Working MEP Gensets on GL?

[aczlan]

I am now looking at several MEP-003A gensets that are "within striking distance" of me and was wondering, how many of these sets look good on an inspection, turn over, but have major issues when you get them home?

I am thinking of getting 2-3 of them (need 2, if the price is right, a 3rd would be nice for parts), but am wondering how likely it is that they will work without major repairs.
I am leaning towards getting a pair of gensets on a trailer as having another trailer (or the frame of one) around the farm would be useful

The current options I am exploring are:

1. Get 2 gensets, rent a uhaul trailer and pick them up (towing with my station wagon)
2. Get 2 gensets on an M103-A3, rent a flatbed car hauler trailer to carry it home (towing with a E350 Diesel van)
3. Get 2 gensets (either on an M103-A3 or "loose") and a 3rd one for parts, rent a flatbed car hauler trailer (towing with a E350 Diesel van)

Any pitfalls I should look out for? It appears that if I got the gensets on the trailer, I would probbaly need to get an EUC (which could lead to parts getting pilfered while that is being cleared)

Thanks

Aaron Z

 

[R Racing]

Look at the wiring closely, make sure there are no melted wires. Under the cover with the glow plugs, And in the contol box. Look for major blowby coming from the oil fill ( normally there is some, but not tons) Look at oil pressure 25 + is good after its warmed up. Don't idle the engine long or you could damage the voltage regulator.

 

[jbk]

their a crapshot. while if you can inspect thats great you might save some greif. i never looked any of mine over, the drive was to great. ive purchached 8 gen. from gl havnt got an unrepairable one yet, but ive read stories here that didnt go so well. most of the repairs ive made were because of neglect and age and nothing major (bad motor or gen). dont forget to look at gsa also the equipment isnt as nice but they go for less and dont require the 10% buyers premium. i dont think an euc applys anymore. as far as you options your going to have to wait and see what you get. the deal might be on one that doent have a trailer it just depends on what out their at the time. good luck

 

[Isaac-1]

There was a message thread here a few months ago about the success rate in buying generator from GL, one thing noted that many people that bought two generators mounted on a trailer ended up with one runner and one non-running parts machine. I have bought 3 generators from GL all now run, only 1 was a runner after adding oil and fresh battery, none required major work, one needed a new $300 control circuit board to run at all, smoked a little, and needed injection pump rebuilt ($700) to run right still $4,000 for a generator model that usually sells for $15,000 on ebay is not bad, particularly when it was 10 miles away.

Ike

Ike

 

[R Racing]

I was 2 for 2 on dead Gens. 1 had a locked up engine (MEP-005a). the other had a melted wiring harness and toasted starter (MEP-003a) the MEP-003a runs now, and I found a replacement engine for the MEP-005a but havent done the swap yet.

 

[derf]

I'm like 10 for 10. Most have been 3kW Diesels, though. One 003A runs but has crusty fuel tank and bad DC charging stator. Most just needed fuel system flush and minor repair like a cable or something. One had fuel and oil, but no battery, and fired up immediately.

 

[flyxpl]

I have had three out of four run . All four from gsa . I believe the 4th will run with the replacement of the injection pump plunger drive pin .

 

[abh3]

100% success here but that's only with one MEP-701a. It still needs a 24v battery to be really portable but I'm not moving it around so it's no biggie to use any two 12v batteries lying around here. The large cover on the fuel tank end of it is missing but I knew that from the GL pics, otherwise it's a good running & looking genset...

Suggestion: READ the manuals before fooling with gensets, they have expensive parts and can kill you too.

 

[Buttweet]

Delks has rebuilt IP`s for mep003a`s for $400 or $475 if you keep the core which I recommend. During engine checkout keep cowling in place otherwise the air cooled engine will overheat and shutoff after approx 5 mins running time and you have to wait a couple hours for cooldown before it will restart. Just experienced that today. A floor fan directed towards the engine helps.
Thanks
Private Buttweet

 

[aczlan]

Thanks to all for the information.

