Yesterday afternoon with the temperature 50 degrees higher than a couple days ago and up to +12 F I decided I had better go skid some firewood out. With the extra cold temps we have been blowing through the stockpile pretty fast. My Ranger 666D grapple skidder has been setting by the cabin at our woods property since last fall. I took my torpedo heater and generator along, heating it for a hour before I started it. It fired right up with no issue. After letting it warn up for about 30 minutes while I loaded a load of firewood I went to skid. I drove about 40 yds. and it died rapidly like it seized. It would not spin. It had oil pressure as it sat there idling during warmup. When I first started it, it had taken about 30 seconds to build oil pressure on the gauge as is common in cold weather with the capillary tube gauge. After setting for about 10 minutes while I pulled covers and further checked things over I pushed the starter and it spun like normal and immediately started. It ran about 15 seconds and died, no oil pressure showing on the gauge this time. Not sure what is going on but I expect the worse. I am wondering if something in the oil pump could have broke when I revved it up to move. Them Clark transmissions take a healthy dose of power to move them the first bit of distance when they are cold. I am going to have to haul another machine over there and pull it back from the edge of the swamp where is now setting. I'll have to pull the engine to even get to the oil pan. The entire belly pan is one complete welded assembly. Weather is going to have to get better before I tackle this one. Meanwhile I better keep my eyes open for a spare 4-53. I got an extra 3-53 and a 4-71 but no 4-53s. My wife just told me to quit thinking about it and take her fishing instead. I guess I will for a couple days and let it warm up a bit more.
Better do what the wife says. LOL ………...and Valentines day is coming up. If she says "You don't have to get me anything, I know you love me." ……….its a Ice Cold Bear Trap from which there is NO RETURN! I've known the crank gear for the oil pump to strip before on some I have seen in the past. Last one I had do something similar, the engine oil had gelled.
Hmmm that’s not good. Hang tight until July and I’ll be up to fish it. Uh I mean “fix” it! Haha.
I can wait and I will. I better start saving some fish.
Not only Valentines Day on the 14th but her birthday is on the 12th, and our anniversary on the 16th. I either get them all or am banned to the dog house long enough that it pays to remodel it.
If your coming up this way fishing you better bring a snowplow and some shovels with you.... snow is gettin deep on the lakes , they are flooding now and we're supposed to get six more inches tonight. Then back to twenty below. Season ends in a couple weeks as well, so you better not dilly dally.
Gulp. That's a bummer. Weird stuff always seams to happen when its super cold. I don't know much about Detroits but I have a strong back and a weak mind. LOL. Just have Junkyard pick me up on the way by, and we will get it done in no time.
Sounds like a plan to me!!
I think the first thing I would do, after making sure wife is happy, would be to pull oil filter and cut it open to see if there is anything in there to scare you!
"Strong back and weak mind!" That brings back a memory of the last time I was up in Minn with my dad visiting family. We took a day to visit a Logging history museum center somewhere near Grand Rapids Minn I believe. While touring the grounds dad got talking to one of the guides and told him that back in the `30's he and his dad spent time in a logging camp in that area and mentioned much of the displays reminded him of those day. The guide then asked my dad what kind of logging they had been doing. Dad said they were cutting pulp wood, got paid by the "stick"! Guide smiled and said "Oh! Strong backs and weak minds!" Dad just smiled and said yep!
Got wifi in the dog house??
Probably fuel gelled and oil cold. It will be fine come spring time.
I would think if it was running for 30 minutes, the fuel would be plenty warmed up. Any detroit I've been around, if you can get it running, you don't have to worry about gelling up because they run so much fuel through the head and back to tank. I always warm up my hands on the fuel tank of my 6v92, its toasty warm in cool weather.
For normal parts of the world that would most likely be true, but we are talking Moose Lake Minn., where the day before it was down around 35ºF BELOW ZERO! That fuel oil may have still been pretty cold and if skidder had been sitting since fall there's a good chance it had summer fuel in it! I have seen engines start up just fine here in Central NY in near zero weather that ran a period of time at low idle to jell up as soon as you tried to put them to work. Some times it takes a bit of running to fill the filters with wax to kill them.
I can't count the number of times this has happened to us. Not only Detroit but Cat and Cummins as well. I have a bridge short half mile from my place that I use as a gauge. 9 times out of 10 if a truck is going to gell up it does it within close proximity to that bridge. A few times I have had them gell up while warming up but if it is going to happen it is usually when I just start down the road. Oh and I forgot to mention I live along a blacktop road with no shoulder that can have a fair amount of traffic certain times of the day which makes gelling up and blocking a lane alot of fun!!!!
I run the best of the best fuel you can get. Its a Canadian blend called P 40. I have never had a problem with this fuel even through the record cold of 1996 at 60 below, until this last blast. It didn't flow through the new 2 micron fuel filters. Had to dump 911 additive to keep them running.
No WiFi, Just Dish Tailgater. It would not be bad if the neighborhood critters did not like television.
