Bought a Deuce but engine will not start.

[m-35tom]

as chris said, if you have not yet removed the shutoff cover, that is the most likely thing to check first. be sure the linkage is real free. second check that the plunger in center of HH is moving when cranking. contrary to popular belief, sitting is not, IMHO, a problem. i have started deuce engines that sat for 18 years with little effort and no priming. condition before parking is of most importance. what did the seller tell you? and remember 'everyone lies'

tom

 

[67 evil eleanor]

Well judging by the other vehicles in his garage no maintenance was ever done. He did admit that it has sat for about 18 months but it ran like a charm before he parked it. It appears that he put less than a thousand miles on it since the purchase. The mileage stated on the title and what the truck now shows would be like 500 and the date he said he bought it is very close to title date. I believe he is telling the truth, or at least I hope so..........but it still notta run.

 

[m-35tom]

my thought is that if it ran and was parked for even 2 years, it would start right up like it was the next day. have you removed the shutoff cover? you can run it with the cover off, you will just need to pull the linkage to the rear to shut it off. be sure the linkage is very free, if it stickes to the rear you will get zero fuel.

 

[67 evil eleanor]

Went up and worked on the Deuce again today and still could not get it started. I took the shutoff apart and cleaned things up with carb cleaner. It seems that the linkage works freely now. Also I took out the rod with the little wedge and cleaned that up too. In doing so I took a small screwdriver and seen if the disc that the wedge rest in moved. It appeared to be hung or stuck and with some very gentle force it started moving up and down with ease. One thing that I'm not sure on is what do I do to check the rod that goes to the back to the right and disappears into the housing. It's held to the arm by the little "c" pin. When I tried to start the engine (with help on the start button) and one injector line loose I did get just a very small bit of "foam" coming from around the line connection, there was no gush of fuel though. I guess my question is now "what's next?" What does the rod go to that I mentioned and can this close off the fuel? Can it be cleaned and how? IMO the fuel is still not making it to the HP pump. I do have new filters installed and the electric pump appears to be working, air was bled up top of the filter housings. Pictures follow.......

 

[67 evil eleanor]

Went up and worked on the Deuce again today and still could not get it started. I took the shutoff apart and cleaned things up with carb cleaner. It seems that the linkage works freely now. Also I took out the rod with the little wedge and cleaned that up too. In doing so I took a small screwdriver and seen if the disc that the wedge rest in moved. It appeared to be hung or stuck and with some very gentle force it started moving up and down with ease. One thing that I'm not sure on is what do I do to check the rod that goes to the back to the right and disappears into the housing. It's held to the arm by the little "c" pin. When I tried to start the engine (with help on the start button) and one injector line loose I did get just a very small bit of "foam" coming from around the line connection, there was no gush of fuel though. I guess my question is now "what's next?" What does the rod go to that I mentioned and can this close off the fuel? Can it be cleaned and how? IMO the fuel is still not making it to the HP pump. I do have new filters installed and the electric pump appears to be working, air was bled up top of the filter housings. Pictures follow.......

 

[m-35tom]

so my guess is that it was parked for a long time, but that really does not matter now. the next thing to check would be that the fuel plunger moves up and down and is not stuck in the up position. it is a concern if things were stuck as they should not have been. remove the plug in the center of the top of the HH, in the center of where the fuel lines come out and with a wood or plastic rod see if it moves when cranking. easiest with 2 people.

 

[67 evil eleanor]

And if it doesn't move or moves? I did notice engine oil when I removed the cover. Is all of this lubed by engine oil? Sorry for so many questions but I have O experience with these vehicles and it's still about 100 miles away. I'm still trying to get her going for the adventure drive back home which I will report.

 

[rchalmers3]

Pardon me if you already confirmed this, but did you check for fuel supply to the HH at the inlet hose fitting? It should flow nicely with the hose removed while the main switch is on.

Rick

 

[67 evil eleanor]

I think I did and it had good flow. I would guessssssss maybe 1+GPM from the electric pump and it had just a small bit of pressure when restricted. Slight hold would completely stop the flow. Something I forgot to mention, I did notice fuel in the clear return hose and I guess it's a good sign.

