That's the Cummins 6CTA?
-
Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!
Bought a M818
- Thread starter OC455
- Start date
JohnnyBM931A2
Member
- 877
- 2
- 18
- Location
- Crystal Lake, Illinois
Yeah that would certainly be more ideal if you can just fix the engine that's already in the truck.
JohnnyBM931A2
Member
- 877
- 2
- 18
- Location
- Crystal Lake, Illinois
Yup
NovacaineFix
Member
- 662
- 1
- 18
- Location
- San Diego, California
Congrats on your purchase, I'm sure you'll be able to get her started, just requires a little TLC and a lot of patience.
Mine was the same way when I got her a few months back, had no batteries and was not sure of the running condition or if it ran at all.
Cleaned the filters, put some new diesel in, a couple of good batteries, some starting fluid and she started coming back to life.
The 8.3 is a good engine, but don't count that 250 Cummins out just yet, they are very good engines. A bit heavy and not that light on the fuel useage, but darn good engines.
Like the others have stated, some of the problems are the fuel lines, fuel selector switch [the one on the floor, not the dash], and that tiny filter that gets clogged on top of the IP.
My emergency fuel valve was stuck also in the off position, which makes starting the engine a bit harder.
Have Fun and keep us posted.
Mine was the same way when I got her a few months back, had no batteries and was not sure of the running condition or if it ran at all.
Cleaned the filters, put some new diesel in, a couple of good batteries, some starting fluid and she started coming back to life.
The 8.3 is a good engine, but don't count that 250 Cummins out just yet, they are very good engines. A bit heavy and not that light on the fuel useage, but darn good engines.
Like the others have stated, some of the problems are the fuel lines, fuel selector switch [the one on the floor, not the dash], and that tiny filter that gets clogged on top of the IP.
My emergency fuel valve was stuck also in the off position, which makes starting the engine a bit harder.
Have Fun and keep us posted.
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?76086-5-ton-fuel-tank-selector-valve-cleaning-rebuild
Found the selector switch rebuild thread anyway to reference.
Found the selector switch rebuild thread anyway to reference.
- 1,577
- 138
- 63
- Location
- Norwood LA
My M818 gets 7mpg empty and 6-6.5 mpg pulling a 27000lb loaded trailer. Still much less than the 8.3.
Still better than 3-4MPG.....LOL
red
Active member
- 1,988
- 25
- 38
- Location
- Eagle Mountain/Utah
For a test run pull the fuel feed line from after the fuel filter and run it into a fuel can. Crank the engine over and see if it fires up, a couple sprays of starting fluid is OK while cranking.
This will bypass the common fuel system issues and let you know if the engine is currently working or needs repairs.
This will bypass the common fuel system issues and let you know if the engine is currently working or needs repairs.
NovacaineFix
Member
- 662
- 1
- 18
- Location
- San Diego, California
Take it from me, do not do this:
When trying to get your truck started, do not use the fuel primer pump to pump fuel into the intake, it could cause a diesel runaway situation.
I found this out when trying to get my 818 started before realizing that the emergency fuel shut-off was manually applied even though the handle was pushed in.
Luckily for me, I only pushed the primer in a few times and the runaway only lasted for a few seconds, but man did those seconds seem to last forever.
If you find yourself doing this, make sure the air cleaner cover and filter are off and have a 5 gallon bucket lid handy. It fits perfectly within the open air filter can (the part that is attached to the fender just before the 90° rubber).
The ether method works good and will reduce the risk of a runaway due to the lack of fuel.
As for the compression, you'll probably have to resort to the TM's for what the acceptable range for compression is, as I don't know offhand. As you know, you'll need a diesel compression tester if you can't get it running and really suspect the compression to be an issue.
God Luck man!
When trying to get your truck started, do not use the fuel primer pump to pump fuel into the intake, it could cause a diesel runaway situation.
I found this out when trying to get my 818 started before realizing that the emergency fuel shut-off was manually applied even though the handle was pushed in.
Luckily for me, I only pushed the primer in a few times and the runaway only lasted for a few seconds, but man did those seconds seem to last forever.
