MEP003 value?

[Elijah95]

Hey guys, been sitting on a couple of MEP003 gensets on a trailer for a minute. Purchased them non-running. Paints faded on both, and they haven’t ran for a while judging by the old batteries, one is missing a starter, fuel is old, have no idea if they’re runners or not but

ASSUMING they are like the typical 003 they’d probably start and generate power with fresh fuel with cleaner pumped through along with fresh filters and oil etc

What would you consider a Non runner worth? It’s going to be a while before I get to them. Trailer and both gensets are up for grabs


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[Ray70]

Got any pictures?

 

[DieselAddict]

Assuming the unit is complete I offer $500 for a non running set of that vintage.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Verified running makes all the difference in the world to baseline pricing.

 

[frank8003]

Verified running makes all the difference in the world to baseline pricing.

Or.....12 bucks for parts

 

[Light in the Dark]

Sometimes the difference is $12 in parts, absolutely. Those parts next to a machine, versus installed in/on the machine is where the valley lies .

 

[Coug]

to me they are worth nothing because they are on the opposite side of the country.

Value is a relative thing.

(yes, I know not helpful)

If they don't run they are worth scrap prices, unless someone is willing to take a gamble on them.

 

[Ray70]

I'll go $501!
As the others said, they are worth WAY more if you can show them running.
however, with a machine that has been sitting that long, improper attempts to start it may do more damage than anything else.
Don't just throw batteries in them and try cranking, you will surely destroy the injection pumps.

 

[Elijah95]

Thank y’all for the great info, I got them about 6 months ago and dosed them heavy with fresh diesel, marvel/diesel-kleen/atf mix and have been letting that sit in the pumps for a few months now, occasionally letting it flow a little more through, but no attempts to start YET. I’m not ready, but wanted to facilitate future starts by removing any pump gum


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[glcaines]

What shape are the fuel tanks in? Often, those fuel tanks are all gummed up and nasty if the gensets have been sitting around a long time. I assume they must be fairly clean if you went ahead put fresh diesel in. You might want to go ahead and clean the facet pump filters, and then loosen the fuel line at the injection pump and let the facet pumps run, letting your diesel mix flush out the lines and pumps. It only takes a few minutes. Afterwards, change the main fuel filters. MEP003A gensets are fantastic. They are very simple, very reliable and relatively easy to work on. I like the fact that they are air cooled which eliminates potential liquid cooling issues.

 

[Light in the Dark]

I'll go $501!
As the others said, they are worth WAY more if you can show them running.
however, with a machine that has been sitting that long, improper attempts to start it may do more damage than anything else.
Don't just throw batteries in them and try cranking, you will surely destroy the injection pumps.

How about this gem offered in NY at $1200? "Ran a few years ago"... I am sure it did. I am sure I also see fuel line fittings standing up straight in the battery trays...

 

[Chainbreaker]

Hey, at least he's not asking $6,500 +$1,200 shipping as one MEP-003a listed on eBay is priced right now. Below is an excerpt from part of the listing description:

"DON’T BUY SOMEONE ELSE'S HEADACHE..THE YELLOW ONES ARE VERY OLD AS THEY PRE-DATE THE OD ONES WHEN THE MILITARY CHANGED FROM GLOSS YELLOW TO OD TO SAVE MONEY..THE YELLOW ONES ARE AT LEAST 35 TO 40 YEARS OLD AND MANY ARE FROM THE 1970's..AS PER THE RED OVERHAUL TAG THIS UNIT IS DATED "NOV. 2008."

Funny that there is in fact an "April 1986" mfg'd (exact same year of mfg. as the one he is selling) YELLOW painted one (apparently repainted by "City of ORONO") just below his listing currently on eBay. I guess he thinks all the older units were once factory painted yellow for the DOD spec. Yeah, "Gloss Yellow" would be a great color for stealthyness. He also somewhat implies his unit is a "2008" unit, as compared to the old yeller ones from the 70's.

Regardless, it is in fact a nice looking "July 1986" mfg'd unit (Reset in 2008 ) but... asking $6,500 on a light duty civy trailer? Good luck with that

 

[Ray70]

Yea, LITD and I were joking about that guy when he originally listed that machine for $9999!
I put it on my watch list just for giggles and a week later he offered it to me at a bargain price of $7999, Don't know why I didn't jump on it!
I think maybe he has his decimal in the wrong spot....
There are a lot of dreamers out there!
At the rate he has been dropping the price, by around 2028 he should get to about market value.

