[70pontiaction]

Reminder this is a 1963 Seagrave fire truck with only 8k original miles since new. We've had it for about three years and drive it minimally (under 125 miles per year).

It had been running poorly - only at idle - the last three or four times it got started. Off-idle it was great - good power and no smoke or other issues.

Just the poor idle quality (like it was loading up, lower idle speed and shuddering).

After the last thread and advice to use a fuel additive, I put in some Seafoam and filled up the tank to the top.

The engine ran when we put it into storage, but I probably only drove it twenty miles after the Seafoam.

Was getting it out today to use it for Trunk or Treat over the weekend and it started right up.

Drove it out of the garage and went back to close the door and lock up.

Idled down and died in about thirty seconds - then would not restart......crap......

I order to get it back into the garage (uphill, of course) we used starting fluid.

The engine will NOT run on its' own but will run (poorly) by using a medium spray of starting fluid to keep it going.

Where to start? Is the injector pump bad or could it be something else?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[mechanickeith]

OK,,, No injector pump on a 6V71. Just a mechanical vane pump driven off the blower. When was the last time the fuel filters were changed?? When were the racks & valves adjusted last?. Does the engine have a working block heater? Whats the standing tempurature there?Also, Detroit 2 strokes are very hard to keep in tune if they are not used on a regular basis. Even after the seafoam was put in, you needed to take it out & drive it HARD!!! for several hours. For that motor to stay running correctly, it needs to be ran several hours HARD each week, MINIMUM!!!!!They will load up real easy if not up to temp & allowed to idle. When it died & you tried to restart,,was there a lot of white smoke coming out of the exhaust? Was the slobber box drained?? I think I mentioned this last time. Let me know & we can go from there.

[PMD1969]

The corn in the gas is fubarring your system. Letting it sit like that lets it varnish.

[70pontiaction]

Keith:

ALL filters and fluids were changed 1.5 yrs and under 500 miles ago.

Temp here in the 70s daytime and 60s nights - was about 65 when I started it.

No white smoke when it would not restart - no excessive black smoke either.
And it would only run with starting fluid - actually used brake cleaner because
the only diesel mechanic I know told me it was easier on them than ether.

It acts like no fuel this time, but before it seemed like it would rev up and clear
out and run better - maybe it was low fuel pressure or something last time?

Can I check the fuel pressure/fuel pump? I'm totally lost with this diesel thing.....

[tom s]

I broke a fuel pump drive on one years ago.No fuel no run!Tom

[mechanickeith]

Does sound like a no fuel situation. Could be a couple of things. Trace the fuel lines to the motor from the tank to the fuel pump. Look for any damp/wet spots on the fuel lines. May have a cracked line & sucking air. You can tap into the output line from the pump on the blower with a pressure gage. Crank it over & see if there is fuel pressure. If there is pressure, you may have a fuel rack/injector in the motor stuck in the idle/no fuel position. These motors start in the full wide open fuel position. Then after they start, the governor pulls the fuel rack down to the idle position. You may have to get it tow'd to a diesel shop to get it looked at.

[Ed Fitzgerald]

That motor is one of the best Detroit made. i had one that sat for 5 years and a guy came by and bought the dumptruck it was in. We put a battery in it and here is the trick. If a Detroit will roll over and has fuel it will start. Take an electric fuel pump put an adaptor into the primary filter housing and connect the fuel line from the pressure side of the pump. Put the rubber hose in a bucket of diesel from the intake side of the pump. Take a pair of vise grips and crimp off the rubber fuel line coming from the fuel tank to the primary filter. Connect the pump to a DC power source.... you will hear bubbling in the fuel tanks as the air is pushed thru the system. When the air is expelled leave the pump hooked up and start the engine. When the engine warms up and quits "hunting" (surging) unhook the power supply and vise grips and see if it will run on it's own. If it stalls again 2 things I would check. Check that the air vent to the tank is clear. I had a 8V-71 (318) that (mud wasps) bees put mud in the vent hole on the fuel tank. I replaced all the fuel lines ,transfer pump,one way check valve..... just happened to take cap off immediately after it stalled and there was vaccuum on the rubber seal. Secondly crimp off the return line and hook up the pump again and pressurize the system. If any of the lines are bad they will seep fuel also this would be where you might be getting air. One nice thing about Detroits and GM all the fuel lines have reusable fittings on them. You simply take the fuel line off and put a 3/4 wrench on the female fitting and a 5/8 on the male and unscrew it out of the hose. Then turn the female fitting off the hose and replace the hose. Readily available at any hydraulic shop. Ed

[Simple Man]

Originally Posted by PMD1969

The corn in the gas is fubarring your system. Letting it sit like that lets it varnish.

Diesel uses corn?

[Ed Fitzgerald]

I think he was making a HAHA!!!! Afterall everyone blames ethanol for most problems...and rightly so.

[Ed Fitzgerald]

Diesel is graded by it's Cetane rating and it waxs out when old. If you take the filters off there will be a build up of wax in them. I had filters (back in the 90's) that looked like they had rubber worms in them. FYI... it was tainted fuel that came from the US. A supplier here in KTown bought 3 million litres for a couple cents a litre and had it trucked over the border. They put it in their tank farm and would load 1/2 a load of tainted and top it off with fresh fuel from the pipeline rack. My drivers were complaining of power issues in the dumptrucks and I happened to mention at work (fire dept) to a couple of friends that the fuel seemed to have power. They worked part time at the company and they let me in on the scam. I promptly phoned the company and told them to remove the 2 1000 gallon tanks they had on my property or I would take one of the 5 yard loaders and push them across the road. Another way to tell if the fuel filters need changing is to remove the secondary and see if it is full or not. A dirty primary filter will cause the secondary to run half full as the pump will siphon the fuel out of the secondary faster than the primary will let it in.

[sleepy]

Change the filters and check for water in the fuel(poor the filters out and see if there's water in them or anything else like fuel line rubber)

[Cammer-6]

starting fluid is real hard on anything
use WD 40

[Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by Cammer-6

starting fluid is real hard on anything
use WD 40

Good advice.
And if you need abundant quantities to limp the 6-71 around,
this is much cheaper:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Tech...fl-oz/21618346