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Air lock?

D

DieselAmateur

She ain't revved 'til the rods are thrown...
Messages
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Location
Upstate NY
It's way too late for posting on the east coast, but I had to tow the truck home with the tractor and could use some guidance.

I spent the past week/ 2 weekends swapping transmissions and fuel tanks on my truck. Finished tonight just after midnight.

Only brought a 5 gallon can of diesel to fill the new tank. Thought it would be enough to get me back to the farm only 15-20 minutes away.

Ran out of fuel a little less than a half mile from home. No big deal even though it was late, walked home and walked back with 5 gallons of fuel.

Filled her up, bled the system, but apparently not enough as it cranked for maybe 5 seconds tops and then stopped. Turn the ignition and only hear the solenoid on the starter click.

I'm worried/ confused because it's acting like the engine is seized, starter isn't even slowly spinning the engine. Aka doesn't feel like a dying battery. Did lose a lot of voltage though, as the hazards were barely making any light once the engine quit turning.

So I walked home again and pulled the truck back here into the driveway. I've never had this happen before and I don't want to do anything to make it worse. The engine oil is reading full and I don't see/ smell coolant in oil, so I don't know if that completely rules out hydrolock as a possibility too.

I pulled the #1 glow plug and didn't feel any pressure release or anything like that.

Put a charger on the passenger side battery, was reading 60% voltage according to the charger so somewhat low. Just don't know if that's low enough to not even turn the engine at all. I'm going to let it charge overnight.

All told it's way too late and I'm none too happy that my first drive with the new transmission couldn't even get me back home without incident.

Will it be safe to try and start the truck again in the morning? Anything else that can be done to address/ mitigate potential air or hydrolock?

I'm just confused and trying to not fear the worst.
 
If I remember right your truck is similar to mine... I ran it out of fuel a week or so ago I had to open the fuel filter in a cycle the lift pump a couple times to get it to fill up then close it fuel filter then open up the injector on the driver side closest to the grill cycle the pump a couple more times and crank the hell out of it with that injector cracked open.. if you're going to try that remember don't crank it for more than five or six seconds at a time cuz you don't want to overheat the starter.. believe it or not if my battery is about low with the weather we've been having my truck cranks hard as hell so very possible that you lost juice I would think.. remember you're only about 50 miles from me if I remember right... Also another thing if you remember right when I did my transmission putting the starter back in I busted the little stud on the starter solenoid.. and my truck would do the exact same thing where it would click like a dead battery one the batteries weren't dead if I wiggled the wire and stud around it would make contact good and then start.. considering you just put the tranny in you might want to check it cuz I could be something else that you did but it just happened to start fine the first time when you left with it..
 
Thanks @Stoney for the tip on the starter wire. yeah she fired up fine when I left my friend's garage but I'll check it nonetheless. It's a powermaster starter that's only a few years old and I didn't have to pull it when swapping transmissions but as we know can't rule out anything on these engines.

I'm probably overreacting but the engine not even turning is making me want to freak out. Haven't gone out to start it yet fortunate to be able to get to work late as the homeowner isn't around to micromanage me finishing his build

The truck was still hard shifting even after all the clutch work so I'm thinking maybe the slave cylinder is bad as I replaced everything else in the clutch system (fork, pivot ball stud, adjustable throw out bearing that wound up 1/4" longer than stock). Maybe the clutch isn't disengaging fully and the engine can't turn with the clutch engaged even with the transmission in neutral? I just wasn't ready for more problems after the marathon of drivetrain work I just finished :banghead:
 
I sure hope it's the batteries...I've just never had it happen before where the starter was spinning like normal then all of a sudden quit. The powermaster starter really cranks, and I've never had it go from normal to dead like this. And with the truck sitting for about a week it is very likely just the batteries. I'm just having flashbacks to the last engine that seized on me and I was sitting there on the side of the road with a spun bearing thinking all I needed was a jump.
 
My batteries are shot, sorry for the panic and paranoia. Almost cranked over this morning then nothing again. Trying to jump start it with the tractor, no luck yet but she's spinning so engine is fine thank goodness. Bills just keep running up for this truck. At least in crawling under I noticed an oil leak at the oil cooler. 3 year old one was cracked and leaking a month or so ago, looks like either my fittings are leaking or I got another bad replacement. When it rains it pours!
 
Thank you for the link @Twisted Steel Performance. I have to pull off the front clip and get a better look at the cooler to see if it's the cooler or fittings. Clean everything with brake clean and run it to see where the leak is. I just replaced the cooler a little more than a month ago, don't understand why there is an issue but that's my luck it seems. @Stoney I have custom hydraulic hoses made for oil cooler lines, I'll upload a picture of what my setup looks like, if the fittings match and are the culprit I'll happily take the help...

On the subject of batteries, anyone have a top post style brand they'd recommend?
 
I got the fittings quadstar sells with there upgraded cooler and braided hoses.. I wasn't sure which size I need so I ordered both when I ordered the cooler... Then found out they sent a set with the cooler also...never sent them back cause I didn't have the ambition..lol
 
Personally I like the dual post batteries. I leave the original cables on the side post and use the top posts for jump starts if I don't have my jump pack with me. I've had good luck with many brands. The last Napa Gold battery set me back almost $200. I like Interstate batteries also but have had good luck with the batteries from Tractor Supply. I've heard that most batteries are made by a few manufacturers but how true that is, I don't know.
 
Grisley1958 said:
Personally I like the dual post batteries. I leave the original cables on the side post and use the top posts for jump starts if I don't have my jump pack with me. I've had good luck with many brands. The last Napa Gold battery set me back almost $200. I like Interstate batteries also but have had good luck with the batteries from Tractor Supply. I've heard that most batteries are made by a few manufacturers but how true that is, I don't know.
Click to expand...
There are differences in batteries, but some batteries are the same from 36 month to 72 month. They just use a different sticker and charge more for the longer warranty. I worked at Exide battery and was surprised at the number of stickers applied to the same run of batteries. House brands and warranty lengths.
 
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