I would be very happy if it was jelled fuel but I think not. I have dealt with fuel/jell issues to many times to count. It does circulate a lot of fuel. The tank melts snow fast even in cold weather when a bumped tree drops snow on it. It stopped fast like it seized. When I cranked it and it fired after setting 15 minutes or so it had no oil pressure and stopped fast again. Not sure if it ran long enough to build oil pressure again. I am going to do as Ken said and pull the oil filter and cut it open. I am wondering if there could have been some ice from condensation that plugged and broke the oil pump drive when I revved it up to go. A local old time logger here said that happened to him on a machine that had sat for a few months. I would think that would not be the case after an hour of heat and then ran for 30 minutes, but?
I was being hopeful. From experience, when they seize, the don't usually want to turn over again.
Does it have an electrical system and a starter? Or do you use a crank.....lol sorry just have not seen a 4 -53 in a long time...sounds like gel issue to me....when i had 4-53 in an ardco...if they spun they run lol....oil pressure was never great even new...lol
I could not click on the "LIKE" button for this as is that is what happened it is not good. Not sure what the access is for dropping the pan but that might be one way to go. One problem I see with my suggestion of examining the filter is that if ice killed the pump there would not be any flow of oil to push metal particles into the filter. Might find something by dropping oil if it is warm enough to melt any possible ice.
I don't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about this one.
Same here, unless you think fuzzy is referring to the fuzzy pieces of bearing material that might be found in oil pan. Old Iron Habit, Sorry for making a joke at your expense but sometimes that is the only way to deal with a bad situation.
Finally got of the lake for a few days. I love that Northwest Inlet. Like stepping back 50 years in time. Population 70 and real old fashioned people like on here. There is no dropping the oil pan without pulling the engine on this one. The oil pan being about 3 inches of the welded belly enclosure has a hydraulic hose on the drain running out from under it just to get at it to change oil. Its not a real bad job to pull the engine with the torque convertor attached. It would be nothing to it if the hands still worked like they should. The transmission is driven by a drive shaft so just a few hoses to the charge pump, etc. and such to remove. Waiting for decent weather. It seems this winter does not want to get out of January. Got a DNR report today that they want the fish houses off the ice by the 3rd of July so they don't catch fire from the 4th of July fireworks.
Should have added this picture. Debby got three of these that were over the slot on her birthday. All were released. It was not my birthday. I got stuck with a medium Northern Pike also released. Don't laugh at my dress. I'm always comfortable after a couple days in the fish house. Dang pesky northern had three lines tangled.
Have you had a chance to look at your dead skidder yet? I suppose the ice is still 5 ft thick up there.
HEY OIH, I'M TALKING TO YOU!!! LOL
I wanted to make sure that it was thawed out if it had ice in it. Sorry to keep you (and me) hanging. Actually we have been dealing with a bunch of family issues. First we went to Virginia and buried my BIL in Arlington National Cemetery. While we were there my last uncle left alive passed here at home. The day after his funeral my next younger brother went down and coded a couple times. He ended up in a induced coma for 10 days in ICU with lungs full of infection. He is still in the hospital with a rickety path ahead but he is awake and talking, bitching about all the tubes and wires. All that aside I went over to the skidder this forenoon to see what I could find. I pulled the plug out of the oil drain hose and cracked the ball valve to bleed some oil out. Out came at least a cup of pure water before the oil started trickling out. After pondering a while I hit the starter and cranked it for 30 seconds with the engine fuel kill knob pulled. I thought the oil pressure gauge started tweaking a bit so I pushed the kill I knob in. It started up and within 2 seconds the oil pressure went to 55 lbs at idle. I let it run for about 5 minutes and the oil pressure was still at a healthy 50 idling. Could I be freaking lucky???? I guess only time will tell. I only ran it the five minutes. I am going to change oil before I run it any more and then I will push the brush around on the landing before I take it out of easy towing range. We had a late fall 4" rain storm with 60 MPH winds. I am wondering if it blew into the horizontal exhaust thru the muffler and ran down onto the engine. It never has before, but I can not think of any other way for that much water to get in the engine. It was real clear and no antifreeze in it. Maybe a chunk of ice caught somewhere or stopped oil flow thru the pump? Thoughts?
Picture. Had a 11 second video of it running but it says file to large.
Geez sorry to hear about the family issues. My dad 83, says the worst part about getting old is watching friends and family slip away. Hopefully brighter days are just around the corner. Sounds like maybe you got lucky with the skidder. Could have been ice around the oil pick up restricting it. Time will tell when you get to use it. Try to break something else so Junkyard and I have an excuse for a road trip. LOL
I went over yesterday and changed oil in the 4-53. It took a few days to get the straight 30 weight oil. The parts store's warehouse does not stock it anymore but they found a 5 gallon bucket at another store. After the oil change I fired it up and it seems fine so far. Oil pressure is as normal. After warmup I pushed the tops into a pile and made some nice ruts in the wet field to drag out later. I also drug out 2 jags of wood that was still laying there. The oil pressure showed as it always did. 45 lbs. when running faster than an idle and dropping to the edge of the red at idle. The engine sounds good and seems to have normal power. I found nothing in the changed oil filter when I snipped it open so am going to run it and see what happens. I sure was not looking forward to standing on my head to pull that engine. I still can not believe that I could be this lucky but time will tell. Think I am going to put a rain cap on the horizontal exhaust so it hangs own over the pipe when the engine is shut off. I have lots of projects so you and Junkyard can come anytime. Heck, you can pick and choose what project you would like. The fly in should be coming up soon if you can fly over for that. I can pick you up at the airport.