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She ran away

wreckerman893

Possum Connoisseur
15,629
2,054
113
Location
Akenback acres near Gadsden, AL
Last week we had a cold snap in AL, it got down to 18 degrees, so I needed to add anti-freeze to the 816 wrecker.
Since I had two hot batteries I figured there would be no prob starting even though it was already in the 20's with a frigid wind blowing out of the west.
I cranked her up and she was idling just fine although a lot of white smoke was coming out of the stack.
Since that was not unusual so I let her slowly continue to warm up. I slowing increased pressure on the accelerator pedal to idle it up some more.
I noticed that the white smoke had not decreased so I let up on the pedal.
The RPMs continued to increase and I hit the shut off but it kept running.
I jumped out of the cab and cut the fuel line to try to shut it off.
The engine was roaring now and I realized that she was sucking oil into the cylinders from somewhere and that I had a "run away" diesel on my hands.
The cloud of smoke was so thick I could not see my shop but I felt my way to the door and grabbed a hammer and a large cloth towel.
I ran back to the truck and knocked the mushroom off the air cleaner and stuffed the towel into it.
The engine choked down and died.....another few minutes and it prob would have locked up or detonated.
It left a huge mess in my yard and across the street at my neighbors.
I paid to have his vehicles washed (and washed all mine that were in the path of the smoke) and tomorrow I break out the pressure washer to clean buildings.
The best guess is that the O-rings in one or more of the injectors failed allowing oil to get into the cylinders and cause it to attempt suicide.
 

50shooter

Active member
284
10
28
Location
Illinois
Glad to hear you were able to stop it in time. We had a P2 fire truck run away on us in the Air Force. It sounded like jet engine by the time we got the doors open on the compartment. We pulled something that killed it but I don't recall what it was. Kind of spooky to be 15" away from a runaway that is about to get the shakes.

Have you had any other run away engines? How about other members, especially the deuce guys, many run aways and how did you kill them? A hammer to the mushroom seems like one of the quickest ways in a pickle to get your hands over the intake.
 

WillWagner

The Person You Were Warned About As A Child
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
8,539
2,758
113
Location
Monrovia, Ca.
WOW, how'd that happen!? No turbo, was the blowby tube clogged? I've seen alot of stuff happen, but for a N/A engine to run away...gotta say, that's a first. Good job on saving it!
 

wsucougarx

Well-known member
6,951
67
48
Location
Washington State
Wow, pretty sobering. I've never had that happen to me but I will have a hammer and towel on standby. Thanks for sharing this story. Is this a pretty common occurrence? What's the common cause of this runaway?
 

m16ty

Moderator
Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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218
63
Location
Dickson,TN
I've seen several Detroits run away. They seem to be the worst about it. If they sit for very long the fuel rack can stick and cause a run away or the seals leaking on the blower. They are so bad that they come with an emergency stop on them that drops a flap over the intake.
 

bigelk50

New member
932
13
0
Location
albany, Or
I am glad to hear that you got it stopped!! I had a '66 Peterbuilt with a screaming jimmy in it do that to me. Scared me to be standing by it doing the same as you did with the rag in the air cleaner. Glad to hear you are safe.
 

Capt'nChaos

New member
16
0
0
Location
Western Mass.
Wow! Congrats on surviving a runaway. I have never personally exerienced a runaway but, I've heard many stories.

It used to be very common to see emergency shutdown handles/switches on diesels. Usually it was a spring-loaded flapper valve on the intake duct that was held open with a mechanical latch. Pulling the emergency handle released the flapper and shutoff the air into the engine. The flapper had to be manually reset to restart the engine. Hmmmm...now that I think about it they were mostly on Detroit Diesels.

There was a big push about 15 years ago to install emergency shutdowns on fire apparatus. Apparently, there were some cases of fire engines sucking in smoke or other flammable/combustible atmospheres during an incident and having the engine runaway.


Any space to mount an emergency shutdown on the deuce?
 

Alex400

New member
324
3
0
Location
Seattle/Ellensburg, WA
.

It is always a good idea to keep the mix of antifreeze and water at a 50/50 mix regardless what part of the country you live in. The Antifreeze will also keep the truck from boiling over at 212 degrees.
So will proper pressure in the cooling system. ;-) a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water i believe will raise the boiling temp to 265* and a 70/30 will raise it to 275*
 

rmgill

Active member
2,479
14
38
Location
Decatur, Ga
Ack, Richard, that doesn't look good. Any idea if the engine is ok or did it over rev? :|

Have you filed your environmental impact statement yet? :roll:
 

ARMYMAN30YearsPlus

In Memorial
In Memorial
3,585
7
0
Location
Parkville, MD
Wreckernan glad you got her back before she crossed the state line. Now you gotta watch her or she will steal your wallet and head out at 2AM. I am very interested in what happened to your motor and hope it is not too bad of news. I am sitting here in Korea wondering what my trucks are doing back in Maryland this winter.

God bless you man and take care
 

SasquatchSanta

New member
1,177
18
0
Location
Northern Minnesota
Thanks for the post wreckerman. I think it was a wake-up call to all of us.

One thing for sure --- this is one bald headed fat man that is going to keep his C02 fire extinguisher handy from now on.
 

madsam

New member
1,106
4
0
Location
M
Dang... Glad you got it stopped. No fuel, and running off the engine oil. I have started my 816 at -10 before. /but it always has enough antifreeze. I have never had that, but couldn't you put the truck in 3rd gear or 4th and let the clutch out to kill the engine? I have killed min by accident that way looking for 1st. or 2nd.

P.S. I like your exhaust. Mine is broke, and I have not had a chance to fix it.
 

5tonpuller

Member
572
24
18
Location
Thompson, Pa
WOW ouch. Had a 6V71 run a way once. POS. Took my tool tray emptied it and slapped it on the intake. Got the tray off by prying it with a screw driver. The guy that owned the truck said it started doing this a lot after he tuned it up. It was a ruff $100 to make. Glad you saved it. Fast thinking. They are really ugly after the come unglued.
 
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