Delks has rebuilt IP`s for mep003a`s for $400 or $475 if you keep the core which I recommend. During engine checkout keep cowling in place otherwise the air cooled engine will overheat and shutoff after approx 5 mins running time and you have to wait a couple hours for cooldown before it will restart. Just experienced that today. A floor fan directed towards the engine helps

I will put that in the list of things to check watch out for.

Suggestion: READ the manuals before fooling with gensets, they have expensive parts and can kill you too.

But reading the manuals takes all of the fun out of it

There was a message thread here a few months ago about the success rate in buying generator from GL, one thing noted that many people that bought two generators mounted on a trailer ended up with one runner and one non-running parts machine.

Good to know.

For those who have bought trailer mounted gensets, from what I have seen, it appears that I would be best served by renting a trailer for $75-150 rather than towing a questionable trailer back being as I would not have spare tires.

Am I thinking correctly? Just looking at a tow bill vs trailer rental makes a trailer rental look worthwhile (not counting the hassle of getting towed and trying to find MV parts at o-dark-thirty on a weekend).

Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

Just as a little background on myself:
I have worked as a mechanic, HVAC tech, electrician (commercial and residential) and a few other jobs, but my day job (and the career that I settled on) is working with computers.
I have been "bitten" quite a few times by 110 and a few times by 220, so I respect it, but I do not fear it. I have wired up a few panelboxs and know how to wire a 4-way switch circuit. I am decent with a soldering iron and a meter.
I am good at tearing things apart, fixing them and putting them back together, but more importantly, I can usually tell fairly quickly when something is beyond what I can do (or what I have time to do) and I have had good luck finding people who are more knowledgeable than I am when I am over my head.

Aaron Z

 

[Keith_J]

If you inspect, check to see if the governor linkage on the 002/003s moves freely. Manually lift the shut-off solenoid plunger and check the injector pump lever moves up on its own accord. Injection pumps get varnished. Trying to run a varnished pump can break a host of things inside which are expensive, time-consuming and frustrating to replace. The injectors can also gum up but the 1800 PSI of diesel usually gets them running as does good solvent.

Gauges suffer the onslaught of poor storage. Plastic lenses get yellow and cloudy. Glass leak around the seals. Water in any gauge is bad news. If you inspect on a cool morning, look for water trapped inside.

Oil condition doesn't mean much. If there is oil, it will be clean. Fuel systems will be other than clean. They are stored without fuel. If the vent is open on the cap, there could be issues. Every day, the tank heats, then when it cools, humid air is drawn in, condensing out the moisture and causing rust. Tanks can be cleaned, it just took me a week to clean, pickle, weld and then seal the one on my 002. 20+ rust holes.

Exposed wiring suffers from the elements, shedding its outer layer of Nylon, then the fiberglass over the insulation frays and this exposes the PVC to UV. While it can be replaced, it is a tedious job. I stripped the brittle Nylon and replaced with heat shrink. Looks better but not shiny like Nylon.

My 002A now runs fine, used it in 3-phase tonight to power my welder. Fired right up, held 60 Hz and powered the welder just fine. Probably only drew 8 amperes per phase. Since I was doing the welding, I didn't see the actual loads. And my welder isn't picky at all on frequency or voltage, such is the nature of inverters. Seems odd to power 21st century equipment off a classic design. I am tempted at getting some 3/16" electrodes and turning the amperage to 200 to see if the generator will drive an 8.1 kVA/7.8 kW load. The civillian version of this generator is the Onan MDJE which is a 7.5 kw rated and starts dropping frequency at 9kW. . The 003As would be rated at 15kW and should easily drive 17kW before frequency droop. But since both have 8 AWG wiring from the generator to output, the 002A has an advantage.

