How long do you dare crank the diesel over before the oil pressure comes up?
My 9U was taking a long time this morning in about 10 above weather and I was getting nervous and shut it down after 4 or 5 minutes. that's a guess but it seemed like an eternity. tried it again but still no pressure. It has plenty of oil

Sounds waaaaaaay too long. My D47U comes up in about 15 seconds give or take a little when running about half speed no compression while warming up the pony. . Could be caused by a multitude of things from loose connections to gauge to bad oil pump. I'll see if someone can get this on the discussion page.

that's what I thought, it always has come up in under a minute. I thought it was the cold, but my d7 came up in 20 seconds or so with the same weight of oil.

what did I do wrong on this post? I thought it was on the discussion page.

Hi GG,
first of I would suggest to disconnect the oil pressure gauge supply line at the elbow at the rear of the oil manifold on the side of the DE block and see if oil issues out when cranking--try another pressure gauge in case the one fitted has failed or has a blocked orifice.

Maybe next drain the engine oil and remove the sump pan side covers and check the drive coupling has not lost its securing bolt and the coupling sleeve has not slipped along the drive shaft splines and uncoupled, also that the splines have not worn thru on the oil pump drive line, if OK, check the relief valve is not stuck open and that the oil lines are intact--maybe take the opportunity to remove and clean the suction screen.
If nothing found amiss then remove and dismantle and inspect the pump.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

at 10* it might have been that moisture in the oil froze and the pump couldn't pick it up?

dpendzic wrote:

at 10* it might have been that moisture in the oil froze and the pump couldn't pick it up?

now that's a thought. I'll put a space heater on and warm things up.

edb wrote:

Hi GG,
first of I would suggest to disconnect the oil pressure gauge supply line at the elbow at the rear of the oil manifold on the side of the DE block and see if oil issues out when cranking--try another pressure gauge in case the one fitted has failed or has a blocked orifice.

Maybe next drain the engine oil and remove the sump pan side covers and check the drive coupling has not lost its securing bolt and the coupling sleeve has not slipped along the drive shaft splines and uncoupled, also that the splines have not worn thru on the oil pump drive line, if OK, check the relief valve is not stuck open and that the oil lines are intact--maybe take the opportunity to remove and clean the suction screen.
If nothing found amiss then remove and dismantle and inspect the pump.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

thanks, that gives me some troubleshooting ideas if we get a break in the weather. just too cold to do anything serious right now.

Hi Dan,
to my mind I read in the post that the temperature was 10 above --freezing point-(32F)--to me here in the land of OZ-tralia that would be 42 deg. F--if he meant an actual reading of 10 deg. F then that is another kettle of fish and your comments on ice are very relevant and would have been included in my run down.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

edb wrote:

Hi Dan,
to my mind I read in the post that the temperature was 10 above --freezing point-(32F)--to me here in the land of OZ-tralia that would be 42 deg. F--if he meant an actual reading of 10 deg. F then that is another kettle of fish and your comments on ice are very relevant and would have been included in my run down.
Cheers,
Eddie B.[/quote

10 above 0 (Fahrenheit). Colder than a witch's kiss but just a taste of what's to come in Montana.
I will put the blaster heater on it and thaw it out and open the drain a bit and see if any water comes out. It had been sitting for several months so it could have some condensation that hadn't boiled out.
I don't like to run them in the cold but we were locked in with 2 feet of fresh snow in the long driveway. fortunately the 17A fired right up and made short work of the snow after idling for some time to warm up the transmission..
what's the longest that one dare churn the diesel with no pressure showing? not as long as I did I'm sure but I kept thinking it had to come up any second.

I’m wondering about block heaters and oil weights about now. Is this a long term regular thing or a one time deal? Running these in the sub-zero temperatures is not exactly unheard of but there are things to do.

In any case 5 minutes with out oil pressure sounds like it could get real expensive.
Dave