New -002A Owner looking for guidance

[Crusty007]

So I bought an 002A recently with the intention of making it into a backup power generator and because I know little about these things I'm looking for guidance to put it into good operating condition. It's an '84 model, partially tan partially OD and it and has 940 hrs shown on the meter. It's currently dry from auction, all parts are there, I have replacement filters and it turns easily with a screwdriver. The inside of the tank looks pretty bad so my thinking was to first remove and clean the tank and then go through the fuel system R&Ring things as I encountered them, lube it, inspect the electrics, buy some batteries and try to bust it off and go from there.

Does this seem like a good way forward? Are there things I've overlooked which need to be looked into? Is there a better way to proceed?

I'd appreciate any advice from experienced mechanics here.

 

[Scoobyshep]

Pay attention to the piston in the injection pump (they tend to sieze if its been sitting awhile).

If you have never operated one before, you have to hold it to start until the field flashes and the low oil pressure switch has been satisfied.

Never ever idle the engine. keep it close to 60 hz

 

[Crusty007]

I read in the Wiki a procedure for unsticking the injector pump piston. I guess I should do that to be sure.

What about the injectors, should I take them apart, clean and reassemble them before trying to start the engine?

Thanks for info.

 

[Scoobyshep]

I only screw with them if theres a problem with them.

 

[Crusty007]

That's my general approach to things too but I wondered if trying to start it with a stuck injector piston might damage the pump, which is no doubt expensive to replace. Worst case I got this genset cheap enough that it could be a parts machine and I can search for a running unit to restore instead.

 

[Crusty007]

I just got the tank off and inspecting it I found a 3"x14"x3/16" mat of congealed diesel that's about as tough an asphalt shingle. Once I fished it out I found an old dirt daubber hive inside about the size of a tennis ball and at every compression fitting that I've opened so far the fitting has been blocked with a dirt daubber plug. This is gonna be not fun.

 

[Mr4btTahoe]

Start here...

New to me - MEP-003A

Hey alls.. Been lurking around the forum for a few weeks now as I've been trying to work out a deal on a MEP-003a that I've had my eyes on. The unit was forsale on FB marketplace for some time. After a month of back and forth with owner, we finally made a deal and we drove down ~2.5hrs to...

www.steelsoldiers.com

Flush the fuel system... clean the tank really well and consider lining it. Flush the fuel pump screens... filters.. lines.. etc.

Check oil

Clean injection pump

Inspect wiring including main chassis ground straps and engine grounds.

Attempt to rotate engine by hand.

Hook up batteries and test fuel pumps, glow plug system, etc.

Attempt to start. Unit needs to run at 60hz. Do not allow the unit to deviate much from this point. If unit starts, monitor oil pressure and test 24v charging system.

 

[Scoobyshep]

when you go to start, GROUND GROUND GROUND

 

[Ray70]

Don't worry about the injectors yet, a bad injector won't really hurt anything. The injection pump is the most important thing to verify the plunger both moves in and out and it rotates. IF you happen to have the rare American Bosch PSU pump rather than the Ambac M50, damaging the plunger means throwing the pump away and finding an Ambac replacement since the PSU is not supported and plungers are not available. So follow the wiki and be sure it's free before attempting to start it.

 

[Crusty007]

I doubt I'll be able to get any ground spikes in where the gen is (I've got 6" of topsoil but it's under 6' of rock), but I do have a good ground at my meter pole about 50' away. I was thinking about running some welding cable between the two for a ground.

I'm working on the fuel system now and since I need some fittings which will take several days to get here I think I'll spend some of the time getting familiar with and verifying operation of the injector pump. There's a small plastic bag of removed parts that came with the gen and in it is a carburetor float valve looking thing and some other bits of hardware that could have come from the pump so I need to figure out where they came from. Looks like I need a low voltage circuit breaker too.

 

[Scoobyshep]

I doubt I'll be able to get any ground spikes in where the gen is (I've got 6" of topsoil but it's under 6' of rock), but I do have a good ground at my meter pole about 50' away. I was thinking about running some welding cable between the two for a ground.

