803 Bogs Down and dies at 85% Load

Did you check the cracking pressure before and after cleaning it? Did it change?

jamawieb said:

It's a spacer that goes on the bolt that holds the sump in place. If you look at your photos before you took it off, you can see it on the bolt, that it mounted right above the sump (holding it in place).

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Doh! Another Homer moment....

DieselAddict said:

Did you check the cracking pressure before and after cleaning it? Did it change?

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I just closed it up. I still need to replace SEAL,PLAIN ENCASED, PART OF KIT P/N 188-6213, on the COVER, GEAR as it is leaking oil at the seal and I think the I would need to drain the oil before I could replace the seal, cover, gear.

Some information on the rebuild process. Then engine and generator were separated and the engine was totally torn down as indicated in the pictures in the other thread. The crank is original. The cam is original. The governor is original. The oil pump is original. The piston and rods are original as they are in spec. The water pump is new. The piston pins and associated hardware are new. The rings are new and aligned properly according to the TM. All the bearings and seals were replaced. The oil filter was replaced. The fuel water filter was replaced. The oil is 10W40 Diesel but it is not a break in oil. The cylinders were in spec and the sleeves/walls were honed. The upper had a valve job done and two valves were replaced. All valve seals and other serviceable items were replaced. Pushrods were replaced if needed. There are four new fuel injectors and injector heads and copper washers. One of the injector metering pumps was replaced. Fuel lines were replaced. And a number of other things that I have since forgotten.

This is pretty much a complete rebuild

Suffice it to say that the engine, both the upper and lower ends, were rebuilt in Dec 17. The source has over 10 years experience in refurbing MEP's and selling them. He was assisted by a trained diesel mechanic.

Daybreak said:

Howdy,
Some of your answers are too short.

Rebuild = rebuilt by the guy you bought the unit from. (does he know what he's doing?)
How much of a rebuild was done? Why did that person rebuild it?

Was a new hour meter installed by the guy that did this rebuild?

Note:
John Deere break-in oil is not a golden honey color oil. The break-in oil is a dark hue with a greenish tint to it.

Add-on
after watching your video. I would ask what does the exhaust smell like? Are the rings correctly installed. Is the unit running on oil.

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In ref to the add on, I did not really notice an unusual smell. Rings are installed correctly.....see my post above on engine rebuild. It looks like it was eating some oil. I agree that the rings are not seated properly yet. Working on getting so break in diesel oil. Many people say it does not exist.

USAMilRet said:

Working on getting so break in diesel oil. Many people say it does not exist.

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If you are in north/central Florida, Beard Equipment sells the JD break in oil. From the JD dealer locator website, none of the residential/consumer stores stocked anything for the JD diesel products. They all had products for specifically for the smaller gasoline mowers/tractors. I had to start calling the dealers that cater to business/industrial customers.

the JD break in oil is formulated to meet standards as not to mess up the diesel particulate emissions systems on the tractors. the MEP gensets don't have DPF on their exhausts. i wouldn't use a 10w30 in the onan diesel. most break in oil for these type is just a non detergent single viscosity. i would use a good 30wt regular diesel engine oil and run the set at variable loads to break it in. after that for simplicity i would run 15w40 in it all the time. unless you are arctic of course

https://www.scribd.com/document/108661479/MEP-802A-Lubrication-Order-LO9-6115-641-12

The diesel break in oil has a higher zinc content for ring sealing, plus no detergents which can impede ring seating.

Or so I have been informed. Looking for fuel stabilizers and additives. Opti Lube XPD for treatment but need an algicide for bug prevention.

you can get non detergent 30wt and put a touch of STP or other zinc additive of your choice. i have had to use Bon Ami to seat rings in the past. usually on an engine with glazed rings. fullers earth will work also but is more aggressive.

Can't find any diesel break in oil locally. Have some on order. For the time being, I am going to use Valvoline Premium Blue 15W-40 as it is endorsed by Cummings for use in their engines. Will add some zinc additive for the break in. This will have to hold me until the break in oil arrives.

The builder told me that the oil and fuel/water filters are new. There was supposed to be a new air filter installed as well. Well, the air filter is the ORIGINAL that was installed when the generator set was built. So I am going to replace all the filter anyways, new air, oil, and fuel/H2O filter. Have them on hand.

Got my front seal today so that will get installed as well.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and photo's. so we can learn from you

Every JD farm dealer I have ever visited stocks their break in oil. T

Howdy,
Let's clear some things up.

The Letterkenny army depot uses John Deere break-in plus oil. They fill MEP rebuild units with that oil. A 100 hour change oil tag is attached.

John Deere Break-In Plus can be gotten at any John Deere dealer.

Breaking in any engine is important for the life of the engine.

Not that anyone asked me, but I'd wait until I could get the correct oil for break in. Viscosity differences, etc...

Daybreak said:

Howdy,
Let's clear some things up.

The Letterkenny army depot uses John Deere break-in plus oil. They fill MEP rebuild units with that oil. A 100 hour change oil tag is attached.

John Deere Break-In Plus can be gotten at any John Deere dealer.

Breaking in any engine is important for the life of the engine.

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And it's fine that it's 10W-30, right? IIRC, that's the only weight I could buy.

Do they use any oil additives as was being discussed earlier in the thread?

I am aware of all this. However, today I was speaking with a former master mechanic generator guy who became an instructor and continued teaching for 30 years. He said don't waste your money on a gimmic like break in oil for diesel engines. He said you should only and always use the same type of diesel oil (conventional vs synthetic). He recommended the Valvoline Premium Blue that was designed by Cumings for use in all heir diesel engines.

When I asked about the detergent, he said does not matter and neither did the increased zinc content. Just use 15W-40 made for diesels and stick with it.

I also have an long haul driver friend who says the same thing about break in oil for diesels.....waste of money.

So now I'm iffy on it but if Letterkenny uses break in oil, so will I. Why doesn't the TM or LO specify a type of break in oil?

Because because when the gen set is shipped out from any repair facility, it has breaking oil in it. At 100 hours, the user replaces it. Letterkenny is not the only place that does reset.

in my opinion i would be more concerned with the weight of the oil. the TM calls for 30w or 15w40 unless in arctic conditions. i don't know if the JD oil in reference is 10w30 or in 30w,JD is a big company and uses many different engines and buys many different oils and has many different specs. if i was concerned enough "which i am not" to only use JD oil then i would at least make sure it lined up with the TM and use "John Deere 30w break in oil". in the referenced engine before i tore into it i would change to 30 or 40wt oil and recheck OP to confirm i even had a problem in the first place. if the rings are glazed as it appears in the vid i would attempt to deglaze them by running it with normal oil and a combination of hard running and soft at many rpm levels and if that didn't work after many hours i would use Bonami and if that didn't work move to disassemble and replace rings from there.