Archived Runaway engine..what do I do besides clean my shorts?

[DHayden]

OK yes it was bone headed and totally my fault. My fuel gauge was a little off and I ran her out of gas. I bought some starter fluid to escape breaking the fuel lines and bleeding. This happened once before and this old timer offered me this little trick, when he did it he sprayed quite a bit into the inlet as I was cranking the engine.

Well this time I was on my own so I sprayed "a bit" more into the inlet since I had to come around and start the truck on my own. Well... it started, and raced to about 4000rpm. I had turned the ignition off and was reaching for the fire extinguisher but had a moment of self preservation kick in. I figured by the time I made it around the front to spray the inlet with the extinguisher, the engine would come apart and grenade me.

Well anyway, the truck is running now, just wondering how much damage I did and to what with the rpm meeting or exceeding 4000rpm. It didnt come apart so thats a good sign, I am guessing it wasnt so good for the lifters, it doesnt sound different and seems to run as good as before... any advice? Much appreciated.

 

[RustyJC]

1. Well, you tested your valve springs!



2. You'd better be glad your grid heaters didn't activate! :--)



Glad you and the truck survived the experience.



Rusty

 

[SRadke]

Advice? Yea, don't do it again First move there is put it in a high gear, stand on the brake and let the clutch out. It would be a little tough on the clutch but better than pounding on the valves with the pistons. The ideal would be to cover the intake but you've got to be ready for that.



Fortuanately, you probably did no damage but still an expereince to learn from.



-Scott

 

[Forrest Nearing]

agreed, count your blessings and don't do it again!

 

[Eric_77]

As a side note these engines should never have ether or starting fluid used with htem.

 

[2broke2smoke]

the only thing you could have done was stuff the air inlet with your jacket or something ...



but if it was a runaway it would have taken a BIG set to stand there and try with the motor revving like that ...



i saw a dozer operater climb up and rap his jacket around his air intake on a well site once ... i was bustin' over the hill for cover



just glad you didn't get hurt, we can always find another cummins

 

[MontyDyer]

Even on a non grid heater engine it is not a good idea to use it. You can burn the tip of the injectors off if you let the engine run on ether for awhile. The injectors get very hot from the combustion heat. What cools them is the fuel actually running thru the injector. With no fuel running thru the injector and the high temp combustion caused by ether it will burn the tips up. Yeah, I know, all the old engines such as the 855 Big Cams etc. all used an ether start system, however it was more controllable.

 

[Paychk]

A much better starting aid is good'ol WD-40, it is lighter than diesel so it will combust readily and it won't fireball if the grid heaters kick in. Also spray it directly from the nozzle without using the guide tube.



PS Don't use so much!

 

[homeka45]

Thanks for sharing, now I know what not to do. Takes guts to share something like this. :--)

 

[Yo Hoot]

Maybe a good idea is to use a fire extinguisher that is just inert gas like co2. Have a little one handy all the time. Snuff it out by depriving the o2



Would that work and not hurt the engine?

 

[MPBerk]

Actually it was not a runaway. It was an over-speed. The diff you ask? An overspeed goes to a certain rpm (such as your stated 4k) and stays there. A runaway continues to climb in rpm until the engine comes apart in whatever fashion it chooses. In any case, you ALWAYS want to be directly behind or in front of it, never at the side.



An overspeed you can stop by putting a load (and not the one in your shorts ) directly on it as stated earlier. A co2 extinguisher may do the trick, but sub-zero temps into hot parts is not gonna be good. Lastly, suffocate the intake, plastic lawn bags work great. And if your set up for it, secure the fuel supply or the electronic hp pump (disconnect batt negative)



As for the runaway..... even if you snuff the air and secure the fuel... . some engine applications have been known to run off of the oil in the engine... . thar' she blows...



Best of all... glad to hear you are okay and your truck will survive. Oo.

 

[Sled Puller]

OK yes it was bone headed and totally my fault. My fuel gauge was a little off and I ran her out of gas. .

Theres your first problem, running it out of "GAS". :-laf

 

[jtisdale]

A friend of a friend changed his oil one night and in doing so cleaned his air filter with starting fluid. He was a couple quarts low, so he called my friend to bring him some. When my friend got there, he thought he could smell ether, but with cans and bottles around in the shop he really didnt think too much about it... until the truck was started.

He said that thing jumped to about 6000 and stayed there for about 30 seconds. He ran.

 

[Wiredawg]

System Is Self Priming

You should not have to crack fuel lines. I've done about 17 injector swap jobs and just bumped the starter to run the lift pump 3 to 5 times. Then crank the bad boy giving her some throttle until she lights up. There will be lots of smoke and she'll run rough for a bit.



enough folks already said don't do it again, so I'd just add check the manual or with you TDR bros before tking on a questionable project.



Wiredawg

 

[DennyDay]

Run Away

Had a 6V 53 Detroit Diesel Runaway back in the late '50's. Cop came running upo and told me to "get that truck oudda' way", Got me oudda' way and yelled at the cop he needed to get oudda' way too!



Don't know what RPM the clutch and flywheel gave up but they came through the floor boards, and misc. engine parts put dents in the hood.



Scared the bejesus oudda" me!





Have a happy holiday,

Denny

 

[Truckie]

Man I hope your happy, I just read this thread you posted and now you ruined my holiday. I really wasn't in the mood but you didn't help the situation either.

Anyway ways getting back at yelling at you. DON'T EVER DO THIS AGAIN, DON'T EVEN LET IT CROSS YOUR MIND. Man you should be bet with a wet noodle and your diesel should be taken off you for a year.

It not a sin having to crack a fuel line, just do it. All it takes is a little bit you don't have to crank it wide open or take it off.

It just makes me cringe and my skin crawl when I see people using starting fluid on a diesel. I hope you learned your lesson here.

And in case you didn't get the message the first time here it is again.

DON'T EVER DO THIS AGAIN, DON'T EVEN LET IT CROSS YOUR MIND.

Just remember to keep an eye on the fuel gauge, and remember try bump starting it a few times as described in an earlier post, and if that don't work don't be afraid to crack a line and bleed it.





Mike

 

[Mad Bomber]

We have also started a engine after a injector change by cycling the pump a few times then put the pedal to the floor and crank it. Once it starts to sputter lift your foot off and run RPM's to about 1100.

 

[rkressg]

I hate to say this, but this (using ether) is how we started many diesels at my old job. A whopped C-16 with way too many hours on the clock combined with below freezing temps is a total PITA to start, but a little ether made your day much easier. Oo.

 

[Truckie]

rkressg... IM not totally against using ether to start an engine that is that old. Its just the fact of doing it to such a new engine that is not even really broken in yet.

I know what you mean about the below freezing temps and the blow by on the old work horses, I got a few at the yard my self.

I got a 1986 R model Mack that has close to a million miles on it and something like 50 some thousand hours on the clock. When it gets cold out like we have now and colder a little squirt dose do wonders. Now I just got to get 4 new batteries for my daily work Mack and 2 for the Dodge and I should be OK. The daily work Mack a 2000 CL 713- 460 has 360,579 miles on it and 11,500 hours on the clock and the batteries are just not up to the task of turning the engine over fast enough without a little snort when the temps are in the single digets, well the major blow by shore doesn't help it either. Scenic its gotten colder out I have lost a lot of power. This truck I got now is a warm blooded best.



Mike

 

[Jetpilot]

I bet if you pull out your pushrods you will find some bent..... Usually they start to connect the piston around 3600 or so when under boost so I would be suspect of this at 4K under a no boost situation.



Doug