Jake0147
Member
- 782
- 18
- 18
- Location
- Panton, VT
This should work but is hard to count on. The alternate fuel source is unknown, if the engine runs away in a big way it is quite possibly (even likely) getting way too much fuel, in essence "turning up" the engine way beyond it's rated horsepower. You might not have enough spring pressure in a good clutch to "catch" a runaway engine. Not to mention many of these clutches are very old, and the clutches on these were (supposedly, by the TM... ) serviced as individual components, so the pressure plate might have already outlived several friction disks and have reduced spring pressure to begin with.
I would not neglect to try using the clutch to stall a runaway extremely quick, but if it doesn't work then alternate plan B would want to be close at hand. Plan B need not be anything fancy at all. Just something (anything really) that is flat and sturdy that you can stick over the intake tube (with the mushroom cap removed). Being quick enough to save an engine requires that the mushroom cap be snug but not tight, so it can be "twisted" out with no tools, and requires that your flat whatever be readily accessable.
I have a round piece cut out of a thick pine board that I keep in the tool box. It is just barely big enough to fit through the hole in the side panel which keeps it lined up with the filter housing inlet, and will "glue" its self onto the intake until the engine stops with no further assistence from me. I recruited a co-driver to assist, and determined that even with the little "slot" leaking, it will stop the engine from WOT in a couple of seconds. IMHO, because it stays put, if I were alone and the engine hadn't blown up yet (or maybe even if it had but had only put one or two rods through the block...), that'd buy me enough time at a reduced power and RPM to get back to the cab and "finish it off" with the clutch...
Upon first reading this forum, I was paranoid about a runaway engine. Having read more, I am no longer paranoid, or even worried. But I would become so again very quickly if I suspected the turbo had sprung a leak. I will continue to keep said wood block with me even though I no longer expect to ever have to use it. It's something that I believe most owners will never have to do, but I'd recommend a "fire drill" to anyone. Even to see if you can kill it from a "reasonable" speed with the hand throttle. With the motor screaming like it does at high idle (which is a long way short of a true runaway), it'd be very easy to slip into panic mode which makes it very difficult to "invent" a solution right on the spot...
