LPW2/DN2M question

Hi. I just joined the site today, because I have a few questions that I hope somebody here can answer.

I picked up a DN2M engine for $200 that was rebuilt by LP and never ran, just put on a shelf until it was sent to DRMO. This engine is missing a starter and a flywheel, and the alternator. I am not worried about the alternator, but I am having a very difficult time finding out anything about a flywheel and starter.

It appears that the LP parts manuals list several different flywheels and starters for this engine. I am not sure what I will use this engine for yet, but it will probably be attached to a 2 bearing generator head either directly, or through a belt drive.

My first question is, is this engine internally balanced? If I have a flywheel made for it, can I have it neutrally balanced without shaking the thing to pieces? If it is externally balanced, I will obviously have to find the flywheel designed for this engine.

My second question is, does the crankshaft to flywheel bolt pattern follow any sort of an SAE standard? In other words, can I find a 6 hole flywheel of the proper diameter from some other industrial engine and have it fit?

My next question is, does anybody here have one of these series of engines that is beyond repair, and would they be willing to part with a flywheel and starter?

My last question is, since this was originally part of a 24 volt system with regards to starter, will I have to stick with 24 volt parts due to the glow plugs? Or will they work on a 12 volt system? I am hoping to be able to go with 12 volt because the alternator will be easy to adapt with automotive parts, and a 24 volt starter might be hard to come across.

Thank you!

pm sent

The glow plugs are connected in series, so they'll be 12 volt units

Where did you find a flywheel that will work? I have one of these also with out a flywheel and can't seem to find one online.

PM sent

zarathrustra was kind enough to provide a flywheel and some other parts.

I suppose an update is in order. I was able to get the engine started and it runs beautifully. Shakes like crazy though! Is that a neutrally balanced flywheel? Or does it have a heavy spot that needs to be aligned on the crank? How would I determine that, since the bolt holes are all spaced equally? There are no alignment marks that I could find. The manuals that I found online only mention "install the flywheel", they do not refer to any particular method.

Other than that, I was able to find a 12 volt starter from a different Onan generator, a GM 1 wire alternator, a fuel solenoid, and misc. sensors. I used all 12 volt gear on this engine for the sake of saving some $, and being able to find more common parts should anything fail later. I bolted it all down to a platform with wheels on it, pushed it outside and started it. Like I said, it shakes hard! The wheeled platform only served to provide me much effort in keeping the dang thing in one place.

The engine runs very well, clean and quiet. I will post part numbers for the generic parts I used later. I picked up a single phase generator head and right now I am building a frame for all of it to be bolted down to a trailer.

I am new here, and as I was reading through all of these threads, I found this one, and realized I am in the same boat as the original poster. I have (2) of these engines (DN2M-1) that were brand new, never used, then retired. I have the same problem of finding flywheels for them. Any ideas where to look? Heck, I can not even find a part number for them anywhere online. Any help would be appreciated.

Yeah, the flywheel is a problem. zarathustra was able to help me out with one, as well as a few other parts that came in handy. Maybe he has another one. He is listed above. Once you get the flywheel issue sorted, look at cross reference numbers for starters. I found one for an Onan commercial generator that works perfectly, and best of all, it is 12 volt. I built one up into a new generator using a single phase 220v 2 bearing 10k head. The head is a 2 pole unit, which means 3600 RPM. So I had to find a pulley ratio that worked. I built a hub for the flywheel out of some 1" steel with a keyway, a piece of 3/8" plate and a go cart wheel hub. A little machining and welding, and it is perfect and I dont think it will ever break. I used transmission mounts for '73 to '87 Chevy truck to mount the engine to. If you dont use rubber mounts, these things will jump all over the place. An electric fuel pump, some filters, and whatever else it took to get things working. I built a steel frame out of angle iron and square tubing, with sheet metal covers. I used standard analog gauges for oil pressure, temp, etc. and some digital stuff for monitoring the generator side. Most of that is getting scrapped because I picked up a diesel engine controller with some power management electronics in it. These little engines are great. They will run forever if you take care of them. They are quiet with a good muffler, and sip the fuel. The governor is pretty good and it will hold a steady speed as long as the load is within it's limits.

From what I read about this engine, it is a Lister Petter design, licensed to Onan to build the military gen sets. LP is a British company, and yes, parts can be hard to get. The military purchased tons of these, so there is a used market. Just keep your eyes open for DRMO sales and Craigslist ads. The LP engines were used in a lot of different types of equipment in Europe, including what appears to be a Russian tractor with a center articulation. If you don't have any luck finding a flywheel, you can probably get a steel plate made that you can adapt something to it. It is a very heavy wheel, which this engine will need to keep that inertia up. It is a neutrally balanced wheel, so if you have to make something, make sure it is balanced with no heavy spots. Otherwise you will likely tear out the rear bearings of the engine, let alone a 600 lbs of sand bags to keep it in one place. I believe the DN3M and DN4M use the same flywheel. These are the 3 and 4 cylinder models of the same block. Alternatively, you might also be able to cobble a standard SAE bell housing in place, and use a standard SAE flywheel. That way, you will have some choice in the starters that you use. Perhaps zarathustra can weigh in on some of the other military gen sets made by Onan that might use a similar flywheel?

The reason you can not find a part number for the flywheel is because you need to look in a military TM. Look in TM 9-6115-641-24P. You will find the flywheel listed under the part number: 104-1754

Had you posted this thread under 5KW MEP-802A, you would have gotten more answers.

Yes it is neutrally balanced. No there is no certain way to put it on.

If I remember correctly, (at my age, that's not a given) the starter that was originally mounted on the engine worked fine with 12 or 24 volts.

They do have a sae flywheel bolt pattern. I have an MEP-813a that I will be gutting for a powerplant on an articulating mini dump. Lister sells flywheels order under the lpw series engines. The twin cylinders shake a bit when they run.

Thank you for your response guyfang. I have spent 2 months trying to track one down. I've called lister petter ok Olathe, KS. but can not get through.

If they have an SAE bolt pattern I have not found it. I have tried numerous ways to cross reference it. I've taken the engine to 2 different Cummins repair facilities and they look at me like I brought in the warp drive f I'm a star ship.

Have any of you looked in TM 9-6115-641-24 for the SAE Bolt Pattern?

It has an sae 5 flywheel housing. I would think it would correspond to a #5 flywheel also.

this may help identify

http://www.tadiesels.com/assets/docs/tech/SAE_Flywheel_&_Bell _Housing_Chart.pdf

OK. I foundTM 9-6115-641-24 online. I skimmed through it once, then when I got home, I sat down and went through the whole thing. There were not that many references to the flywheel or its bolt pattern that I could find. But like Diver Darrel said, it does have a SAE 5 flywheel housing. I will keep looking as I am sure there is one somewhere. Thanks again for everyones help.

Well after much looking at countless websites, I did come across this number for the flywheel.104-1747 In the snapshot it is item number 42. I am still not getting any closer to finding it.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone. I have finally located the flywheels that I need.

Good luck!

dhawk63 said:

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone. I have finally located the flywheels that I need.

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Howdy,
and the information is?
who?
what?
why?
how?

Before I start looking for new, get shocked by the price, then start building my own, does anyone have the radiator and mounting hardware for these engines, or know when they can be found? Anyone have a parts genset that might still have these parts
They don't need?