 

[Light in the Dark]

That guy is a nutjob. I messaged him (his ad was grossly inaccurate... now its slightly better).

 

[jamawieb]

Hey guys, been sitting on a couple of MEP003 gensets on a trailer for a minute. Purchased them non-running. Paints faded on both, and they haven’t ran for a while judging by the old batteries, one is missing a starter, fuel is old, have no idea if they’re runners or not but

ASSUMING they are like the typical 003 they’d probably start and generate power with fresh fuel with cleaner pumped through along with fresh filters and oil etc

What would you consider a Non runner worth? It’s going to be a while before I get to them. Trailer and both gensets are up for grabs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would give $800 per unit, maybe more if you could send me pictures. If the pumps are damaged that is $800 off the bat, so it's hard to estimate what they are worth.

 

[Chainbreaker]

How about this gem offered in NY at $1200? "Ran a few years ago"... I am sure it did. I am sure I also see fuel line fittings standing up straight in the battery trays...

View attachment 834070

Not to mention what appears to be old fuel on concrete leaking from under the skid frame.

But hey, if he were to sell it "as is" sitting in current state, at a more reasonable non-working/scrap price, someone with the time, $ and necessary parts should be able restore it to working order.

 

[Guyfang]

Hey, at least he's not asking $6,500 +$1,200 shipping as one MEP-003a listed on eBay is priced right now. Below is an excerpt from part of the listing description:

"DON’T BUY SOMEONE ELSE'S HEADACHE..THE YELLOW ONES ARE VERY OLD AS THEY PRE-DATE THE OD ONES WHEN THE MILITARY CHANGED FROM GLOSS YELLOW TO OD TO SAVE MONEY..THE YELLOW ONES ARE AT LEAST 35 TO 40 YEARS OLD AND MANY ARE FROM THE 1970's..AS PER THE RED OVERHAUL TAG THIS UNIT IS DATED "NOV. 2008."

Funny that there is in fact an "April 1986" mfg'd (exact same year of mfg. as the one he is selling) YELLOW painted one (apparently repainted by "City of ORONO") just below his listing currently on eBay. I guess he thinks all the older units were once factory painted yellow for the DOD spec. Yeah, "Gloss Yellow" would be a great color for stealthyness. He also somewhat implies his unit is a "2008" unit, as compared to the old yeller ones from the 70's.

Regardless, it is in fact a nice looking "July 1986" mfg'd unit (Reset in 2008 ) but... asking $6,500 on a light duty civy trailer? Good luck with that

It makes you want to jump into a car, or plane for me, and take a visit with a Baseball bat. After spending the better part of 30 years working on them, I have NEVER seen a yeller one. Green. Brown. Blue. Yeah. People like that should be banned for life.

 

[Chainbreaker]

It makes you want to jump into a car, or plane for me, and take a visit with a Baseball bat. After spending the better part of 30 years working on them, I have NEVER seen a yeller one. Green. Brown. Blue. Yeah. People like that should be banned for life.

Yeah, and another thing that cracks me up is his statement that the reason these gensets are no longer found in yellow:

" WHEN THE MILITARY CHANGED FROM GLOSS YELLOW TO OD TO SAVE MONEY.."

Regardless of the yellow paint source for this particular generator, the OD paint is CARC " and would be the more expensive paint & is more costly to apply due to personnel & environmental concerns.

Google Reference: CARC (Chemical Agent Resistant Coating) is a two-component polyurethane paint (defined in MIL-C-4616 used as a finishing coat on military combat equipment since "1985".

So, since these 2 particular units were both mfg'd in 1986 both would have used CARC.

Sheesh, if he's gonna tell a lie, at least "tell a good one"!

Edit: I was cruising eBay his ad was in the list that appeared and just for grins I wanted to see how he planned to ship it on its trailer for the $1,200 shipping he listed. When I click on shipping it comes up as $1,200 for "USPS shipping first class". So, I guess he plans to just stick enough stamps on it and it will arrive at your mailbox soon!