If you find yourself doing this, make sure the air cleaner cover and filter are off and have a 5 gallon bucket lid handy. It fits perfectly within the open air filter can (the part that is attached to the fender just before the 90° rubber).
The ether method works good and will reduce the risk of a runaway due to the lack of fuel.
As for the compression, you'll probably have to resort to the TM's for what the acceptable range for compression is, as I don't know offhand. As you know, you'll need a diesel compression tester if you can't get it running and really suspect the compression to be an issue.
God Luck man!
74M35A2
Well-known member
- 4,145
- 330
- 83
- Location
- Livonia, MI
A CO2 fire extinguisher works perfectly to stop a runaway engine.
- 7,409
- 2,502
- 113
- Location
- Interlachen Fl.
Last edited:
NovacaineFix
Member
- 662
- 1
- 18
- Location
- San Diego, California
Yes I would be guilty of pumping it more than a couple times the 1st round.
But after cranking it a few times with no start [this is before I realized the shut-off was closed] I would have figured the fuel I pumped in there would have cycled through the engine while cranking, I guess it didn't.
Yes a CO2 would do the trick to, but I didn't have one handy, only the yellow powder ABC type and really didn't want to use that.
But after cranking it a few times with no start [this is before I realized the shut-off was closed] I would have figured the fuel I pumped in there would have cycled through the engine while cranking, I guess it didn't.
Yes a CO2 would do the trick to, but I didn't have one handy, only the yellow powder ABC type and really didn't want to use that.
JohnnyBM931A2
Member
- 877
- 2
- 18
- Location
- Crystal Lake, Illinois
Congrats! 
Good thing, we were able to get it to turn over and it fired up. The bendix was kinda froze up, got it working and it turned over. Used the primer a bit and it still wouldn't light up. The kid helping me grabbed a can of starter and gave it a half second blast into the air cleaner and it turned over and fired up. Whoot whoot!!! Let it run for a bit pretty rough idle. The tachometer doesn't work so I can't really tell where it was sitting at idle. It sounded a little on the low end.
So we shut it down and then gave it about 2 minutes and it turned over and started up. Ran it, shut it down gave it about another two minutes and got it started again.
Let it sit for a little while longer and then it would just crank over but not start. So my assumption at this point is it all fuel supply issues. I looked at both tanks and they look like they've been cobbled together. Looks like they may have bypassed one tank completely. So it's probably sucking air all over the place. It does need quite of bit of work, but at least I know the motor works. I'm pretty sure they hacked into the air lines too....bunch of different things going on with that....
Going to break it down and begin cleaning and then draining fluids. Pressure check the radiator...the cooling fins are plugged up near the top. The hand brake is seized in the cab. Again, sme of the gauges don't work, but it looks like the employees using the truck got behind the dash and were messing around inside....the light switch is gone! I have a replacement switch already with LED upgraade lights so no issue there.
Gotta figure out how to get photos from my phone to the computer....ugh. Technology.
So we shut it down and then gave it about 2 minutes and it turned over and started up. Ran it, shut it down gave it about another two minutes and got it started again.
Let it sit for a little while longer and then it would just crank over but not start. So my assumption at this point is it all fuel supply issues. I looked at both tanks and they look like they've been cobbled together. Looks like they may have bypassed one tank completely. So it's probably sucking air all over the place. It does need quite of bit of work, but at least I know the motor works. I'm pretty sure they hacked into the air lines too....bunch of different things going on with that....
Going to break it down and begin cleaning and then draining fluids. Pressure check the radiator...the cooling fins are plugged up near the top. The hand brake is seized in the cab. Again, sme of the gauges don't work, but it looks like the employees using the truck got behind the dash and were messing around inside....the light switch is gone! I have a replacement switch already with LED upgraade lights so no issue there.
Gotta figure out how to get photos from my phone to the computer....ugh. Technology.
Going to be tackling the fuel system with the 5 ton shortly. What fuel line should I use to replace what's there? Going to be replacing the filter and everything. Also going to get the dual tanks working. It appears they hacked into them and made a mess trying to keep it running.
