diesel and starter fluid, do they occasionally mix?

ratface

Member
Hi all, I posted last week about getting my 1983 Case 1490 diesel restarted after running it out of fuel. I go back to the tractor this weekend and have been researching ideas. One of the most popular ideas for getting fuel flowing in a dry diesel is to shoot something combustible into the intake, such as ether, diesel fuel itself, a gasoline soaked rag, and even wd40 are popular. Some folks say it can cause damage and many say an occasional use in a pinch won't do too much harm. For argument's sake the tractor has glow plugs which seems to be mentioned pretty often by those against using ether. I was going to try the spray bottle with straight diesel and see if that got me anywhere. Anyone ever try one of these methods or anyone totally against doing so for fear of causing irreparable engine damage?
 
RATFACE, First fill the fuel tank completely full to aid in bleeding all the air from lines and filters.There should be bleed screws on the top of the filters to bleed air out.If the fuel pump has a hand pump turn the engine over untill you can feel a full stroke on the hand pump.Pump up the pump and crack lines loose to bleed air tighten all loosened lines back tight.Then crack injector lines one at a time at the injector and crank the engine over with a helper or remote starter switch till nothing but fuel comes out of the cracked line,tihgten it while cranking over then go to the next injector and repeat till you have them all.Then with the battery fully charged try to start it,watch for white smoke from the exhaust to tell if i6 is getting fuel.If it still won't start give it a light shot of starting fluid in the air intake while cranking the engine over.
 
I'm no expert, but I've had several similar instances with my old 70s IH diesel. The key on my tractor is getting the air out of the system. Otherwise you're just running it on ether which is bad for the engine. Mine has a mechanical pump so the tractor has to be turning over for the pump to work. That can be accomplished by pulling or cranking from the key. I start by bleeding at the filters and then I move to cracking a line at the pump to work best. When I get straight diesel without bubbling and air it will usually crank. I've tried cracking injector lines at the injectors, but bleeding at the pump seems to work best on my tractor. I've also applied a little air pressure at the tank (air line with a rag blocking the opening) to help get it flowing. A little ether isn't going to hurt, but you shouldn't need it when you get the diesel flowing and air out (assuming you have good compression, etc.). Hope this helps, just my experience.
 

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