Advice On Startup

[Delaneyland]

Howdy boys and girls. I'm brand new to Macks and this forum so excuse my ignorance. I am now the proud owner of a 1964 Mack B 67T with an astounding 1221 miles. Its whole life was spent pulling house boats in and out of a resort on the Canadian border. She has been sitting outside for ten years and I'm trying to decide where to start. My gut tells me to pull the pump and injectors and have them gone through before I attempt to start her. I'd hate to trash the pump and / or injectors if there is something in the fuel lines. The primer on the pump is froze which leads me to think I'm on the right track. I've not dabbled in this before so any ideas or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Lmackattack]

empty the fuel tanremove the fuel inlet line and put in a bucket with fresh fuel

replace the fuel filter and add some ATF oil in the filter housing

check the air cleaner for dirt and bees nest etc..

crank the engine for a few sec with the throttel stop out. if it spins good and free. push the throttel stop in and crank untill it fires.

The injection pump and injectors can be found fairly easy so if its bad you will find out fairly quickly when you spin it over. Both macks that I have started after sitting for a few years fired right up after I added fresh fuel and filters

Good luck~

[Andy Wright]

Congrats on your Mack, mate, looks like she's found a good home.

[HK Trucking]

Also, as I've said before when similar questions were posted on here:

Make sure the injector pump rack isn't stuck wide open, or your gonna get an awful surprise when it fires up.

[Delaneyland]

Thanks Guys! I took the fuel filter lid off Sunday and discovered no filter and enormous rust inside. I was a little discouraged but was very pleased to find absolutely NO rust on the pump intake nipple. A few days sitting with PS blaster and the priming plunger is working again....things are looking up!! I called for a filter canister and started cleaning out the lines from the fuel tank....we'll see what happens.

[theakerstwo]

Also, as I've said before when similar questions were posted on here:

Make sure the injector pump rack isn't stuck wide open, or your gonna get an awful surprise when it fires up.

I know your right. The easy way to check the rack is to pull the top off of the governor and move by hand. If you dont know what the rack looks like it is the metal rod going into the pump housing and has a link connected to somthing inside of the gover housing. I have freind that has a salavage yard and he has some macks that has set for a few years and somtimes we find one that is stuck . I had one of mine that stuck after about 3 years.

[David]

Install a valve or quick coupler on the inbound fuel line at the pump. When it starts you can shut it off without any damage if it decides to run wild.

[theakerstwo]

Install a valve or quick coupler on the inbound fuel line at the pump. When it starts you can shut it off without any damage if it decides to run wild.

I remember when the old B models had a shut of fuel valve on the inlet line to the inj pump with a cable inside of cab but it can run for a good while on the fuel in the pump after stut off. In other words if it was stuck in full fuel you would nat the least have a heart failure.

[vanscottbuilders]

For it's worth,

I've found the old 673 Macks to be among the easiest of the diesels

to start after sitting for a long time. My own B67T sat for twenty years,

that we know of, and started, after checking for correct fuel pump rack

movement, in a very short time after getting fresh fuel to it.

My R model did the same thing. And it runs like a top.

I do think that bypassing the fuel tank with fresh fuel from a five gallon bucket

feeding a temporary connection to the supply line is a smart trick. Just avoid

the rusty old tank altogether. Don't forget that five gallons won't last long,

with the return line still feeding back to a fuel tank.

Man - 1,200 miles!! What a great find.

Good Luck, and have a lot of fun with your new toy!

Paul Van Scott

[Delaneyland]

Thanks for the pointers guys. A few more questions.. I was told by a parts dealer there is a lift pump on the left side of the motor. I've followed the fuel lines and I cannot find one nor does my book show one. All I see is a line going from the left tank to the right tank, from the tank to the injection pump....and of course, the return line. Am I missing something? My book says this creature is positive ground, but I recall seeing a post somewhere on this site that B's are negative ground and by grounding positive, the starter will spin backwards. I guess I'm inclined to believe my book but I just want to check. I'm also thinking I need a service manual that will help me dig through all these little issues that my operation and maintenance manual doesn't cover...anyone know of a vendor for a good manual? Thanks for your input.

Edited October 5, 2008 by Delaneyland

[HK Trucking]

I was told by a parts dealer there is a lift pump on the left side of the motor.

Actually, it's on the side of the injection pump, and most of them were equipped with a priming plunger which you unlock and then pump the plunger up and down to manually pump fuel from the tank to prime the fuel system.

My book says this creature is positive ground,

In their stock configuration they were a positive ground 12 volt system but the diesel engine models had a series parallel switch to send 24 volts to the starter when cranking.

(some of the smaller B models such as B20, B30 etc.with the smaller gas engines had a straight 6 volt positive ground system however.)

[Delaneyland]

Thanks HK, at least I know I'm on the right track.

