New Member/Western North Carolina RE: MEP 003A

Thank you for all your inputs. I took Ike's advice and removed the base of the transfer pumps, pulled and cleaned the filter in fresh diesel and cleaned up and reversed the gasket. Then bled the system from the pumps, the filters. Ran out of daylight, but I have to say the pumps sound better and I was not getting any more fizz during the bleeding so far. Will finish up tomorrow and get back with the results. ENCOURAGED!! ZEUSDIESEL

Great!
Jerry

ZeusDiesel Update: After all the pumping and priming and cranking the batteries were getting a little tired, so I have them on a slow trickle charge, will be available Sat morning. Did want to make an observation on the transfer pumps: the gen has 3400 hrs on it and I saw no indication (paint scrapes, joints in the original paint job, etc,) that showed the pumps had ever been serviced. When I opened up the bottoms of them, there was debris and the filters had a heavy brown residue coating on them. (desert Dust?) When I cleaned them up it seemed to give them new life when returned to service. Here's hoping, come Saturday.
ZeusDiesel

ZeusDiesel said:

ZeusDiesel Update: After all the pumping and priming and cranking the batteries were getting a little tired, so I have them on a slow trickle charge, will be available Sat morning. Did want to make an observation on the transfer pumps: the gen has 3400 hrs on it and I saw no indication (paint scrapes, joints in the original paint job, etc,) that showed the pumps had ever been serviced. When I opened up the bottoms of them, there was debris and the filters had a heavy brown residue coating on them. (desert Dust?) When I cleaned them up it seemed to give them new life when returned to service. Here's hoping, come Saturday.
ZeusDiesel

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Good job staying with the task....lots of work, but persistence will pay off!

ZeusDiesel said:

When I opened up the bottoms of them, there was debris and the filters had a heavy brown residue coating on them. (desert Dust?) When I cleaned them up it seemed to give them new life when returned to service. Here's hoping, come Saturday.
ZeusDiesel

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The brown residue is usually biological residue from microbes eating the fuel. The little bugs seem to like certain surfaces and environments more than others...

steelypip said:

The brown residue is usually biological residue from microbes eating the fuel. The little bugs seem to like certain surfaces and environments more than others...

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That's why I use algaecide in all generators I service or rebuild. An equipment fuel tank sitting around for months/years on end is the perfect environment for the critters to grow & clog filters in short order...

I didn't realize it was brown. The algecide was recommended by an excavation man I know and I have been using it in my storage tank for the past year and a half. I guess this low-sulfur stuff is especially prone to it.

ZeusDiesel said:

I didn't realize it was brown. The algecide was recommended by an excavation man I know and I have been using it in my storage tank for the past year and a half. I guess this low-sulfur stuff is especially prone to it.

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I don't believe the fuel type has any bearing on the algae issue. (Also all diesel fuel sold today has the same sulfur content; the off road fuel only has the dye added.)

The main cause of algae is not keeping a tank full and water condensates on the "dry" areas on the sides and tops of the tank. The growths start in these areas and when the water drips down it gets mixed in with the fuel and then settles in the bottom of the tank and eventually gets picked up via suction from the transfer pump. Not using equipment also contributes to the problem as the fuel becomes stagnant, doesn't get heated (via return fuel) and also the critters don't get trapped in the filters and continue to multiply....

Kevin

Ok, I have the batteries back and hooked up, primed, did the preheat, cranked it for 15 seconds, no smoke. Then cracked each fuel line at the injector, cranked it until fuel flowed, everything tight. Then based on earlier thread suggestion, I opened up both rocker box covers, plenty of lubrication there, movement seems to be good when I rotated the crank by hand. Buttoned back up, preheated for 40 seconds, 60 degrees here this morning,primed,cranked for 15 seconds, NO SMOKE.

ZeusDiesel

Take an injector out and make it spray outside the head. Its popping off or its not. I never did hear if the actual throttle arm on the injection pump is coming up when the solenoid disengages. Sometimes it is a help to tie the throttle arm all the way up while cranking

What Munchies said. Starting to sound like an IP problem if there are no air issues.
Jerry

I guess I will have to find the easiest one to pull, arrange the fuel line, prime it and crank away. Thought I would put a cut off plastic water bottle over the nozzle to see what kind of spray pattern there is. ZeusDiesel

Spray pattern won't matter. The question is are you getting ANY fuel sprayed? If fuel is being sprayed, regardless of pattern, you will get ignition if you have compression and your IP timing is right. No need for complexity. Just remove an injector, loosen the lines to it and re-tighten fuel line connections with it pointing in a safe direction into mid-air.. No bottle needed.

If no spray, you have a broken IP.
Jerry

Thanks, Jerry. On my way! Bill

Monday morning, 10:30 EDT: Just pulled injector #4, reconnected fuel line, cranked, fuel pumped out of drain port but nothing from nozzle, tried twice.

ZeusDiesel

Sounds like a problem with the IP to me. IIRC, the return fuel from the injectors to the day tank is under fuel pump pressure and is independent of IP pressure that only the nozzles respond to.

John

Well, I will next check the procedure in the TM for pulling the IP. Not quite sure what I will be looking for when I do pull it, but that has not stopped me in the past.

ZeusDiesel

Good news is when you get the IP pump fixed up its going to run great with fresh injectors

Bill,
Most important thing is to record model number once removed and it will help ID likely problems. If you prefer, E-mail me when you get it off and I'll try to help you.
Jerry

Thanks, Jerry. Hope to get started on it quickly. Gotta make room on my work bench.

Bill