Ancient direct injection diesel cold starting issues

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

My boss has a Land Rover 127 fitted with a Mazda Perkins-derived SL35 direct injection diesel. It starts bob on when the engine's warm or when the weather's a bit warmer, but takes a lot of cranking to start now that it's colder. Considering it lives in the coldest area in the UK, it's not ideal. He's thinking of fitting a Kenlowe Hot Start, but I think it should be starting better anyway. It's not even that cold yet.

 

I tried looking for photos of it on his facebook but just came up with this rotten halfshaft horror. Soz!

[wuvvum]

[Pete-M]

Those Mazda 3.5 four pots are legendary for being pigs to start in cold weather.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Aye.

 

 

We were working with this machine today which apparently has some kind of easy start spray system plumbed in. Might be the way to go.

[wuvvum]

Didn't the 3.3 Yorks in the old Ford A-series trucks have an Easystart squirter fitted from the factory?

[Volksy]

I heard that sometimes engines get 'addicted' to easystart, is this true or just an old mechanics fable?

[Richard]

I heard that sometimes engines get 'addicted' to easystart, is this true or just an old mechanics fable?

 

I think it's just that whatever caused the need for easystart continues to deteriorate and the "addiction" would happen with or without using it.

[wuvvum]

I would agree with that. I bought an Iveco Daily recovery truck once which was "addicted to Easystart" - a new set of glowplugs and a new relay had it starting on the button. Having said that, I have heard that excessive use of Easystart can wash oil off the bores and cause rapid bore wear - which in turn would lead to lower compression and a consequent increased need for Easystart to get started from cold.

[scruff]

It should have a cold start thingy in the inlet manifold, worth checking if that is working. Friend of mine has a turbo one in a 110 and it is a pig to start when its cold.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

What does the thingy on the inlet manifold do? Will investigate tomorrow.

[wuvvum]

I would imagine it's like a single glow plug which preheats the manifold rather than the combustion chambers. The Perkins 4.236 has a similar arrangement.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

That makes sense, I hope it hasn't been blanked off, I couldn't spot anything like that last time I looked.

[M'coli]

Apply a blowlamp to the inlet manifold - it works for barbeques and bothy coal fires, so it should work for a diesel.

[scooters]

Apply a blowlamp to the inlet manifold - it works for barbeques and bothy coal fires, so it should work for a diesel.

 

 

yup - used that before on a 50's tractor - blow lamp for 10 mins n the inlet manifold - chap had a fly wheel on his which he would lock into direct drive witht he engine and start from a sawmill....once started he would keep it running all day

[Espacetic]

Try a tow start on a real cold morning to see if it fires, if it starts real easy put a new starter motor on it. A lot of direct injection lumps rely on a high fuel pressure to start from cold and what may seem fast enough just doesn't quite do it sometimes.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

^ most wasteful

 

We had a look at it today, it has some kind of grill element built into the inlet manifold intake.

[Inspector Morose]

A variation on this is the lighted rag trick. Tie a rag to a piece of steel rod and soak rag in paraffin. Take off inlet pipe and while your oppo is turning the engine over light the rag and hold it over the inlet. Flames will be sucked in and set off the inevitable chain to engine starting! Scares the willies out of all and sundry who are watching at the time and obviously it makes a mess of plastic inlet manifolds but it started many a shagged gardner 6lxb in cold weather

 

Not a fan of easy start as engines do seem to get addicted to it in my experience. I think it's something to do with the ether drying the bores(washing any lubrication from them) and quickening ring wear. This lessens compression and makes it harder to start leading to greater use of the ether.

[warren t claim]

I heard that sometimes engines get 'addicted' to easystart, is this true or just an old mechanics fable?

 

Almost. It's called borewashing.

 

What easystart will do is bit by bit dissolve or remove the carbon seal that has formed around the rings, valves, guides and gaskets and you suddenly have no compression and no protective oil film on the lower bores. Hence the addiction theory.

[George-Roper]