Having our first mechanical issue...

eagle19952 · August 07, 2014, 06:36:16 PM

in my career (40+ years) wrenching i have resurrected a lot of idle heavy equipment and replaced a lot more fuel filters....i have burned a bunch of 2-3+ year old diesel and have never encountered "bad" diesel.
the diesel i am burning now is a mix of old and new.

DriverGT5 · August 07, 2014, 06:47:59 PM

If anyone wanted a little more hint that we are going in the right direction I just found an inch of standing water in my starboard fuel filler box. The fuel caps for the starboard and center tank are in a box with a clogged drain. That box is also filled with what I would describe as slim or algae, probably mixing with the diesel I spilled while filling the last time. There's also signs the water level has been going higher than the filler cap so presumably water has been leaking in around the seals of the cap. I cleaned the drain out and I'm guessing I'll find some of that sludge further in the fuel system as I go, probably clogging the injectors.

Filters still look clean but they smell like paint thinner. It looks like it's time for some fresh fuel and to flush out the lines and injectors.

luvrbus · August 07, 2014, 07:20:09 PM

You don't need to pull the injectors they have a rock filter on each injector on the supply side on the injector just remove the line and take the fitting out and check one if it's clean they will all be clean

Start with the pressure check 1st it will tell you if it is a pickup problem from the pump back low pressure, a high reading will tell you if it is the injector filters anything from 40 to 70 pounds is good, the old beast will run on 5 lbs FWIW it just will not have any power you are not dealing with a pencil type injector

good luck

Oonrahnjay · August 07, 2014, 10:12:49 PM

Quote from: DriverGT5 on August 07, 2014, 05:35:53 PM... probably crap in the tanks. ...

Yeah, that will stop you in a hurry.

Oonrahnjay · August 07, 2014, 10:16:47 PM

(just hard to resist ....)

Iceni John · August 08, 2014, 08:00:47 AM

Do you have a drain plug on the bottom of the fuel tank? If so, try gently cracking it open and see what comes out. Any water in the tank should settle below the fuel and drain out.

Just for fun a while ago (I know, I need to get a life) I opened my tank's drain to see what would come out, but there wasn't anything to worry about. I'll make a point of checking this every year. Better safe than sorry.

John

lvmci · August 08, 2014, 10:53:48 AM

John, next time you crack open your tank, let's make it into a NRG in Orange county, we will have a tank cracking party, the bus with the worst looking diesel drip will get the ugliest drip award, a tye with diesel drips on it! Tom, lvmci..

Iceni John · August 08, 2014, 12:10:12 PM

Quote from: lvmci on August 08, 2014, 10:53:48 AM
John, next time you crack open your tank, let's make it into a NRG in Orange county, we will have a tank cracking party, the bus with the worst looking diesel drip will get the ugliest drip award, a tye with diesel drips on it! Tom, lvmci..

I like it! But I don't own, let alone ever wear, ties. Perhaps instead a hippyish tied-dyed T-shirt, except with different-colored oil and grease stains in artistically-expressive patterns? A sort of wearable Rorschach test, but maybe that would reveal too much about us.

John

mikke60 · August 08, 2014, 02:17:31 PM

hi
I may be way off here,but I had similar situation with my bus this spring. Bus was very slow getting up to speed. Took me a while to realize that I was not in drive,but rather staring off in second. Could be as simple as a linkage issue?
mike

Nineforever · August 09, 2014, 05:22:33 PM

Does your engine have an oil bath air filter , if it does...... drop the bottom pan pull down the screen filter . There could be blockage up in the intake wasp nest etc .