2B just blew up. Why??

[roscoFJ73]

The only thing I could think of would be a hydrolock type of situation - where a cylinder was full of fuel with no where to go - now could that of happened - i doubt it.

x2 water can blow holes in engine

My nose says that if all the facts were laid on the table you will come off bad in a legal claim.
Ok the gas station did put the gas in a diesel but I know what the gas station manager will say.

"if they had of told me when they found out ,I would gladly have drained the fuel correctly or paid someone to do it,but they persisted in trying to run the engine with some gas still in the pump and this is what caused the engine to explode. Im sorry but that was not my fault"

Lots of people put gas in their diesel engine and try and start it without doing harm. I think this had something to do with the age of the engine

 

[crushers]

No, it also had a dead battery. We tried to bump start it and it wouldn't go. The mechanic put in new batteries, and a new alternator, and a new starter before he figured out it had gas in the tank. Then it blew when trying to start it.

okay, this is what i see in my minds eye...
the rod is gone and filling it with gas was the just coincidence. i am wondering if the battery wa really dead or if the rod had already jambed hence the need for the starter as well...
why do i say this, because yo can compress the gasoline so it should have cranked over...

this is what i "think" happened...

 

[cruiser_guy]

I have had a diesel Toyota HiAce that was filled with gasoline instead of diesel. It ran for at least 1/2 hour BEFORE they noticed the lousy power. We dragged it to the school I work at and drained the tank completely. We refilled it with about 10 gallons of diesel and started it. We allowed it to idle for 10-15 minutes so all the gas/diesel mix could be flushed out of the system. After that it ran just fine!
I doubt that the gasoline itself caused the problem.
I have also had a pre-cup fail on a 3B. I'd bet it's a combination of excess heat from the gasoline, a weak pre-cup, a weak rod and a little hard driving on the part of the mechanic.
I'd like to know if the engine was powering the truck at the time. The inertia of the truck could easily drive a rod through the block if the pre-cup drops. When my pre-cup failed the engine was idling and it simply stopped. There was no damage other than the head/cylinder liner and piston. I replaced those and that engine gave me another year and a half of service before I sold it.

 

[jcolvin]

I have also had a pre-cup fail on a 3B. I'd bet it's a combination of excess heat from the gasoline, a weak pre-cup, a weak rod and a little hard driving on the part of the mechanic.
I'd like to know if the engine was powering the truck at the time. The inertia of the truck could easily drive a rod through the block if the pre-cup drops.

It was idling when it blew up.

 

[jcolvin]

okay, this is what i see in my minds eye...
the rod is gone and filling it with gas was the just coincidence. i am wondering if the battery wa really dead or if the rod had already jambed hence the need for the starter as well...
why do i say this, because yo can compress the gasoline so it should have cranked over...

this is what i "think" happened...

It cranked over fine with a new battery, no strange noises. Just wouldn't run.

 

[UpsideDown]

No, it also had a dead battery. We tried to bump start it and it wouldn't go. The mechanic put in new batteries, and a new alternator, and a new starter before he figured out it had gas in the tank. Then it blew when trying to start it.

You need battery power to bump start an EDIC controlled diesel. The EDIC motor must go into the "on" position to as you're trying to get it to go... Alternatively, you can remove the control rod and then try.

Why the alternator and starter... doesn't make sense in this story.

I think something else is amiss... like hot glow plugs igniting ether or gas.

If you want a great little 3B I have one here. Message me for details (I'm on Vancouver Island).

 

[mac]

How many K on this engine? Any idea on the compression #'s? Well maintained previously or beat to hell?

 

[redandtootall]

My heart goes out to you and your truck. The gas was completly and totally to blame. Diesel fuel has a much slower burn rate that gasoline. In fact try this out sometime. put a match to a tablespoon of diesel and you will see it evaporate and never ignite. The slow burn rate is essential in a Diesel. Remember that gasoline is designed to work in 10:1 or lower engines without preigniting. The diesel engine was at least 18:1. therefor you had massive precumbustion on every cyclinder while you were running it. I got a hunch when you open the motor you'll see the crankshaft is broken in two. i drive a 73 diesel Benz and I know a Benz owner who had this exact thing happen to him when a dummy in Oregon filled his tank with unleaded instead of diesel. He didn't even make it out to the steet before the engine blew.

 

[jcolvin]

How many K on this engine? Any idea on the compression #'s? Well maintained previously or beat to hell?

130,000 km. Looked very well maintained; not that looks tell the whole story, but it was shiny. No data on the compression.

 

[crushers]

Ok, the 2B in my BJ41 just blew up . Hole in the crank-case with a rod sticking out, the whole sheBANG.

The tank had been filled with gas by persons unknown, which explains why it wouldn't start.

Drained the tank and lines as best we could (but not the fuel pump). Primed it, pulled off the injector lines (but not the injectors), cranked it a little till the lines were spurting, reconnected the injector lines, and she fired up a but but running very rough for only seconds at a time. Kept cranking her expecting it would run better once the fuel cleaned up, there was a large bang and there's a rod sticking out of the side of the crankcase .

I didn't know you could blow up an engine this way. Is it the gas that caused it? Should we have removed the injectors so there is no compression and cranked it a lot longer to get every bit of gas out of the system? What happened?? Has this ever happened before?

okay, here it is sounding like a typical "dummy filled the tank with gas" senerio.
no where do you way you needed to replace the battery, starter, alternator.

now i need to ask, the truck did drive to the fuel station right? so why did you have to change all this stuff after the fuel mix up...

the idea that gas is your problem doesn't hold water. i think you have 2 issues running at the same time.

how about posting the whole story starting with the morning of the fuel mixup. how the truck started that morning, drove during the day, fuel mixup what happened right after.