[Delaneyland]

I'm nearing the nuts of this startup but ran into something I thought I ask the gurus about. I got all the fuel lines replaced, a new fuel canister and filter in today, got the batteries in and hooked up. I haven't hooked up fuel yet as I wanted to make sure I could turn her over and get some oil through it first. I turned the ignition switch on, pushed the starter button, and viola, it turned over but not steadily. It would get a half a rotation, and the magnetic switch would click, then re-engage. I tried it a number of times, same thing. I was a little stumped, thinking maybe the switch was dirty. I got to thinking and wondered about the exhaust as it seemed to be working really hard to move air. Sure enough, the muffler was full of bird nests, sticks, unhatched eggs, etc, etc. I cleaned out as much as I could, all the way to the elbow (where my shop vac could not turn the corner) and tried it again thinking the exhaust pressure would clear out the rest....nope, same thing. Obviously I'll need to disassemble the exhaust system and clear this out but my question is, will the magnetic switch disengage if there excessive draw on the starter from the exhaust blockage or is it a problem with the switch itself? Thanks.

[Rob]

I'm nearing the nuts of this startup but ran into something I thought I ask the gurus about. I got all the fuel lines replaced, a new fuel canister and filter in today, got the batteries in and hooked up. I haven't hooked up fuel yet as I wanted to make sure I could turn her over and get some oil through it first. I turned the ignition switch on, pushed the starter button, and viola, it turned over but not steadily. It would get a half a rotation, and the magnetic switch would click, then re-engage. I tried it a number of times, same thing. I was a little stumped, thinking maybe the switch was dirty. I got to thinking and wondered about the exhaust as it seemed to be working really hard to move air. Sure enough, the muffler was full of bird nests, sticks, unhatched eggs, etc, etc. I cleaned out as much as I could, all the way to the elbow (where my shop vac could not turn the corner) and tried it again thinking the exhaust pressure would clear out the rest....nope, same thing. Obviously I'll need to disassemble the exhaust system and clear this out but my question is, will the magnetic switch disengage if there excessive draw on the starter from the exhaust blockage or is it a problem with the switch itself? Thanks.

Ensure your grounds to the frame are in good condition. Also run a heavy wire from the post on the end of the starter, to the frame, and use at least a #4 wire.

If the switch is "chattering, (jumping in, and out)" look for defective grounds if the batteries are known to be at full charge.

Rob

[Delaneyland]

Rob, you had it right. As much as I hate to admit it, I neglected to tighten one of the battery connections, after tightening it, it spins over fine. Now, another question. I thought it would be a bright move to prime the injectors before trying to start it so I cracked a line on the pump and when I try the primer, I get nothing. I can hear fuel trickling into the tank ( I used the suggestion of using a remote fuel tank) but am getting nothing from the line. Should I just keep priming? Spin the starter? Remove the return line and put it in the remote tank? Block the return line? Seems to me that all the fuel I'm priming is simply returning to the tank. Do I risk pump failure by simply turning it over until it starts to smoke?

[Rob]

Rob, you had it right. As much as I hate to admit it, I neglected to tighten one of the battery connections, after tightening it, it spins over fine. Now, another question. I thought it would be a bright move to prime the injectors before trying to start it so I cracked a line on the pump and when I try the primer, I get nothing. I can hear fuel trickling into the tank ( I used the suggestion of using a remote fuel tank) but am getting nothing from the line. Should I just keep priming? Spin the starter? Remove the return line and put it in the remote tank? Block the return line? Seems to me that all the fuel I'm priming is simply returning to the tank. Do I risk pump failure by simply turning it over until it starts to smoke?

You may need to prime with the hand pump for 150 times and I'm not kidding. Do not pump really fast, but use slow, deliberate strokes. Of course ensure the fuel filter cannister is plum full to the top. Are you certain that the suction line from the tank to the transfer pump is sound? A slight pinhole in an old hose will not allow fuel to pull up. What I usually do with a problem child such as you mention to temporarily replace the fuel line with a length of copper tubing into a remote tank such as a 5 gallon diesel can. The fitting on the pump is a 45 degree flare which is the same available at every hardware store. Once you know the pump is getting fuel by the primer handle getting harder to pump, give it about 15 more strokes. Then start the engine. It will run rough, but smooth out in a few seconds as the pressure comes up in the injection lines and the air is purged from them. Again be sure your fuel filter cannister is full to the top or you will pump an awful long time!!

Once the engine smooths out shut it off and reconnect your fuel line to the tank. Go ahead and restart the engine and it will run on the filter cannister supply and the transfer pump should replenish this supply before it starves out and dies.

If you have further problems, purchase a rebuild kit for the transfer pump, they are cheap and it is good insurance to do with something that has been sitting for a long time.

Don't feel bad. It is extremely easy to casually overlook something like a battery cable connection as there are so damn many of them in a series/parallel setup. Sometimes it takes me longer to finish a job because I have to recheck myself a couple of times before I'm done and sign off on a repair.

Rob

[theakerstwo]

If you have cracked a fuel injector line then you will not be able to pump fuel from it with the primer pump because unlike cat engine there is a delivery check valve in the bunnet. So when the injection pump is returning fuel to the tank like rob said you can crack some lines at the injectors and help some but in most cases that is not need if the injection pump is returning fuel to the tank. Also if those primers act tired thru it away and get a new one. The new one will be smaller and cheaper but will work. glenn

[Delaneyland]

Well guys, I got her primed and it fired today, of course, the magnetic switch is chattering again so I need to take care of that problem. Next problem is coolant dripping out of the left (drivers side) head. I'm still devoted to get this thing running, just to make sure it does, but it will be for sale if anyone is interested.