 

[Isaac-1]

One little correction, the Onan civilian version is the DJE, the MDJE is the water cooled marine version of the same block.

Ike

 

[R Racing]

Thanks to all for the information.


I will put that in the list of things to check watch out for.


But reading the manuals takes all of the fun out of it


Good to know.

For those who have bought trailer mounted gensets, from what I have seen, it appears that I would be best served by renting a trailer for $75-150 rather than towing a questionable trailer back being as I would not have spare tires.

Am I thinking correctly? Just looking at a tow bill vs trailer rental makes a trailer rental look worthwhile (not counting the hassle of getting towed and trying to find MV parts at o-dark-thirty on a weekend).

Aaron Z

The trailer Gens ( I have bought 2 ) I check the tires and air and hook them up to the hitch and drive them home.the last 1 I bought did a 1 way 170 mile trip with no issues. Checking the tires is the key.

 

[derf]

Most of the trailers I've seen have had tires that looked good from a distance, with good tread, but did not pass close inspection. I always bring a farm jack and at least two spares when recovering a GL trailer. I say be prepared and inspect them closely before you take them on the highway.

 

[Buttweet]

Question for Keith_J, I`m impressed with your knowledge and expertise. May I bother you with my latest problem with a mep003 genset. I`m having every problem in the world trying to get this thing to run. Todays problem (after church) is how to seat and seal new injectors in the head to prevent blowby. I don`t have the proper gaskets/seals but have lots of generic material around my shop. This installation setup in my opinion is a poor design and with the two bolt clampdown its difficult to tell if the injector is perpendicular to the injector hole. If its not exactly perpendicular, blowby will occur without a proper gasket. I think I need a pliable, hi temp gasket material that will expand and seal the hole.
Just installed a rebuilt IP from Delks and got it to run 15 minutes before shutting itself down. But the blowby is eating my lunch (supper). Any advise you or anybody else may have will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Private Buttweet

 

[derf]

These are DI motors, aren't they? If so, you should probably have a copper gasket under the injector.


See fig 7-45 in TM5-6115-585-34



The perpendicularity of the injector should be set by the cylindrical nature of the injector, adapter, and cylinder head. If you injectors are not square you may be missing some components.

Also, for things like this it is best to start a new thread. It helps keep things organized and is useful for future searching.

 

[Keith_J]

Only soft copper will work. Check that the seats are not corroded, they like to do that since copper is a more noble metal (forces iron to give up electrons and oxidize). If corroded, a brass lap loaded with valve grinding compound and turned in a drill can clean it up.

The bolts securing the injector keep this joint under tension, if they heat more than the injector, the clamping force can be reduced. Make sure cooling cover is closed to keep air flow high in this area. Also, check for proper air shutter movement. Most of these generators are pretty dirty in the head, blasting with crushed walnut will clean that up nicely. Avoid the fuel lines and glow plugs. This will remove loose rust, dirt and cobwebs.

 

[usmc434]

mep017 and mep003a

bought a mep017a GSA sales auction ..$195..193 total hrs 130 hrs gov. rebuild..replace carb, fuel pump. fuel lines,,eng. runs good ..cyl pressure check 125 psi...it had a 12 volt battery mounted not the 24 v kind......downside battery vr diodes bad..reg. on order......had gen voltage out put..it drop out... flashing did not help..pull gen. vr old stile check and found 2 more bad diodes...ordered a sx460..........vr

bought from GL mep003a at fort rucker ala.. 600 hrs...it was said to be in running cond.will be picking it up this wed.it was not cheap....its just a hobby

larry in alabama

 

[Buttweet]

These injectors have a copper washer, then an alum heatsink adapter, then a flat gasket the size of a silver dollar, then a flat steel washer heat shield same size, then another gasket, and finally the head seat as DERF has shown in his T.O. page. So its not as simple as just a copper washer. During clampdown you cannot see the perpendicularity due to everything around the hole.
Thanks