 

[crushers]

side question,
did you or your mech try and use the ether bunny at any time to get the engine to start?

 

[jcolvin]

okay, here it is sounding like a typical "dummy filled the tank with gas" senerio.
no where do you way you needed to replace the battery, starter, alternator.

now i need to ask, the truck did drive to the fuel station right? so why did you have to change all this stuff after the fuel mix up...

the idea that gas is your problem doesn't hold water. i think you have 2 issues running at the same time.

how about posting the whole story starting with the morning of the fuel mixup. how the truck started that morning, drove during the day, fuel mixup what happened right after.

The BJ41 was FOB (fresh off the boat). 130,000 km.

Out of the container it had dead batteries (usual), and wouldn't crank. Jumping it didn't help. Bump starting the engine turned over fine but wouldn't fire, although I forgot to check the EDIC (doh!) so perhaps it was in the off position. Couldn't prime the pump cause the primer was frozen and i'd forgot to bring my vice grips to loosen it.

In the shop the batteries wouldnt hold charge so new batteries. It would crank over but not well (crank at full speed for a few seconds then slow down). Mech thought the starter was bad to he sent that off, also sent off the alt to get tested while we wait a couple days for the starter.

Apparently the alt guy said the alt needed rebuilding (hope that was the case and it wasn't just a makework project), so in went a new starter and alt.

Now it cranks fine (no strange sounds) and fires a couple times like it's trying to start but wont run. Loosen off the primer cap, give it a few pumps and fuel is gushing out of the primer...bad primer. Smelt the fuel; dang! That aint diesel!

New primer, mech drained the tank and lines and etc and refilled with diesel. He says he drained the fuel pump but I'm not sure about that, since i wasn't there. I was talking to him on the phone and as we talked he said it was running very rough and sounded like crap. I said this might be expected if there is still some gas in the lines etc. Then he said ."Woh...I just heard a big bang". I said "there's probably still fuel in the lines and you'r getting pre-ignition; hopefully the bang was just some gas fumes in the tailpipe". Maybe that's when the first damage was done. Maybe it wasn't fumes in the tailpipe.


Not sure what they did after that, anyway later on I get a call saying the engine has blown up. They weren't using ether on it.

 

[crushers]

now this is making much more sense...
filled it with gas by accident.
dead batteries off the boat... typical.
alternator needing rebuilding ... possible but not likely
starter needing rebuilding? ...something is sounding fishy.

bang, humm... i have had customers that filled their tanks with gas and drove for quite a while... wouldn't start etc. never had one blow a connecting rod out the side of the block... could it happen? possible but unlikely...but it sounds like luck isn't looking favorably on you right now...

DAMN it boy, you are having real bad luck...

sorry to hear,

i guess it is time for a 13BT..
;^)
some good might come out of this yet...

 

[crushers]

humm... further thinking...
you never heard this truck run properly so...
it could have had a bad rod to begin with right from Japan. running rough but idling is possible since it has no load on the rod (to speak of) at idle. the mech gives it a bit of fuel and suddenly the rod gives way...

possible i think...

who did you buy the truck from in Japan? did you buy it directly from auction yourself or through a contact?

 

[lshobie]

So you never heard it run? If not then chalk that one up to experience and suck up the cost - that is no ones fault - atleast it can't be proven that it is someones fault. Hard to prove that someone blew your engine when you didn't actually see it run yourself - it could have been bagged long before it got to canada.

 

[crushers]

that is the conclusion i am coming to as well...

 

[cody c]

sad story forshizzle!!
i hope you can find the funds for a better motor. paid $1500 for a low km (so i'm told) 3B from cranbrook. probally find a better deal in the lower mainland.

 

[jcolvin]

humm... further thinking...
you never heard this truck run properly so...
it could have had a bad rod to begin with right from Japan. running rough but idling is possible since it has no load on the rod (to speak of) at idle. the mech gives it a bit of fuel and suddenly the rod gives way...

possible i think...

who did you buy the truck from in Japan? did you buy it directly from auction yourself or through a contact?

My agent over there (who has been very reliable so far) checked it out at the auction and said it was running and driving fine but needed a new edic. Once he received it but before he put it in the container he emailed me and said now it wouldn't start. My thinking is the auction house put gas in it by mistake after the auction when it was time to move it, and that's the reason it wouldn't start when my agent received it.

Well, mixed opinion on whether gas can blow up a motor. Some say yes for sure, some seem more dubious. I've certainly heard of it happening before, so I'm not ruling out gas as the culprit. I've never heard of engines blowing up at idle. It shouldn't happen. Gas seems the only explanation.

As for whether the mech blew it up; all I can say is that it was turning over fine with no strange noises beforehand. Afterwards it had a hole in the side with a rod sticking out.

 

[cody c]

sucks, what motor are you looking at dropping in? just got the alt and starter rebuilt too,crap eh! or are thinking of a rebuild. doesnt sound like you'll get the dealer or auctioneer to cover the costs of replacement.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I think that 2B needs stripping down.
Its possible it had a bad head gasket and had water in a cyl.
If so the bore will probably have a thin rust coating on it