 

[mikes47jeep]

not to be a smartass, but have you ever bled a diesel that has run out of fuel?

even if you have fuel at teh filters you still need to bleed the injector lines.

you have to crack open the injector lines at the injectors, crank the engine over until you get fuel and the tighten the lines back up. this is best done with 2 people.

just my

Mike

 

[WILDBOY6X6]

HI ALL yup lots of good info,also can use an air hose in tank and seal cap hole with rags,or in the cal guard we had a cap in the maint shop with a air fitting in it.
You pump air into tank and open bleaders or some times just try to start it.

 

[67 evil eleanor]

I cracked a couple lines and got a little like bubbling but no solid fuel. Just when I think maybe the air was trying to be pushed out, my batteries fizzled, as well as me. I really want to thank you guys for your help. I'm somewhat familiar with purging air from a diesel system but it seems with my attempts some fuel should be leaking from the injector lines. How long does it take to clear the line? Maybe my batteries are crapping out just as the fuel is making it to the injector? As far as towing with a heavy wrecker, what are the do's and don'ts I need to know. I'm sure the wrecker driver probably will not know. Thanks......

 

[markmontana]

Towing a deuce is not a complex deal. They are just big trucks. If your wrecker guy doesn't know how to tow it- you have more problems than "do's and don'ts".

Tell them how much it weighs and they will send the right rig out- lift the front end up, secure it and away they go. About $65 per hour around here.

 

[gimpyrobb]

not to be a smartass, but have you ever bled a diesel that has run out of fuel?

even if you have fuel at teh filters you still need to bleed the injector lines.

you have to crack open the injector lines at the injectors, crank the engine over until you get fuel and the tighten the lines back up. this is best done with 2 people.

just my

Mike

Nope, not on a deuce. Just bleed the filters and your ready to go.

 

[67 evil eleanor]

OK, how long does it take to crank or how many times of say 5 seconds? The fuel I seen in the clear return hose is that overflow from the injectors or is it bypassing and just filling up the tube. With all that I have read I really may be running out of battery before the injectors prime.

 

[212sparky]

Last time I did my filters I did not get all the air out and almost drained my batteries, I gave it a sniff of starting spray and she fired right up. It might just need a boost. Try silicone spray not as hard on the engine.

 

[WILDBOY6X6]

air

HI GUY this is why we use air in tank,so can blead it with out needing to crank eng .

 

[m-35tom]

you STILL have to crank the engine to bleed the injector lines if they have any significant amount of air in them, air in the tank will not bleed the high pressure lines. loosen all the fittings at least 3/4 turn and be sure the line has poped loose from the injector. then crank the engine until fuel, not foam comes out, may take 15 to 20 seconds. cranking should be at 300 rpm or your batteries may be low. tighten nuts and it 'should' start. of course there are MANY other things that may be wrong. without knowing when it ran last and if it quit on its own, you have to start at the beginning. after bleeding, if it does not start, use starting fluid, not ether, to get it running (with 2 people) and see if it will stay running if you keep the rpm over 1500 to 2000 rpm. if it will and just will not idle, most likely bad HH.

tom

 

[67 evil eleanor]

I found the return fuel filter once I got her home. It is VERY nasty and there was about 1/2" of crud in the bottom of the bowl (cleaned out in the photo). My questions are, is there a spring that holds the filter snug against the ports that is missing? This filter will slide down the stem and stop about half way down but is not in contact with the inlet and outlet and I can't see it working. Is this even the right filter in the photo? And last, can this cause the engine not to run or very hard to start? So far my attempts to start have failed but now I have the Deuce here with room to work on it and the tools I need.

 

[goldneagle]

I found the return fuel filter once I got her home. It is VERY nasty and there was about 1/2" of crud in the bottom of the bowl (cleaned out in the photo). My questions are, is there a spring that holds the filter snug against the ports that is missing? This filter will slide down the stem and stop about half way down but is not in contact with the inlet and outlet and I can't see it working. Is this even the right filter in the photo? And last, can this cause the engine not to run or very hard to start? So far my attempts to start have failed but now I have the Deuce here with room to work on it and the tools I need.

As far as i know there is no return fuel filter! If it is under the frame up front on the passenger side it is the primary fuel filter. If it clogs (mine just did last weekend) the engine will not run! Probably missing a spring. I upgraded my filter housing so i don't remember how it was inside. If it is loose then it cannot filter and will let all the **** go through to the secondaries.

I suggest you replace the secondaries once you install the primary filter properly. You can always get a spin-on filter mount from NAPA and install it. Mine uses LFF8020 fuel/water separator filters. Napa stocks the NAPA equivalents for $11 each.