Ether? Scary? Bad?

Hey guys, just want to run something by everyone. My glowplugs went out, and the new ones won't be here till the end of the week. I still need to drive the truck though. Is shooting a 2 second burst of ether in it in the morning bad? After that it will start throughout the day. New to diesels, sorry if I sound stupid.

Use as little as possible when using the ether. And make sure that none of the glow plugs work at all. One good working glow plug and you with have a nice fireball shoot out of the intake.

Unhook the signal wire for glow plugs to make absolutely sure that there is no glow.

Back when I was using ether every day, I would crank the engine for a few moments, get out and give her a quick snort, jump in and fire it up and away we'd go.

A lot of guys will warn against it and I understand why. The reality of it is, we started with a worn out '88 idi several years ago and it took three years of heavy hauling to blow it up. Ether almost every single morning for several years.

A little bit will go a long way.

There are no stupid questions!

Ether has been used by many for years to start these trucks when the GP system fails. Damage can happen when too much is used, or if glow plugs are still working and used. The danger lies in the ether igniting in multiple cylinders at the same time. Damage to heads, valves, and pistons etc etc can result.

A 2 second spray will probably be ok, just make sure that the glow plugs are completely disabled first.

plugging it in for a few hours makes so much more sense...

Better to do a 1 second spray...crank...no fire ...then a second spray try again...hosing it down will just make it bad fast...Or use a remote starter and crank and give it a snort...it should catch then...

AS STATED disconnect feed wire to GP to ensure you don't make a Kablooey out the intake

Heres something I was taught in class on engines by a certified Cat instructor. The large off road equipment has either aids on them from the factory, even the new stuff. The new equipment is controlled by a computer as to when and how much it gets. Old ones worked like this either aid bottle just like a propane bottle hooked to the intake via a copper line. solenoid controlled it. Had a temperature switch that worked off the coolant temp. Button in the cab allowed you to spray it once every key cycle for a preset amount of time. So why the aid? they had trouble of the engines cranking and not fully igniting the fuel and the fuel would puddle around the rings. Well the rings would make enough compression between them and the piston to set the fuel off and boom broke piston. Either started the engine faster so this wouldn't happen. So don't believe all the horror stories. Its a good thing when needed and used right. BTW these large units had no glow plugs ot intake heater. Just a piece of info thought id pass on.

But also a lot of those bigger engines will start cold with no help. In good condition anyways.
So how does a engine become ether addicted? Well older formulas were said to have a lubricant in it vs newer formulas burning off all the oil, therefore over time scratching cylinder walls and lowering compression. But also, in those cases, probably spraying way too much.

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How cold is it? Mine starts without glow plugs into the 40's. May need more cranking but it starts.

Yea but most older equipment isn't in top condition anymore, ever try to start a completely cold worn out 992c with a 3412 on a 15 degree day? Either is your friend then lol.

1/2 second max

Any chance you could plug in the block heater? Should light off just fine after being plugged in for an hour or so. I sometimes hook mine up to a generator if there isn't a plugin anywhere nearby. I'm not against ether (good info above) but super cold starts make me a bit uneasy.

Okay, i'll cut my spray time down to a second. I'm also working on repairing the block heater.. The cable is frayed right at the end, and Ford wont have one in till Friday as well.

idiabuse said:

plugging it in for a few hours makes so much more sense...

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What does that have to do with anything? Yes it'll start easier, but you still need some kind of aid.

79jasper said:

So how does a engine become ether addicted? Well older formulas were said to have a lubricant in

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Go to the store and pick up a can of ether, I bet 98% (or more) of them say "upper cylinder lubricant" somewhere.

Rot Box said:

Any chance you could plug in the block heater? Should light off just fine after being plugged in for an hour or so.

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Without plugs or ether, in the cold? I don't believe this, at all.

First idi truck I owned had bad plugs, was scared to change them. So I replaced the block heater and kept it plugged in for an hour every morning. On COLD days (20s) it would take a little longer, maybe 2 hrs. Went 2 yrs like that, started fine.



ETA: I know 20F isn't that cold, but my point was that a reasonably timed truck will light off without plugs as long as the block is warm enough.