9 Worst Things You Can Do to a Diesel Engine

[DarkBlack]

There are no farms where it is an honest, -70F...

SR

Probably seemed like…-70

 

[GrandpaSmurf825]

I've been educated. Maybe Biodiesel has two major issues and I saw neither mentioned. 1. Even B10 begins to gel at around 30 degrees Fahrenheit and the higher the blend the worse it gets. 2. It cuts the power. Fact! B30 can cost you as much as 50%. I learned this in John Deere engine school. We used their power units. It was a (don't tell anyone because everyone wants to use bio diesel) secret you weren't supposed to tell.
Whomever said you can't overspeed an engine with a governor electronic or otherwise. Want to bet on that? You absolutely can. Hydrostatic machines with improper valving can do it. Trucks with manual transmissions and idiots behind the wheel can also do it. Did you know that they won't warranty an engine that's been over sped in a vehicle that way. The ECM logs every instance right up to the one that grenaded it. Who knew?

I've been around a lot of engines from little pony starting engines to 11,000 cubic engines with glowing exhaust manifolds. I treat turbo engines the same. They only need a minute or so to "relax" from a hard pull. The exhaust cools fast and the coolant temp drops quickly when the load is removed. Of course some don't get shut off at all but others do and when every looks satisfactory I shut them down.

If it's monitored for condition and coolant additive or spin on filters are used coolant will last forever. The PH balance is the critical element in keeping coolant where it needs to be. We literally had a couple thousand pieces of machinery and it was far cheaper to maintain the coolant than to replace it every couple years. We had spin on filters and PM mechanics that checked the coolant as part of the inspection. As someone mentioned. Heavy duty coolant is an important factor. Coolant isn't all the same and if you go buy cheap automotive coolant and mix it in the long term results will not be great.

Some things on the list I don't agree with.

Individuals aren't as likely to do it but businesses have a baseline oil sample taken and then monitor engine oil for abnormalities as the hours build up. It can give a heads up to bearing wear or coolant starting to get into the oil. Certain metals can only come from specific components on some engines so they can give early warning to an impending issue.

 

[Texasmark]

That list is pretty obvious, but here’s 2 others not on the list:

Lugging: lugging a diesel engine can be harmful as it may lead to increased wear and potential damage to engine components. It's generally better to operate at higher RPMs to ensure the engine runs efficiently and avoids stress.

I see this frequently. I see a lot of operators run at a lower RPM than they should.


Here’s another big one not mentioned:

Shutting off a hot turbocharged diesel: Shutting down a diesel engine with a turbocharger over 1200 degrees instantly stops the oil flowing through the turbo bearings. The oil can actually start “coking” in the bearings.

If you were to rev up your engine and then shut it off, it will cause damage and wear to the turbocharger as the oil pressure drops with it is still spinning at very high RPMs. Modern turbochargers can have turbine speeds above 100,000 rpm! Even the older models will have RPMs ranging from 40,000 to 60,000.

At these speeds, lubrication of the turbocharger bearings is super important for your turbo to last. The turbo must be allowed to spin down before the oil vacates. If not, you will be putting another turbo on before long.

Rod bearings around the crankshaft and main bearings, especially on older engines. that skimped on the number for a given length of engine. With the higher compression of diesel engines they get stressed more than equivalent hp gassers and used to be gassers would need upper overhauls where diesels would need lower overhauls.