MEP-803A Finally scored one and had a question.

[lurch44]

Good evening
Long time lurker here. I finally scored a MEP-803A on Sat. I spent the next 2 days going over everything I have learned on here for the last year. I built a load bank so I could put it through its paces. I ran it for about 3 hours straight loading slowly then running it to full capacity. I was excited that during the 3 to 4 hours of running I never noticed any obvious issues checking the unit like a old hen making sure I didn't just buy a boat anchor. I was satisfied with all of my testing.
I shut everything down and packed up the load bank and was going to call it a successful day then I decided to change the oil since it was still warm and much to my horror when I opened the oil access door I had opened a dozen times before and saw a green coolant puddle so I mopped it up then started looking for a coolant leak. 2 hours later I was not able to ascertain where this leak was coming from. This is the reason I am posting my first viable question since joining SS.
I saw a wet areas around the sides of the radiator and I also saw a wet spot on the plug on the unused port on the water pump. I am dreading a radiator replacement . My high temp was at 205 and stayed there for a 240 volt load with about 48 amp draw. I was hoping that someone could at least point me a couple of directions.

I decided to call it a day and see if my wife still knew who I was since I spent my waking hours in my shop. Thanks in advance Chris

 

[kloppk]

A few people, including me, had problems with leaks at the capped unused port. I found the rubber cap on mine had dried out and cracked causing a coolant leak there.

 

[lurch44]

Thanks kloppk. I was suspecting the rubber cap but the amount of coolant in the bottom had me suspecting something bigger. Like I had mentioned I had looked for a couple of hours but saw no evidence of any fittings drooling. I will check tomorrow after work and report back. I would have started it late this afternoon but was running late for evening service. That is why my post was not as descriptive as it should have been.
I was hoping Daybreak would just swing by and give it a once over. Lol. I noticed he lives in guntown too.

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,
I have 3 generators running at the moment. The wind has taken down trees all over the place here. Power went out around 4pm. I have sent a PM.

Sent from power supplied from MEP-803A.

 

[lurch44]

Thanks Kloppk
After letting it sit for a day sure enough and wiping everything spotless. There was a big drool puddle from the cap on the unused port of the water pump. This time I actually watched a couple of drips. I never saw a drip yesterday. This is why I got nervous with the fan flinging glycol everywhere. Whew! I wound up draining the radiator low enough to repair and will let my value engineered repair sit for a day. Wondering if local autoparts have this plug? Thanks again for steering me in the correct direction.

 

[robertsears1]

Usually in the help section at Advance, they sell a blister pack with several different sizes of rubber caps. Our John Deere tractor has a Chinese copy water pump now with two ports. I usually get two to three years between failure of the rubber cap.

Robert

 

[kloppk]

I have seen a cap that would work at an autoparts store.
To fix mine I just used a short length of heater hose slid over the port, secured it with a SS hose clamp.
Then I plugged the other end of the heater hose with short piece of steel rod (part of a large bolt) and secured it in place with another SS hose clamp.
Figured it ought to last longer than another rubber cap. Rube Goldberg but it works.

 

[lurch44]

Thanks for the reply
I will check tomorrow after work. I have it rigged(value engineered) for now. Next time I flush coolant system I will RR part with new one. I noticed the glycol seemed very thick like it was straight ethylene glycol and not a mix of water and antifreeze. I added about a gallon of premixed but I bet it is still to strong.

 

[lurch44]

Too funny Kloppk
That is exactly what I had done with a piece of steel rod. In my younger days I would have used a 1/2" bolt.

 

[kloppk]

Yup a bolt in mine.

 

[Triton]

Just from experience I wouldn't use the cap from the auto parts store, they don't last very long. The best bet is the heater hose with bolt and clamps. Ask me how I know!

 

[Guyfang]

If it works, don't screw with it!

Those caps drove us crazy!! Some units did not send their gen sets to reset, after coming back from down range. Didn't need to. BUT, some little things like the water pump caps, and vibration isolators needed checking every so often. We started using silicone grease on everything rubber or plastic. seems to help plastic, and darn sure helps rubber!

 

[lurch44]

Ok I will stay with my value engineered solution. Thanks to everyone who steered me in the right direction. I swear I looked the whole thing over the first day for almost 2 hours and never saw a friggin drip. Just saw glycol everywhere from the fan drawing thru. this is why I got nervous Nelly.

 

[lurch44]

Ok I will stay with my value engineered solution. Thanks to everyone who steered me in the right direction. I swear I looked the whole thing over the first day for almost 2 hours and never saw a friggin drip. Just saw glycol everywhere from the fan drawing thru. this is why I got nervous Nelly.

 

[Guyfang]

I once tore a 803A down to the last nuts and bolts. Fixed EVERYTHING that needed it. Engine had a hole in it the size of a softball. Put it back together, and stood there with that grin on my face, like I was bad. Spun it up, simply wonderful! Turned it off after a 5-6 hour load check. Opened up the door, just like you. And about had heart failure! coolant EVERYWHERE. Like you, I spent hours looking. Cleaned it up. Nothing. Ran it, and found coolant on the bottom. Pulled out my hair. Cleaned it, then out of the corner of my eye, saw that one drop. I could have screamed. It was thursday. I took off friday, to go on a weekend trip. Fix it on monday.

I had a young soldier helping me. He saw the drip, thought the water pump was bad. Wanted to show me how much he had learned working with me for the last month, so he pulled off the front end, replaced the water pump and put it back together again. Worked the whole weekend. I didnt have the courage to tell him that all he needed was the cap. Good kid, so I just shut up. And his work was first rate, so what the heck. Wrote it off as training.

 

[lurch44]

Great story Guyfang
I was all excited because I had built a loadbank out of a 35 gallon empty lithium bromide container and 3 water heater elements and I had run this at approx 11,000 for a good run and was all happy I didnt have chunks of carbon blowing out. The smoke cleared up at 15 to 30 minutes and it was purring like a kitten. I had looked in the doors 10 plus times. Oh well all is good. The previous owner said he changed the oil and it looked OK but I dont trust anyone (DTA) so I was going to change it over to Delvac 1300 15W40 like my M1028.
Any thoughts. Is this a good oil to use. I am a Mobil 1 freak for all my other toys.

 

[Tinstar]

I use Mobil 1 in everything I own

Run it and enjoy

 

[DieselAddict]

I tend to use RotellaT Synthetic Blend. It flows really well cold and is much cheaper than Mobile 1 Diesel. Not a slam on the Mobile 1 product. I just couldn't justify the difference in cost for something that I was going to change yearly and put only a few hours on.

I do run the Delvac1 (Mobile) in my VW TDI on 10k mile changes. The inside of that engine has ZERO sludge with almost 300k miles on it. The car is falling apart around it but the engine is still top notch.

 

[lurch44]

I use the Mobil Delvac 1300 in my diesel toys and my gassers get Mobil 1 syn stuff. I was just wondering if Delvac by Mobil was acceptable or since the engine seems to run at one speed there would be a better oil for a seemingly constant rpm engine.

 

[DieselAddict]

It is better in my opinion to get a diesel specific oil. Those oils have higher TBN numbers and different additive packages to help resist the waste products of diesel engines. If you don't run the engine much and change the oil more on time than engine hours I would say it matters less. If you run enough hours to require an oil change it will matter much more.