Runaway Diesel
 

Hey Folks I am brand new to this site and new to Diesel and 4x4. I own a 2016 F-250 SD with the 6.7. I will be a question asker and not an answerer.

Was browsing U-Tube the other day and saw some clips of "Runaway Diesel" engines. What causes a Diesel engine to runaway?

It's something you won't have to worry about with a modern diesel engine not saying it can't happen but it would almost be impossible in a modern diesel truck. A runaway diesel is basically engine has no monitoring of the fuel intake basically the more fuel you get the engine the faster it will run. On the farmer runaway diesel can also happen if the tractor flips over and burns its own oil that floods the engine when it flips. Some of the old Dodge trucks the kids turn idle adjustment too high and the engine starts to accelerate you need to quickly do something with the air intake to starve the oxygen. Don't ask me how I know growing up on a farm we blowing up a few engines that way LOL

It's usually the engine running on motor oil instead of diesel that is being drawn in through the crankcase breather. Everything you want to know but watching the videos on YouTube is more fun for sure... LOL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_engine_runaway

Thanks guys! Yes entertaining to watch but never want to go there personally

Loose a oil seal on the inlet side of the turbo can do it.
IIRC, diesel sled pillars pro class need air shutoffs.

Also, if a diesel starts sucking in gas like raw propane or natural gas (like a release of gas in a refinery or on a well site) through the intake they will run away.

All of the above, and YouTube is littered with videos of MODERN pickup Diesels running away. It is still pretty rare though.

one reason on a modern diesel, not to use any either.

senix, your autocorrect got you... I think you meant ether.

I don't think I'd want to run propane on a 6.7 diesel... But the older ones I used to see people running propane on for extra power.

yup, spelling police got me.

My son's 05 DMax came from the oil fields in Alberta. It had an air shutoff on it to prevent runaway issues. Required for trucks that are near drilling sites as far as I know. If the air has combustible fumes the engine will run on that as well as the fuel it has which causes a race condition.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...d58dd96014.jpg

Yep......we ran them too, in certain applications.

Just had a 02 Duramax in the shop for a turbo. When it grenaded it pumped around half a gallon of oil into the intercooler. If I wouldn't have removed it and drained the oil out I likely would have had a runaway when restarting with new turbo.

And Canadian spec GM diesels have anti-idle programming too....

Any motor can runaway, all a diesel motor needs is a supply of air and fuel. And since oil will work as fuel in a diesel....

Senix - I have a dislike for autocorrect, since it corrects correctly spelled words too.

A local diesel shop near where I used to live had this happen with a 6.0. Went on a test drive and it went wide open burning the tires off. Threw is in park until it blew up.