Cranking cold 671 Detriot

[jeepme]

My 671 was supposedly rebuilt 500 miles before I bought it. It's always been hard to impossible to start under 50 degrees without the block heater. I have about 7000 miles on it. Runs great/ no smoke.

In the situations when I didn't have power for the block heater I'd squirt about a second long shot into the blower fitting. Never had it not start even down into the teens. If I couldn't get to the blower (one trip I had a bike rack on the back) I'd give a good 2-3 sec shot into the intake grill and walk up front to start it.

Jason Whitaker
4104

[HB of CJ]

Dallas and TomC got it right.  If your mill has the manual shutdown cable that "pulls to stop" and "push to start" try leaving the shutdown cable handle OUT in the "stop" position, leave your foot OFF the gas, then crank the mill for about 10 seconds, then stop for about 5 seconds, then crank again for about 10 seconds, then rest for about 5 seconds, then crank for about 10 seconds, then rest for about 5 seconds while pushing the stop lever back to the "run" position, push the gas pedal once, then leave your foot off the gas pedal, then crank to start.

Like others have already said, this builds up heat in the top of the engine from the compression pressure of cranking the mill without any fuel being injected into the cylinders.  Hopefully by employing this techinque, enough heat will have been introduced to the piston heads and head chambers that the Detroit will fire up.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Yeah, Detroits love either...some will say your mill will come to be addicted to it.  Best to limit her addiction to cold weather only.  O.K. to "push" to your Detroit.  She will love you.  He he he. 

[John Z]

Yes, like Scott has done, i have my block heater plugged into a very heavy extension cord run into the bedroom of the bus, right ahead of the bulkhead. It sits coiled up in the bottom of one of the cabinets. If it is cool in the morning, and i have the generator running, which i usually do for an hour or so to heat water, make waffles, etc, then i can walk back to the bedroom and plug in the block heater. This would work whether on shore power or genset. The block heater is plugged into the cord in the engine compartment, so if i want to plug in the block heater from the outside, i just open the transmission door, and unplug it from the cord that runs into the bedroom and plug it in outside. I have not used the spray cans since i bought the block heater!!!

[buswarrior]

Hello.

Cranking speed?

How fast the starter can spin it is everything as the temp cools off!

Batteries, cables and the starter itself.

Good place for one of those optical RPM hand-held guns.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[GM0406]

My 671 has a pan heater.  FWIW.  Bill T.