Rebuilding a Multifuel

[Seth_O]

I am interested in the outcome of this one: please be sure to update the thread as you make progress on it. I expect you'll get some benefit from balancing and polishing, that's a big, heavy chunk of metal slinging around in the block.......

 

[JJensen]

Ya, none of this may matter, but..... I have more money than I do time. I don't really want to put another engine in for a while. I am hoping that by doing a little work I can have a reliable engine for years to come.

 

[jimh1985]

MAn all this talk about the engines not being reliable has me scared

 

[Flyingvan911]

It varies. Most are very reliable but when one lets go, it's big news. Our trucks aren't easy to tow and the engine is big and heavy. Compared to civi cars, deuces are rare. When a few engines go out, it seems like a larger number in proportion to civi cars.

Most of use don't know how the military drivers treated out trucks. I say, take good care of your engine and go with it. Some old engines last forever, some brand new engines grenade. It's just part of owning old military hardware.

 

[AMX]

I could give you a # for 6 new piston,sleeves,pins,rings for $200 if you are interested.

 

[stancanpara]

It varies. Most are very reliable but when one lets go, it's big news. Our trucks aren't easy to tow and the engine is big and heavy. Compared to civi cars, deuces are rare. When a few engines go out, it seems like a larger number in proportion to civi cars.

Most of use don't know how the military drivers treated out trucks. I say, take good care of your engine and go with it. Some old engines last forever, some brand new engines grenade. It's just part of owning old military hardware.

Exactly!!!

 

[GoinNutts]

When something is mass produced you are bound to have some bad units. It doesn't matter if your talking about multifuel motors or Oreo cookies. It is just that a f@&$ up looking Oreo still tastes pretty good!

 

[fuzzytoaster]

When something is mass produced you are bound to have some bad units. It doesn't matter if your talking about multifuel motors or Oreo cookies. It is just that a f@&$ up looking Oreo still tastes pretty good!

I dont know about you but I've never had a bad oreo cookie. Mmmm..oreo cookie..

 

[dieseler]

would one of those tractor kits work in our trucks then?

 

[JasonS]

JJensen,

Parts are available through large tractor parts places. The LD-465 engine was used in the White and Oliver tractors (135's, 150's and maybe 165's). Last time I looked the rebuild kit was about $2700, but that included the tractor pistons and sleeves, not the multifuel (MAN cycle) ones. The tractors were governed to 2200 rpm under load, but were expected to last 8,000 to 12,000 hours of use between rebuilds. I've posted pictures of the LDS-1A pistons but don't remember what thread it's in.

Maibach Tractor has the high compression pistons/sleeves. AFAIK, the tractor has the same combustion chamber design as the multifuel, just lower compression.

 

[JasonS]

Anecdotal information on the white tractor engine life:

Today's Tractors :: View topic - White 2-155 Hercules engine ?

 

[charger]

It varies. Most are very reliable but when one lets go, it's big news. Our trucks aren't easy to tow and the engine is big and heavy. Compared to civi cars, deuces are rare. When a few engines go out, it seems like a larger number in proportion to civi cars.

Most of use don't know how the military drivers treated out trucks. I say, take good care of your engine and go with it. Some old engines last forever, some brand new engines grenade. It's just part of owning old military hardware.

new rod and main bearings are always cheap insurance, many of these rigs would be driven hard with little to no warm up

 

[m-35tom]

you could buy several complete trucks for what a real rebuild would cost.

 

[JJensen]

I purchased a good used engine today. Well, I hope that it is good. This one is a White (last one was a Hercules), LDT, Whistler. It supposedly starts very easily, has good oil pressure, and sounds good.

I am slightly concerned because it came out of a truck used at a fire department??? I don't know all of the details. It appears to have been worked on outside of the military. The heads and some other parts are painted yellow for some reason. I don't know if that means that they came from a different application, or the shop changed the color to show that it had been apart?

Anyway, I bought the engine from Dennis Myers in Michigan. He has lots of trucks, parts, and engines. Always very friendly on the phone, and very helpful. He said he had cheaper engines, but in his opinion this one is the best one that he has.

I am going to put this engine in this weekend, and keep the old engine for a possible back up. I am going to take it apart and assess the damage. If possible, I will replace some parts and repair the grenaded engine.

 

[randini]

At what price would anyone consider a spare engine? If it cost $1000 would you keep a spare? $2000? $3000? Just questioning if I should look for a good take-out.

 

[JJensen]

The guy that I bought this engine from said that he has been driving and dealing with M35's for 20 years. Said he has had many hundreds of trucks, and has never had a single engine failure. Said that he has had some injection pumps fail, balancers come off, fan break, but never an internal engine failure. I know that others have had some problems, but he says I just had bad luck with mine.

So, if you could have a good back up for $1000 or less, and you have the cash... get one. Otherwise don't worry about it till something happens. If you know that you are going to stay with this hobby, always be on the lookout for a cheap spare engine. Even if you don't use it, you can part it out, sell it, or use it for parts.

I don't know if I got a good price. I paid $1500 for this one. That includes all accessories, generator, starter, clutch, and it has a whistler turbo. He had cheaper engines, down to $600-$1000. This was supposed to be the best one that he had.

This has been my experience. Hope it helps.

 

[DieselBob]

At what price would anyone consider a spare engine? If it cost $1000 would you keep a spare? $2000? $3000? Just questioning if I should look for a good take-out.

I would say $800 to 1K for a known good runner I would get it as a spare, funds permitting. That would be for a LDT.

 

[desertfox]

I have stated in another thread that I purchased a rebuilt LDS 5 Ton engine in the can for $1850 and got completely trashed for paying that much. In my defense I would rather pay this price than go to the trouble and labour of pulling, tear down, rebuilding and replacing the engine. I also have 4 other engines for parts or rebuild. One of those engines has been rebult but when they were rebuilding they broke 4 head studs. Some trooper probably over torqued.
I would agree that purchasing a good take out is more cost effective in most cases.
COST VS. BENEFIT.

 

[JJensen]

$1850 seems like a fair price for a rebuilt LDS. I paid $1500 for a LDT, but I don't have any connections on buying stuff. It is coming with the generator, whistler turbo, clutch, etc... A lot of the engines I found were minus turbo and generator. So I figure that I paid about $800-$1000 for the engine (minus turbo and generator). I'm sure people will post that I am wrong on that figure. I tried buying several other engines, people didn't return phone calls, wouldn't ship, etc... So if I paid a little more than market value for this one, I don't care. Dennis was very easy to work with. He even told me to get it running and be happy with it before I sent him the payment for the engine. He had it out in 1 day and shipped the next. Calls me before I even think about calling him.

 

[gimpyrobb]

There is a LOT to say about a seller that will work with you and have good communication!