Stopped a Runaway . . .

[DKasper]

As I was motoring along in my trusty '93 W350, I rounded a corner on I-80 near Coalville, Utah only to see a semi parked on the side of road with gray smoke billowing from it's stacks at least 25 feet in the air. It looked like a huge smokebomb! I pulled over to see if there was something I could help with -- the driver said he turned the key off but the engine kept going -- and it was really roaring. Poor guy had no clue what was happening. I remembered from my TDR reading that a board over the air intake should do the trick. I didn't have a board, but grabbed the pad for my sleeping bag.



The engine was spinning so fast that I'll admit I had visions of being impaled by a thrown rod! We got the hood open and fortunately the air intake was right there. I stuck the pad over the intake and it took about 15 seconds for it to die down. Whew!! I explained to the driver what was going on and suggested we pull the dipstick to see how much oil was left. No reading at all, and he said he just topped off the oil half an hour ago. I don't know how many gallons it burned, but it was a lot!



Thanks to TDR, at least they should be able to rebuild the engine instead of having a pile of scrap.



BTW, my rig got 19mpg @ 70mph with 2k of hay in the bed! Fuel was cheapest in Wyoming - $1. 81, and most expensive in Utah -- $1. 96.



Dave

 

[Philip]

Good job you did.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

A carbon dioxide fire extinguisher will also allegedly do the trick if you have one nearby...



Don't use a dry-chem or water extinguisher, though... The engine will stop... but it won't be pretty afterwards.



Matt

 

[Paychk]

Good on Ya!

 

[JLEONARD]

Way to go Dave... that's quick thinking for sure.

 

[flightmedic]

Carbon Dioxide theoretically should work as it displaces the oxygen. Like I said in theory. :-laf

 

["Mad Max"]

Good on ya DK - man, that'd be a bit tense with that big ole' diesel swinging away. . whew. And thanks for posting about it - now we know how to stop one as well. This place rocks.

- S

 

[mudcat]

I've had that happen before on a old Timberjack log skidder with a 353 Detroit. I ended up wadding up my jacket and stuffing in the air intake to get it to stop. I also had the same skidder run backwards, sucking in the exhaust and blowing smoke out the intake. Talk about a weird feeling.

I couldn't imagine the sound of a big inline 6 running away.

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

Keep in mind you also need a back-up plan ... sort of a plan B..... it's the RFI manouver... . RUN FOR IT !!!!!!

Good job bud... he owes you a beer for that one...

pb.

 

[Bluebird]

Great job Dave, you saved the day! Anyone have an idea what to do if you truck runs away and has a Cummins BHAF? How would I cut off all that air? Could you pull the soleinoid cut-off wires from the injection pump? Thanks for any solutions, Patrick

 

[Greenleaf]

Generaly speaking... . if it's a run-a-way you have an internal problemo such as a governor sticking or an ecentric over center etc. etc. to cause said problem. Shutting the air off is the only solution, however sometimes one gets lucky.



GL