MEP 803A Fix-up Thread

[WWRD99]

I didn't get to say this much in the video because I tried it after all the recording was done... but it is above somewhere. I ran it to the point the oil pressure was so low I didn't want to cause other damage. Could I keep cycling it like that? Sure. I'd say in total, it ran for 1-1.5 hours broken up. It seems the more I run it, the worse it gets. I don't want to cause more damage.

A leak down test could be done as well. Saw in the TM how to make the little setup they suggested.

The digital thermometers are pretty good no matter the distance to be honest. As long as nothing is obstructing it.

Thanks for watching the videos! I try to find a balance of keeping good information but not making it drag out.

Yeah don't want to do damage to the engine for sure!! I think the oil shut down is 15 psi but it depends on that electrical sending unit to get that. Have you tried a mechanical gauge just to see if it is correct? I can tag you in a thread that this is being discussed at the moment if that's ok. I'd be curious what is actually causing the smoke in the oil fill. Who knows what was in that crankcase when you got it. Could have had some water or diesel in it from who knows what gomer did. Do you think a oil test might help figure that out with the new oil you put in unless you kept the old oil could use that.
I think your videos are spot on as some would have made just a video on how to repair the tree damage to perfection, then fuel lines etc lol. I pay for youtube since there is so much info out there it makes it nice.

 

[Guyfang]

I dont think you understand what AOAP (Army Oil Analyses Program, or any oil analyses test) would tell you about Who knows what was in that crankcase when you got it. Could have had some water or diesel in it from who knows what gomer did. Although I am just an old Gomer, I will try and explain it. Any engine you want to test with AOAP has to have a base line. So the engine oil and filter need to be changed. Then a sample is pulled and tested, to give you a base line. So anything before your base line will never be known. Doing a test of an old engine you pick up someplace will tell you what is in the old oil, but will not tell you how it got there, or why. If an engine has been sitting someplace for a long time, moisture can enter the oil, with no help from Gomer. Dirt can enter the system, with no help from Gomer. Trace elements will be in an old oil test, but you can not tell if its an acute problem, or not. That's due to not knowing how often the oil was changed, if the oil filter was changed and so on. The only way to find out if its an acute problem is to take several resamples, at the normal AOAP schedule. Then you can determine what is going on in the engine, but not what happened in the past.

Oh, in my experience, Gomer has often been a Civilian contract worker.

 

[CallMeColt]

Yeah don't want to do damage to the engine for sure!! I think the oil shut down is 15 psi but it depends on that electrical sending unit to get that. Have you tried a mechanical gauge just to see if it is correct? I can tag you in a thread that this is being discussed at the moment if that's ok. I'd be curious what is actually causing the smoke in the oil fill. Who knows what was in that crankcase when you got it. Could have had some water or diesel in it from who knows what gomer did. Do you think a oil test might help figure that out with the new oil you put in unless you kept the old oil could use that.
I think your videos are spot on as some would have made just a video on how to repair the tree damage to perfection, then fuel lines etc lol. I pay for youtube since there is so much info out there it makes it nice.

I saw that thread with the mecanical gauge & though about it. I didn't however see that other say their engines run as low as 20psi after it was warm. I swear that my 802A's all stay up around 40psi even after days straight of running under 80% load. Maybe before pulling it apart, I will just fully drain the oil again & do a 50/50 mix of ATF/oil and do a few hours of running. Considered priming the system with straight ATF to put it in/on top of everything to help from up top as well.

 

[justinn]

I saw that thread with the mecanical gauge & though about it. I didn't however see that other say their engines run as low as 20psi after it was warm. I swear that my 802A's all stay up around 40psi even after days straight of running under 80% load. Maybe before pulling it apart, I will just fully drain the oil again & do a 50/50 mix of ATF/oil and do a few hours of running. Considered priming the system with straight ATF to put it in/on top of everything to help from up top as well.

If you can get a few cc's of ATF and seafoam into the low compression cylinders and let it sit a couple of days, that might help to loosen up some gunk. If you could get a boroscope down in there, you see the condition of the pistons up top even before going any further. I am not familiar with how to do a leak down test on a diesel(through the injector port?), but that would help to narrow down what you already know. You definitely have a ring/piston problem of some sort. The oil staying up in the head confirms this as well. Letting it sit for a while lets it drain back in to the crankcase. If it's cracked rings/ ring lands, it could show up on the cylinder walls in the form of some deeper scratches or gouges, so boroscope might be in your horoscope

Justin

 

[2Pbfeet]

+1 on SeaFoam in the fuel, and in via the "glow plugs" (aka intake heaters) to get it into the top of the cylinders. SeaFoam makes a version designed to be sprayed in the intake while running specifically to remove carbon and free up rings.

Sea Foam Spray - Intake Valve Cleaner | Sea Foam

Sea Foam Spray works through a gas engine’s upper air intake to dissolve deposits and buildup from intake runners, intake valves, and combustion chamber areas.

seafoamworks.com

I have used it on other diesels where it has been helpful.

All the best,

2Pb

 

[Ray70]

Colt, what is your next plan of attack? Are you still in need of a compression adapter?
If so, I had machined my own adapters for the 802/803 engines a while ago.
If you want to pay the shipping, I'm willing to let you borrow it.
It just goes in place of the injector and uses the OEM injector hold down.
The top is threaded with a 1/4" NPT so you can remove the gage and screw in a standard air fitting if you want to pump air into the cylinders.
I can send you the complete setup I use, gage and adapter.

One word of advice on seafoam or ATF in the cylinders is that the pistons have a huge "donut" shaped recess in the top that will hold at least a couple ounces of liquid, so you will need to add quite a bit in order to fill that recess and have more sitting on top of the rings.
HOWEVER... you shouldn't start the engine up later with all that liquid in the recess because it will probably raise your compression ratio too much.

 

[CallMeColt]

Seafoam is good stuff! It's already in the fuel tank and crank case, along with ATF.

Mentally, I'm prepared to just tear it down because I have everything except the head gasket at this point. I also want to learn how to do it, as a good chunk of the business I'm attempting to build up has to do with knowing these generators. I'm confident in saying with all the help here over the years, I know most everything now with exception of rebuilding the engine.

I know rebuilding engines isn't really a money maker, but it's more as the whole of knowing what is going on in there & at least knowing I could fix it if someone wanted me too.

I have a line on an adapter that was made testing compression but I have not heard back. I'd really like to just buy one so I have one in my tool kit for these as I'd like to have the ability to do the test from here on out.

Recently, I got a bunch of new tool boxes for my garage, and took EVERYTHING off my wall and off my bench, to organize it better & make it my streamline as in the past few years I've gotten a LOT more tools. It's delayed even more the list of things I have to do. The 105deg days have not helped.

My 4th child will be born soon as well. I actually will be home quite a bit when she's born, so it may have me catch up.