I've read that because it is so explosive you should NEVER use ether in one of our IDIs, because the glow pugs can cause it to explode so violently inside the cylinder it can stretch head bolts, causing blown head gaskets, etc.

One thing I have read is OK is using WD40. In a couple of posts I've asked the question about another alternative, but don't recall anyone ever answering.

What I propose using, if you have to use something to get one started, is carb cleaner. The kind you use on gasser carbs - the stuff that is safe to spray down the intake of a running gasoline engine. I know the stuff is WAY less explosive than ether. Heck its less explosive than gasoline even - as evidenced by how much a gasser will choke when you give it a shot of the stuff. However, it is more volitile than diesel, so it works pretty well as a starting fluid.

Not sure how it compares to WD40 on the explosive scale, but my thought is that it is specifically MEANT to be sprayed into and burned by an internal combustion engine. I'm not so sure that's the case with WD40. That's why I would think the carb cleaner would be a better choice.

So, what do the experts around here think? Is carb cleaner safe to use for this purpose? Is WD40? If you need to use something, which would be better?

Or is there something else that is even better than either of those?

 

how about putting some diesel in a spray bottle.

jhanna
dovfd
`90,f450,7.3l,5speed,5.13rear

 

Well, if its warm out (>70 degrees F)and the starting issue is just due to lack of fuel, that would probably work.

In the case of cold mornings and/or glow plug related issues it wouldn't work though. In that case the starting issue isn't one of a lack of fuel, it is a problem getting the fuel to auto-ignite. That's why something that is a little more volatile than diesel is needed. I suppose you might be able to use gasoline, maybe, but who wants to carry around a spray bottle of gasoline?

I'm not looking for something to be used every day. Obviously if there is an ongoing starting issue, the best answer is to address and fix whatever it is that is wrong. What I'm thinking of is those unexpected situations that arise where she won't start and you don't have time to diagnose or fix it on the spot, you just have to get 'er going....

 

an old diesel mechanic told me he only ever uses and used wd40.He showed me and man it works.

 

Oh, I don't doubt that WD40 will work. I can tell you from personal experience that carb cleaner does too - I've already used it several times on mine before I got the GP system fixed.

I'm just wondering which is better, and if there are any drawbacks or advantages to one or the other.....

 

for most of our ag machinery we just use a rag soaked in gasoline.
old international tractors don't always have glowplugs...

for my truck, I just got everything working right :-)

 

Remember WD40 is an abrasive solvent. I know It works but wouldn't Prolong or something less abrasive be better on the engine?

 

Abrasive solvent?!? Do you mean agressive solvent? As in it dissolves and thins other oils, greases, and attacks anything else that is petroleum-based (like butyl rubber hoses for example)?

That's kinda' the reason I wasn't too crazy about the idea of using WD40 as a starting fluid. Kinda' why I decided to try the carb cleaner. Carb cleaner is formulated to dissolve fuel varnishes and deposits, without hurting rubber or plastic parts. Plus, like I said, it is safe to be burned - sprayed down the intake - in an internal combustion engine (the instructions on the can say to - although the engine it is meant for is a gasser). It is less explosive than ether (or even gasoline), but significantly more flammable than diesel. Just seemed like it made sense to me, and I know for sure that it works - I've used it on mine.

Just wanting to make sure I'm not doing damage. So far nobody else seems to agree with my logic - or at least not strongly enough to speak up...

 

No I Mean It Is Abrasive. Like It Scores He-- Out Of Stuff

 

How can it be abrasive? To be considered abrasive it would have to contain some kind of grit or abrasive particles. If you've ever gotten any on your hands you know that it doesn't. It's just super thin oil and solvent. I've actually used it as hand cleaner in a pinch before. Nothing gritty about it.

Now, once it washes away the other oils and lubricants it would allow un-lubricated parts or surfaces to scratch or score each other, but WD40 itself can't abrade anything without having abrasive particles in it.

 

I'm telling you that WD40 has abrasives in it. You may not see or feel it but it is there. There is nothing wrong with using ether. The problem is using to much. The way I have done it for 40 years on all engines be it gas diesel lawn mower, boat or log truck is to spray a very SMALL amount. Like just barely any into the air intake with air filter and all other stock air intake ducking still installed. But only while the engine is cranking. The engine must be turning over before giving it a squirt. Or it could pool up and cause an explosion. Read the side of the can. All of it

 

Where did you get that info? And if you can't see or feel it, is it really an abrasive? The abrasive in tooth paste is extremely mild and almost as fine as talc, but you can still feel it. Here is the list of ingredients from the MSDS for a can of WD40 aerosol.

Chemical Name

Aliphatic Petroleum Distillates (solvent)
Petroleum Base Oil (thin oil)
LVP Hydrocarbon Fluid (more solvent)
Carbon Dioxide (gas)

Which of those are you saying is the abrasive? I'm sorry, but I just don't buy it. WD40 is a penetrating and water-displacing LUBRICANT. Putting abrasives in it would be counter productive - not to mention making no sense whatsoever.

I used some to start mine the first couple of times when I first bought it and it wouldn't start (burned out GPs, burned out GP relay, and IP 180 degrees out of time). Sorry to say that your method wouldn't have worked to start it. I tried a small amount. Then a little more. And a little more. And yet a little more. It finally started, but it took a couple of good 1 second squirts - right into the intake horn on the air breather - to get it to start.

That was before I learned why not to use it, and fortunately for me, the GP system wasn't working, so it didn't have any premature cylinder firings with the explosive stuff, and therefore didn't do any damage. After reading here, in the manual, and on a label on the air cleaner, NOT to use it, and further reading why not (both here and in the manual), I bought a can of carb cleaner and tried that. It worked just fine, but with a lot less risk of damage (I think - no one has yet confirmed or refuted this).

Feel free to use it on your IDI or on anything else you like. I personally don't want to have to replace my head gaskets or head bolts just because it wouldn't start for some reason, so I'll stay away from ether - at least for my IDI.

 

Best thing to do is DISABLE the GP system then use the ether. a tried and proven starter fluid in any temperature.

 

So without the GPs, using ether CAN'T hurt the IDIs? From what I'd read around here, I had the impression that with the 22.5 CR it is/was still a bad idea to use it - even without GPs.....

 

back to the question!! i use a rag soaked in gas keep it in a coffee can under the hood put it over the air filter whole. let glow plugs heat up. works everytime the motor sucks the gas fumes in and starts that easy. A lot safer than using ether. also help if you run out fuel too. trust me on that.