Best starting aid?

IDI_Journeyman

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Hello oil burners, i wanted to pick some people brains about this topic to finally get a clear answer. What is the safest starting aid to use on a diesel?

Obviously ether is extremely harsh, dry and should only be used in small doses, if at all.:sly

I remember someone saying WD-40 works great because it lubricates as it goes through the engine, but I think WD-40 uses a non flammable formula now.

Lately I have been experimenting with the gas soaked rag trick and it seems to work like a charm, but what kind of damage does it do to the engine? :idiot:

If anyone has any tricks or products they use as starting aids I would be happy to hear some wisdom.
 

Thewespaul

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Keep in mind this is the lesser of starting aid evils, any of these options should be used only when necessary. I like valvoline’s starting fluid, I believe it is an ether/kerosene mix that works very well. Since it isn’t pure ether it’s not as fast burning, so not as harsh of a initial start. If I don’t have that available, a gas soaked rag is my second choice, just make sure it’s not dripping fuel into the intake.

None of these should be used with the glow plugs active.

That being said, I own a 1967 jd450 that has over 33,000 hours on it. In the late 80s much before I owned it, my uncle replaced the injectors and tried to get the pump rebuilt. The old CV pump is unfortunately not rebuildable since the head was bad in it and there was no new heads available, and parts very scarce. The machine was put back together with the old pump and new injectors, and wouldn’t start hot. The machine got started on ether 15-30 times a day for decades like that, until I eventually inherited the machine after it burned down (the second time) I updated the drive gear and replaced the pump with a newer stanadyne pump that can still be rebuilt, but moral of the story is, that engine ran great even though it got a whiff of ether every time it started hot, and still has great compression numbers to this day.
 

The_Josh_Bear

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I dont have a ton of experience with anything, but the times when I ran myself out of fuel in one tank or the other and couldnt get started before the batteries died:

Ether was finicky to use, and didnt run the engine on very long. Use too much and it pre-detonates and it's easy to use too much. So if you only need a little, it works fine. Less is more in this case.

Gasoline worked great, best applicator for me was a spray bottle. The engine will run as long as you want that way, till your hand cramps up. Wonderful for air unstrusion and a worn out IP.
The problem is I cant find a decent sprayer that will last with gasoline in it. Its harsh stuff. Also using aerated gasoline and sparking the solenoid on the fender is a scary and borderline stupid proposition, be careful. Best practice(same with ether) is to have the engine turning before spraying.

I got WD40 to work once upon a time but it has to be warm out or maybe they changed the formula. Doesnt work in the cold and thats usually when you need it.
 

Comptech

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I had an antique can of Scott's liquid gold. Dang that stuff would fire anyting. When it ran out I got a new can, couldn't get it to work.
 

IDIBRONCO

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My wife is furloughed because of that womans refusal to do her job that being said hey Nancy :flipa

Edit sorry sore subject
I'm sorry to hear that. I know that it's not much help anywhere else, but there's a little bit right around here. The last couple of days I've heard an ad on the local radio station from a local bank. It says that the bank will help federal workers who aren't getting paid by covering their paychecks. After they get their back pay, they just have to repay the bank, interest free. I suppose they would have to prove that they are in this circumstance and have "X" number of paycheck stubs, but at least it's help for a few.
 

Oledirtypearl86

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I'm sorry to hear that. I know that it's not much help anywhere else, but there's a little bit right around here. The last couple of days I've heard an ad on the local radio station from a local bank. It says that the bank will help federal workers who aren't getting paid by covering their paychecks. After they get their back pay, they just have to repay the bank, interest free. I suppose they would have to prove that they are in this circumstance and have "X" number of paycheck stubs, but at least it's help for a few.


Yeah they are doin that up here and my wife has looked into it they are saying it's an interest free loan luckly enough we have prepared for this kind of situation but it still sucks being on a tighter budget especially when I had plans but hey such is life on a brighter note she ya enjoyed being able to spend more time with the kids and my house is spotless

I really want to get political right now but this isn't the place
 

79jasper

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I don't know what's worse, her or that Cortez ***t.
But we're getting a little off the beaten path here. Lol
Far as OP, I like a healthy gp system, good batteries/cables, and a good starter.....

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

Oledirtypearl86

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I don't know what's worse, her or that Cortez ***t.
But we're getting a little off the beaten path here. Lol
Far as OP, I like a healthy gp system, good batteries/cables, and a good starter.....

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


I couldn't agree more and batteries and glow plugs with a good fast crank work wonders when it's as cold as a speaker of the houses heart I'll plug it in for a few hours and if that don't work a quick shot of ether not down the truck gullet but on the air cleaner never fails to get the ole Pearl going
 

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