest gear, hold brakes and dump the clutch. If this doesn't work you're in for a good ride. The other is to block the airflow by covering the intake or displacing the oxygen (O2) with carbon dioxide (CO2) by blasting an extinguisher in the intake. These stop combustion by removing the oxygen component of the fire triangle. Listen to that; that's why they're called Screamin' Detroits right there.

 

[m16ty]

Since I'm new (and frankly scared ****less) to this whole runaway business i better get this straight. Now, the only thing that will cause a runaway is when you lose a seal in the turbo? How does a turbo lose a seal, overheating? And to counteract this issue, you can either put something over the turbo or inject a c02 fire extinguisher into the mushroom intake? How common are runaways? I mean if diesel engines were that unreliable they would have been phased out by now, so runaways can't be that common. At least that's what I'm hoping.

Many things can cause a runaway. Turbo seals and IP malfunction are the main ones. It can even be caused by driving near a flammable gas leak such as natural gas.

Except for 2 cycle Detroits, runaways are fairly uncommon. The main problems with 2 cycle Detroits are blower seals and the governor mechanism tends to stick if not adjusted right or has been sitting for awhile.

 

[zeisshensoldt]

Many things can cause a runaway. Turbo seals and IP malfunction are the main ones. It can even be caused by driving near a flammable gas leak such as natural gas.

Except for 2 cycle Detroits, runaways are fairly uncommon. The main problems with 2 cycle Detroits are blower seals and the governor mechanism tends to stick if not adjusted right or has been sitting for awhile.

In other words, I don't need to worry about my deuce going ape**** down the road the next time i drive it? Should I eventually invest in a positive air shutoff valve and is there anyway to know if my turbo or ip is about to take a dump?

 

[m16ty]

I'm not too worried about it on my deuce. It's not the best way but usually if it does run away and you can get to the side of the road, you can put it in high gear while standing on the brake to shut it down.

I've been around a bunch of diesels in my life. I've only seen two of them run away and both of them were Detroits. Both had been sitting for a long time and the governor stuck. Detroits actually have a air shutoff flap that can be engaged to stop a runaway. It's a damper right above the blower.