Bluechip!

schmalts · Oct 25, 2004

will be calling you soon for some spare parts, good to talk with you on the phone the other day.
well this weekend i took a better look at my 554 and low and behold the thing does have a flame preheater in the manifold. It isnt hooked up to anything but it is there. any idea how the thing gets fuel to it? i would need to find the proper pipe and fitting but have no clue where to hook it to and what actually pushes the fuel in.
still smoking blue/whiteish from the exhaust, seems worst cold and low rpm. when really working it seems to be cleared up. No black smoke when lugging it hard either. I advanced the timing a little but need to do it right this weekend coming up. Do you have any idea if there is a timing mark on the crank pully anywhere and if so what the degree it is? I can get a hold of a line pulse signal generator and a variable timing light, so all i would have to do is remove an injector and find TDC and mark the pulley but if there is a mark there that would be a help.
BTW, have you ever seen any kind of service manual for these engines? it would be nice to have other torque specs.
Oh, and guess what, my sediment bowl is half full of rust with 3 hours........ didnt break the glass getting it off though.

bluechip · Oct 25, 2004

Schmalts,

Just for those that may be reading this thread, this is not one of our KAMA tractors and may be equipped differently than ours. I will review my manuals when I get to the shop for the timing marks.

Although our priamary responsibility is to provide parts for the tractors we import, we do sell parts for other KAMA and TS tractors if we have them in stock, in fact can sometimes special order them.

Of course any warranty parts must come from the same channel as the tractor.

Please feel free to call or email with your needs we cant guarantee anything but will always try to do what we can.

Thanks

sales@artrac.com

schmalts · Oct 25, 2004

Yes i got manuals but the engine manual is nothing more than a basic info book. It doesnt show timing alignment pictures at all.
As far as parts goes, i will try to find them elsewhere i suppose. I didnt know you were that short on supply.
I plan on installing a Racor fuel filter anyway, and am working on an adapter for a spin on type oil filter.

Scozz · Oct 25, 2004

Schmalts I'd be interested in how you make out with the filter modifications. I will be picking up a 454 next week...keep us informed of the progress.
Anthony

Boltonpower · Oct 25, 2004

Schmalts

Frame Pre Heaters generally use gasoline. Usually a sump
in the manifold with an ignitor coil in the middle and a tube that
supplies small amounts of gasoline. You squirt some gas into
the sump, light it with the coil and start spinning the engine
with the compression release on. When you flip it off the fire
gets sucked into the engine and she starts. Old Yanmars used to
have the "fire" starters...

Graham

greg_g · Oct 26, 2004

( Old Yanmars used to have the "fire" starters...)

It was called Thermo-Start on mine. But it used diesel fuel, not gasoline - stored in a 2 ounce reservior just behind the radiator. Reservior was connected by rubber hose to the pre-heater location on (in) the intake manifold. Great system; cold-started a 25 year old Yanmar much more reliably (and faster) than did the stubborn glow plug setup on my (then) brand new Jinma.

But my KAMA has a direct injection engine. Don't have to fool with preheaters at all.

//greg//

schmalts · Oct 26, 2004

Gregg, Others, what pumped the fuel into the igniter? gravity?
Just so everyone knows, this was a self imported unit.
Chip, the little book i did get said there was a timimg mark on the flywheel, i cannot confirm since i am 200 miles from the unit.
They give a timing procedure that is pretty inaccurate at best, they say to loosen the #1 line and rotate the engine and watch for fuel and then check the timing mark. Has anyone ever had any luck with that method? seems pretty hit and miss but i am not a diesel expert, more of a high tech gas man.

bluechip · Oct 26, 2004

That timing procedure is essentially the same method used on the Yangdong (Jinma) engine. In the end it usually comes down to adjusting to get the sound and smoke the way you want it, but the static method will get you close. Remember, Chinese tractors are often sold into 3rd world locations where no special equipment exists so the most basic procedures are used.

I will have to ask the factory about the thermostart feature. It has never been offered to me, but I guess I have never asked! Don't see it in the parts book for the engine that I have.

