Won My First GL Genset Trailer

[Isaac-1]

The problem is getting them to fit inside the ASK housing. You might be able to find a pair of tall narrow motorcycle batteries that would fit, however they tend to have a bolt down connector so you would have to modify your battery cables, and of course add a jumper wire to wire the two together in series.

Ike

 

[b2948kevin]

Jbk, do you mean that I need to get 2x 12v 51r batteries and run them in series? I just called Napa and they told me that they do not have a 24v 51r in any of their books.

Rick, I know that would be cheaper (at this point, at least) but I would really like to fit the batteries into the given slot. I am thinking that I'll probably pull the generators off in a few months and use them as individual units, which would be nice to have all self contained.

Keep the suggestions coming!

 

[Isaac-1]

You can still use a pair of cheap $20 garden tractor batteries wired in series until you can find the right ones that fit.

Ike

 

[rickf]

51R's are 12 volts. Put them in series to get 24 volts.
They might even fit the holder, not sure on that one. My 002A uses two 51R's stock. Actually it calls for 2HN. I just used two group 24's in series. I don't have the ASK, wish I did.
Rick

 

[Isaac-1]

There is no way a pair of 51R's will fit in a MEP-701a ASK housing, the 4HN is only about an inch longer than a single 51R.

Ike

 

[rickf]

My bad, I have never seen one in person. Unless you want it for restoration I would build a box on the trailer floor and run longer cables into the housing. I know how you feel though, you want everything correct. I am the same way usually.

Rick

 

[jbk]

my mistake, 24 volt 2hn is what you need. i got mine off epay just add acid. manuf. by general batt. corp.

 

[b2948kevin]

Thanks everyone for the awesome replies. I have learned a lot already.

Currently, I have the generators unbolted, disconnected and ready to come off of the trailer. Just waiting to get a couple of guys over to help me out. I think I am going to get a couple of batteries and run them in parallel for initial testing. I figure that I will get 2 batteries that fit my harley so that if I decide to go legit and spring for the 4HNs, I can keep them around for spares.

 

[Isaac-1]

You don't want to run in parallel, you want to connect in series to get 24 volts.

Ike

 

[b2948kevin]

Sorry, series is what I meant

 

[b2948kevin]

Ok, I got the generators off. I decided to do it by myself, so here is the evidence. I happened to have some motorcycle tires and cardboard boxes that I used for a landing, and I just pushed the gensets straight off. I thought that they would land harder than they did, but the tires and boxes worked perfectly!

 

[b2948kevin]

Started taking the Acoustic Supression Kits (ASK) off today. There are tags saying that the oil and fuel have been drained. Not a surprise.

Anyone know what the best oil for these is?

Time for a trip to get supplies. So far, I need 2 batteries, oil, oil filters, fuel, fuel filters.

 

[b2948kevin]

Just did some research on part numbers. From what I read, the below part numbers are identical filters and they work on the MEP-016B and MEP-701a.

Napa Gold 1378
Wix 51378

The fuel filters are 4330-01-275-2460 and can be bought from Southernautomotive.com (http://www.southernautomotive.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/135) for about $23.

I also found that my engine is the 11hp Onan Q106D-L/10399A and was manufactures in March of 1988.

 

[Isaac-1]

I think there was someone on ebay selling fuel filters for less than that a couple of months ago (I bought 2 or 3, seems like they were around $10 each), there is another ebay seller that sells air filters. As to your oil quesiton, I have been using Rotella 15W40 because I have it on hand, there was some debate on this topic a while back and it seems most people are running 15W40, although I think the conclusion was SAE 30 Heavy Duty Diesel oil is closer to the the original specs, but a little harder to find. (don't confuse this with regular automotive SAE 30)

Ike

 

[b2948kevin]

Thanks Isaac. I see some air filters, but I'll keep looking for oil and fuel filters on ebay.

I go the generator running for a few seconds today! I shut it down when I noticed that all my oil was spewing out onto the floor. Turns out that the connectors on the oil cooler are bad. There are some fittings that are epoxied onto the oil filter (hard to explain) and the epoxy gave out. I spent some time degreasing, sanding, and re-epoxying them. I'll let this set overnight and I'm hoping to give it another shot tomorrow night.

Oh, I also bit the bullet and paid $202 for the correct 4HN battery for this unit. I only bought one, and I figure that if everything works, I'll go buy another. These "cheap generators" are turning out to be expensive and labor intensive.

 

[b2948kevin]

The epoxy seemed to work, but now I can'te get the bugger started again. I put everything back together, filled it back up with oil and tried to start it. No dice. I then pulled the glow plug, cleaned the connectors and verified that it was working. I then pulled the air filter completely off to eliminate the possibility of not getting enough air, and I drained the crud out of the bottom of the fuel filter and primed the heck out of the fuel lines. Still no dice on starting.

I suspect that the issue is with the fuel somewhere. Any other ideas?

I'm going to get some casters from Harbor Freight to make these things easier to move around my garage.

 

[b2948kevin]

Ok, further update:

I cracked the fuel line on the top of the injector (like I do on my Mercedes 300TD) and cranked the motor over to see if I could get anything to spray out. I'm not getting much at allexcept for a little seepage. Should this be spraying out like I'm used to?

If this is abnormal, it would point to a blockage in the fuel line, a completely clogged fuel filter (which I doubt since the primer is cycling fuel back into the tank reliably), or an issue with the fuel pump. Anyone have experience with these injector pumps?

 

[rickf]

If you running fuel back to the tank then the pump and filters are good and the issue is with the injection pump. Are you getting white smoke while cranking? If not then you are not feeding feul into the cylinder. Is the shutoff relay good and the shutoff solenoid releasing? That epoxy will not hold for long because of the vibration. Don't walk away from it.

Rick

 

[pistonium]

My neighbor bought two of these here in Portland like yours....175 hrs and 500 hrs; both of his start and run fine. His batteries even came back to life after being on the charger for a day and a night!

Hey B2948kevin - what are your plans for the (leftover??) trailer?

Hopes yours turn out well for you too -

 

[b2948kevin]

Hey Rick, duly noted on the epoxy, though from the looks of it, this came from the factory with epoxy in the same spot. I guess we found out how well that worked out though.

I am not getting smoke at all while cranking. I am thinking my next step is to test the compression and have the injector pop tested.

Stupid question - where is the shutoff solenoid? I haven't seen this in the documentations so far.

Pistonium, Sounds like your neighbor lucked out. I would have loved to have gotten some batteries with this.

I had big plans for the trailer, but I am thinking I need to just spring for an M101a2 instead. You interested in the M116?