Yanmar 186d cold start

[alpinebigfoot]

HI Everyone
I just picked up a 186d and i am having a hard time getting it to start . It is about 20 degrees out. In the manual it says to pull the decompression rod out ,thermostart for 15 to 20 seconds, Then crank the engine until it starts. There is no way the engine will start with the decompression rod pulled out. Can someone please explain this to me why it says to keep the decompression rod pulled out to start? thanks for any and all help. First post here..:thumbsup:

 

[woolyAcres]

Hi alpine-

Welcome to the forums and congrats on the tractor. The 186d is a nice machine and a number of folks here have them so I'm sure you'll get some input for actual 186d owners. I went through this recently on my 240d. You can read about it here. My decompression rod actually rotates (from vertical counter-clockwise to 9 o'clock). Mine was so stiff I had to use pliers to twist the lever on top of the engine. I just sprayed some penetrating oil on that mechanism and it eventually loosened up. I can now easily turn the decompression level from the 'dash'.

The thermostat is a different function. There are some more details in that thread. But basically you should have a small cup/reservoir that holds diesel. A line runs from that cup to a heating element on the side of the engine. When the ignition is turned to the thermostart function (one position counter-clockwise from OFF on my ignition) current flows to the heating element in the thermostart. When it gets warm enough a little valve opens up and allows fuel from the cup to enter the engine making combustion easier in the cold. There's a pretty good explanation here

Hope that helps.

 

[careyo63]

Wait for the Oil Light to go Out and push the Decompression Knob back in with the starter still engaged. When It hits or fires let the Ign. go. The Decompression is holding the Eng. Valves Open. At 20 Deg you may want to Use the Thermal start if it has one to Warm up the Intake. Pretty much just what Wooly Acres has posted. Sorry about that!!

 

[alpinebigfoot]

ok thanks wooly acres . I just didnt want to break anything pushing that rod back in while it is cranking. Ill go give another try..I looked for a block heater on there and did not see one.

 

[alpinebigfoot]

It worked! Thanks for the info.. pushed in that rod and bam fired right up..

 

[alpinebigfoot]

another quick question.. Does it normally take 15 to 20 mins of warm up for the hydros to start working?

 

[California]

The secret to start these in cold weather: get the engine spinning with compression released then close the decompression. The inertia of the spinning flywheel assists the starter to push it through the first couple of revolutions.

This is after using the Thermostart to warm the intake as described above, and the cranking decompressed to get oil pressure.

Hydraulic warmup: The manual says 5 minutes. My experience is a few seconds before the hydraulic pressure comes up, then a minute or two to warm everything up, then drive gently until full warm. And you should be using modern multigrade tractor fluid for a cold climate, not the 'JD 303 equivalent' single grade specified in the manual. That stuff probably does need 5 minute warmup to flow easily.

 

[woolyAcres]

And you should be using modern multigrade tractor fluid for a cold climate, not the 'JD 303 equivalent' single grade specified in the manual. That stuff probably does need 5 minute warmup to flow easily.

The JD303 is what's specified. If not that what would you recommend? I'm about to do the 'big' upgrade on my loader system- new valve and new hoses came for Christmas. I'm just waiting for some warm weather- it was 9F this morning! Part of the upgrade will be replacing the fluid. I'm curious what you'd recommend. Sorry. Didn't mean to highjack the thread.

 

[JCByrd24]

In my opinion you are lucky to get it started with just thermostart. I struggle to start my 186D without the block heater run for just a few minutes as well, perhaps my thermostart is not up to snuff. Similar to you I found the hydraulics took quite a while to warm up, so I added a heater to that as well. Block heater is on right side (as you sit in the seat) on the engine (not a hose heater), mine was I'm guessing factory, was in there when I got it. Hydraulic heater was a generic NPT pipe plug 400W heater from Amazon. It's on the left side of the transmission/tunnel. There was an existing plug there for a factor option heater. If you want details on either I can try to dig them up. 20-30 minutes on the hydraulic heater makes a world of difference.

 

[California]

Here's the multigrade UTF (Universal Tractor Fluid) I use in my YM186D, 'Traveller' from Tractor Supply.

Traveller Universal Tractor Trans/Hydraulic Fluid, 5 gal. - For Life Out Here That's $40/pail. I think it's better than '303' for for a Powershift transmission.

Note in the column to the right they also offer '303' UTF @ $30/pail. I use this single-weight fluid in my backhoe, and in the YM240 with geared transmission - but I'm never out in weather below 40 degrees. Both of these Tractor Supply products are about the cheapest you can find in their categories. Both are claimed to meet Yanmar's minimum specs.

Over in TBN's Oil Forum you'll see a lot of people who won't go this cheap, and many discussions of more expensive UTF that I don't think is justified for 30 years ago technology. Also some other brands specify, or need, a better grade UTF with excellent anti-foaming specs or some other brand-specific attributes. But I don't see that we need to step up to that level.

One dealer who used to post here said he put ATF (automatic transmission fluid) in everything he sold and that runs more smoothly. This makes sense, the internals of a Powershift are nearly identical to an automotive A/T with clutch packs activated by hydraulic circuits as well as gears that need extreme-pressure additives.

Both of you guys are running in what I would call Severe cold weather, and possibly ATF has better cold weather performance in these conditions. You might inquire in the Oil Forum to start a discussion about this.