Thread: starting an older diesel

hard to say, my grid heaters always do the job, and compression is strong, runs like a top, once its warm

Quote: Originally Posted by 96_12V Seems to me, overall that as good as they are, the 12 valves tend to be a little finiky in the starting department. It's not the 12v, it's the injection pump. The VE on the 1st gens defaults to 'full fuel' while cranking, so they start absurdly fast, faster than just about anything, and that's also why they have a signature smoke puff. Once the pump reaches (i think) 350rpm or so,...

Quote: Originally Posted by G1625S Is that what pullers are refering to when they mention the 'ag governor'? Yes, its one of them, they are variable speed governors, there's a couple of different ones, not all of them do that. Case tractors don't start like that.

Yes, I agree. Some P-7100 trucks I've driven (like the 1995 4wd AT truck I owned prior to my current truck) started in 1/2 second, all the time. Complete with a nice puff of smoke. That was with no pedal at all. 96_12 Valve starts in the same time, it I give it 1/2" of pedal travel.

If a diesel doesn't turn over fast enough (I think on these trucks I read somewhere 150 RPM) they won't fire. Be sure your batteries are in good shape under a load. You need fuel, compression, air basically, but as mentioned the grid heater expedites the firing process and air in the fuel retards the process!! Something you might check is your valve adjustment also.

Seems to me, overall that as good as they are, the 12 valves tend to be a little finiky in the starting department. However my father had a couple of IH tractors on our farm. One, a 1066, which had the 408 cubic inch engine, literally bump-started unless it was well below freezing, didn't matter if it was ten minuites since the last start, or ten weeks. As for the 1486, however (with the much-vaunted 466 engine) it was a royal pain to...

A couple things could be the grid heaters getting weak or not working. Lower compression makes things harder to fire off as well.

If you truck is truly "finicky" to start, it sounds like there is something wrong. As an engine gets wear on it, the compression will go down a bit and it might turn over a bit slower if the starter is getting tired. More than likely, a truck that is not starting well has either an air leak in the fuel line, one or both of the grids are not working, or it isn't turning over fast enough because of the...

Would the condition of the injectors affect the start up? My 24 valve starts quickly but leaves a little cloud on start up. I have over 300,000 kms on these injectors and wonder if they haven't lost some of their spray efficiency. Stan

Since I read my owners manual saying you should give it a bit of pedal, I have just gotten into the habit of it, always fires first revolution.