I'm working on the fuel system now and since I need some fittings which will take several days to get here I think I'll spend some of the time getting familiar with and verifying operation of the injector pump. There's a small plastic bag of removed parts that came with the gen and in it is a carburetor float valve looking thing and some other bits of hardware that could have come from the pump so I need to figure out where they came from. Looks like I need a low voltage circuit breaker too.

Using the house ground is better than nothing

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Crusty007]

In fact I'm going to post a picture of the mystery parts here on the off chance that someone may recognize them. They sure look like carburetor parts to me and I wonder if someone put the wrong bag of parts in with the gen.



That's a slot head screw, two socket set screws, a needle jet looking screw, a float valve looking thing, a coil spring and a throttle lever looking thing.

 

[Chainbreaker]

The highlighted thread "New to me - MEP-003A" linked by member "Mr4btTahoe" has a LOT of info that directly applies to the process you should follow for your MEP-002a. Virtually the same machine with 2 less cylinders & larger gen head.

If you could supply some additional pictures it might help for us to spot anything amiss. Hard to tell but it almost looks like its missing the throttle cable & knob.

Anyway, welcome to the MEP-002a club, its a very solid machine that can provide years of service if you maintain it properly.

 

[Crusty007]

I've got a new throttle cable and hopefully all the linkage hardware in a box that I got with the set. It's not on my immediate todo list . Filters too.

Good eye though.

 

[Chainbreaker]

This is another great thread to use. In particular pay attention to post #6.

 

[jamawieb]

In fact I'm going to post a picture of the mystery parts here on the off chance that someone may recognize them. They sure look like carburetor parts to me and I wonder if someone put the wrong bag of parts in with the gen.

View attachment 808970

That's a slot head screw, two socket set screws, a needle jet looking screw, a float valve looking thing, a coil spring and a throttle lever looking thing.

None of these go to your unit. The spring could but it doesnt look long enough in the pic.

 

[Crusty007]

Cool (and thanks) - I haven't ever looked inside that injector pump and the thought crossed my mind that those parts could have come from there, but I'd swear that the pin in the middle is part of a float valve from a carburetor and diesels don't have those.

I understand this gen came from a guy who was going to use it to power his automotive shop and then changed his mind, so there's a possibility that he took some things apart. Some of the fuel system has been taken off and put in a box and it bothers me that he might have gone farther than that.

 

[Mr4btTahoe]

Cool (and thanks) - I haven't ever looked inside that injector pump and the thought crossed my mind that those parts could have come from there, but I'd swear that the pin in the middle is part of a float valve from a carburetor and diesels don't have those.

I understand this gen came from a guy who was going to use it to power his automotive shop and then changed his mind, so there's a possibility that he took some things apart. Some of the fuel system has been taken off and put in a box and it bothers me that he might have gone farther than that.

The parts in the bag don't look to come from an Ambac50 pump.

Here is a rebuild of the pump... you can see all the working components.

Ambac M-50 Rebuild w/ pics (MEP-003A)

Hey alls... Just buttoned up the rebuild on my MEP-003a injection pump (Ambac M50) and documented the process. Member "jamawieb" gave me a write up on the tear down and it was very straight forward. I'll post his write up in steps with pictures from my rebuild and some details on what I had...

www.steelsoldiers.com

I don't think those are from the generator at all but I could be wrong.

 

[Crusty007]

The stupid questions are the ones you didn't ask because you didn't want to appear too ignorant, right?

So, which direction does the motor normally rotate when looking at the fan?

I just took the shroud off and discovered that I have two fins broken off the fan. Is this enough of a concern to replace the fan?

 

[Chainbreaker]

It pulls air in, so clockwise as viewed into the fan from fan grill.

What positions are the fins missing from? If 180 out from one another probably not an issue. If adjacent to one another might cause a bit of an imbalance/vibration. Although there is a lot of mass there so not sure how much of an impact it might make.

If there is an imbalance you might be able to balance it using stick on tire weights in the right location(s). Wonder how they got broken in the first place...I would inspect the entire fan wheel to make sure there are no hairline cracks elsewhere.