Last winter we had no problem starting (once the chinese oil was gone and muli-weight in) as low as 20 deg. but that is as cold as it got here. Some type of heater is probably necessary in colder climates. I personally like the idea of warming the oil, using Comp release for a bit, then starting. But water jacket heating can help, its just that the oil is not in the water jacket with the engine at rest and it will get thick.

greg_g · Oct 26, 2004

( Gregg, Others, what pumped the fuel into the igniter? gravity? )
The reservior was mounted high up in the engine compartment, so gravity played a part. Fuel sat just outside the heating coil while the coil was being heated. Some models had a HEAT position on the igntion key, mine had a TS button on the dash. The coil was really nothing more than a cigarette lighter with a hole in the center through which the fuel gushed. Using the decompression lever was the key - or "trigger". The engine was initially spun up with the coil hot and the compression lever "open". The sudden drastic change in manifold pressure that occurrs with the release of the decompression lever provides enough suction to pull the "parked" fuel THROUGH the heat coil, where it gets ignited - and burns all the way through to the injector spray awaiting it in the precombustion chambers

Every single Jinma cold-start required glow plugs. The Yanmar usually started fine on decompression lever alone, until the nighttime temps dropped into the 30s. So I actually only used the ThermoStart regularly during the winter.

Be prepared to wade down a few side streets, but the timing procedure has been discussed at length HERE and HERE and HERE .

//greg//

greg_g · Oct 26, 2004

( I plan on installing a Racor fuel filter anyway, and am working on an adapter for a spin on type oil filter.)

When planning the oil filter mod, consider that spin-ons almost always employ an internal bypass valve. I believe the OE bypass valve on your KAMA to be in the upper filter housing - the part that's bolted to the engine block, not the cannister itself. When replacing the cannister with a spin-on, I'd be concerned about consistent oil flow when two bypass valves are involved.

Or are you devising a mod to be a 100% replacement for OE, bolting straight to the block?

//greg//

2000fxdl · Oct 26, 2004

I got some of these heaters by accident a couple of years back and until I received the 554's the other week, that had them installed in the manifold, I did not know exactly what they were. I do now!! The heater is install in the 554 manifold but is not hooked up to anything....yet. It has a electrical terminal on it and a compression fitting on top to hook up a small fuel line. With the heater cold and not on, the fuel orifice is closed off. I bet once heated up, it opens and allow fuel to drip on to the red hot heat coil and it lites off in the manifold. Up here in Iowa one needs this to get a diesel started in the dead of the winter were the temps sometimes get down to -20 below and lower. My Military 6x6 has a manifold flame heater in it that I have to use once the temps are down around zero. It uses a spark plug to ignite off diesel that is sprayed on it under pressue. When I have used it .....Smokes like **** but will always start no matter how cold it is out. I have noticed that some of the JM manifolds have a threaded hole for these too!!

schmalts · Oct 26, 2004

I think the easiest way to time this bugger is to pull the #1 injector to find TDC and paint pen a mark that represents TDC on the pulley and front cover. I can get a hold of a line pulse timing adapter and a variable timing light. I just have to clip the generator onto #1 line and set the timing light to 22 degree offset and turn the pump until my marks line up again. Like i said, i am i tech guy.....
anyway as far as the oil adapter goes, i will pull off the whole unit and take it home with me and do a little engineering. I have an lube systems development engineer at my disposal here at work that will guide me if i have any trouble. Heck, maybe i will have a bunch made up and sell them for a small profit!!!

bluechip · Oct 26, 2004

There is a cover on the bellhousing to access the flywheel, near tach pickup. Easer to see than crank pulley. Your timing light can detect the flow of diesel through the line? that sounds pretty slick!

schmalts · Oct 26, 2004

Yes, but not my timing light, my timing light will go on a little transducer that can detect the pulse of pressure in the line and sends a signal that triggers the timing light. I can borrow that little gadget from a guy i work with. I guess its a very pricey item though. I will let you know how it works.

SevenCorners · Oct 27, 2004

Schmalts, I had injector pump seat brake on my 224 after only 8 hours. I replaced injector pump and seat in under an hour. I spent the next couple of days fine tuning the timing. Please read over my post that Greg linked to above it will give you some advice. Take your time it is really easy to accomplish once you Follow the directions. Mark your timing marks on the front pulley using a grease pen and adjustable mirror. I found this part really difficult because you really can't see them. Ask us if you need additional help we can talk you through it.

schmalts · Oct 28, 2004

Chip, take a look at the 385 filter mount from a jinma. Will it fit on the 495?? this may be the best wat to go. Or maybe a 2 cyl mount will bolt up.

bluechip · Oct 28, 2004

Doh! Sometimes what you look for is right under your nose.
I will advise the factory to check this for PR valve and spec of filter but it might just work, the mount appears to be the same. I have these things sitting on the shelf next to each other and never even thought about it. I have asked the factory for spin on and got a " not this order". Hmmm.

Also Buck Bonds at EFC construction has a modification he can do to convert to spin on.

I'll see what the factory says about spin ons when I tell them that these seem to be interchangable.

schmalts · Oct 28, 2004

Hey, do i get one of those from you for a good discount for bringing this up!! LOL I was thinking the other day to myself "self, that looks like a jinma filter housing will fit.."
But really, PM me what you need for one!