Mechanics advise please....

[Devildog]

My brother has a GM 6. 5 turbo diesel with a strange problem,



1, It intermittingly looses power and smokes like a *******, theres also a knocking sound coming from one of the cylinders when it happens.



2, Most mornings wont start, he has to shoot it with Ether, after it starts, it will start for the rest of the day.



3, He has changed the air, fuel and oil filters and oil, changed the lift pump, changed a sensor in the intake manifold. He thinks that maybe the only thing left is the injector pump. does anyone have any ideas? thanks in advance...

 

[Whitmore]

Sounds as if the injectors are bleeding off, I had a tractor that had the exact symtoms and new injectors fixter

 

[Power Wagon]

Knocking noise: change injectors. The 6. 5 garden hoses are notoriously short-lived. They can give trouble at less than 100K miles.



Ether: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, oh, and did I mention, NEVER put ether into a GM diesel. If it needs help, use something like "spray silicone" lubricant that uses butane or one of the other " 'anes" to propel it. Ether will bend rods, break pistons, blow gaskets, and that's just the minor stuff. You need an easily ignitable, but not particularly powerful starting aid, and ether is NOT it.



The first thing to do is: change glow plugs. All of them. Then make sure the relays that power them are working. Ether also ruins glow plugs... just FYI.



Usually, the "no-start" condition that is first thing in the AM but not the rest of the day is either burned out glow plugs or an air leak into the fuel system, allowing the pump to drain down overnight. It is beyond the scope of a post here to even speculate where that might be. But, look for bad hoses, bad filter base, leaking injection pump. These can be on the supply OR return side. Can even be the little hoses between injectors.



Hope this helps

 

[Texas Diesel]

I think the NEVER use ether has been discussed... But just in case, NEVER USE ETHER!



We used WD-40 in our diesel generators, I like the idea of useing a lubricant as a starting aid. Use it just like ether.

 

[Power Wagon]

WD 40 used to work very well, but they recently changed formulas and it's not effective anymore.

 

[R.ebel]

Ether?

Why is it that Cat and Detriot Diesel both offer ether injection as an OEM starting aid? It can't be all that bad. I have always been told that if ether is used as a starting aid be sure to disable any grid heaters or glow plugs and you are OK. I will admit ether does make them really rattle In the dead of winter in the Rocky Mtn high country ether starts are a way of life for a lot of diesel equipment that dosen't have the luxury of a heated garage or plugins.

 

[illflem]

Some of my John Deere diesel tractors have a bracket for an either can, push a button on the dash and it activates a solenoid that sprays the either right into the intake. This is the only cold weather starting aid, JD has made them this way for 50 years. Sounds bad, but starts good. Don't think you can generalize that either is bad for all diesels.

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Devildog,



Whent he engine is running, how much blowby is there? Open up the oil filler on the front of the engine to see. If it smokes like a *******, there's a really good chance there are a couple of cacked pistons. See this all the time on the 6. 5's. Also, pull each glowplug, and see if any of the tips are broken off. Report back!

 

[BigYellowIron]

Large Cat off road trucks, like the one under my name, use either injection every time they start. The reason: They are air start, and only have a short cranking time due to the volume of air used by the starter. The injection is ECM controled. One of 4 ECMs.

Either is not dangerous if used with common sense.

At the Cat dealer We don't even walk out to a machine in the winter without our keys and a can of either. It was also that way at the kenworth dealer I used to work for.



Just my opinion

Adam

 

[Power Wagon]

Ether is fine for engines that can handle the stress. The 6. 5 cannot, nor can the 6. 2, 5. 7, 6. 9 or 7. 3 either.



In fact, pretty much any engine with glow plugs is a no-go for ether.



I doubt the engine has cracked pistons. If it is doing this intermittently, it is most likely a sticking injector. It will run rough, sound like it has rod going out, and smoke.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Originally posted by Power Wagon

Ether is fine for engines that can handle the stress. The 6. 5 cannot, nor can the 6. 2, 5. 7, 6. 9 or 7. 3 either.



That's because these engines have pre-combustion chambers in the head to aid in the combustion process. Some refer to these engines as "indirect" injection. Ether in the intake air creates "uncontrolled combustion" which cause severe stresses in the pre-combustion chambers.



Bill

 

[Power Wagon]

Originally posted by Bill Stockard

Originally posted by Power Wagon

Ether is fine for engines that can handle the stress. The 6. 5 cannot, nor can the 6. 2, 5. 7, 6. 9 or 7. 3 either.



That's because these engines have pre-combustion chambers in the head to aid in the combustion process. Some refer to these engines as "indirect" injection. Ether in the intake air creates "uncontrolled combustion" which cause severe stresses in the pre-combustion chambers.



Bill

Otherwise known as a "rod-bender"



Back in their hayday, a local mechanic tore down a poor-running 5. 7 thinking it had stuck rings, to find out that EVERY rod was bent, ring lands crushed, and various other bits of damage as well. Turns out a GM DEALER pumped ether into it to get it going after it sat a while on the lot. In fact, they did it several times. Turned a motor that had been just fine (well, if the 5. 7 could ever be referred to as "fine") into garbage. Loaded, low-miles car, toasted engine...

 

[maint.man]

Since we're on the subject of either, Can someone tell me what causes diesel engines to get addicted to it, or the block heater ?

For instance a good friend of mine had a 7. 3 diesel in a Ford truck, and after the glow system was down for a couple of months (winter , and using a small shot of either once a day to light it off) It would no longer start without it even when the glow system was repaired and the ambient temp. was 75 degrees. I have also heard of this happening when the block heater has been used for extended periods of time. Any thoughts ?



Also any luck on a truck PW ?