B engine compression & leakage testing along with glowplug & injector replacement

[lostmarbles]

And here are my new/reconditioned injectors (supplied by Engine Australia):



I was interested in identifying the new nozzles. But unfortunately I would have had to have taken a "body" apart to get at the nozzle identification stamping/marking.

But I suspect they are Bosch DN4 SD-24 nozzles based on this information hidden in my FSM:



And there was no way I was going to fit these reconditioned injectors without applying antiseize to the threads first:



I don't want to have to apply that much torque to remove them ever again! (Lucky the engine was in the vehicle - otherwise I would have had BIG trouble holding it still!)

(I now regret being intimidated by the FSM into not using antiseize on my new glow plugs. )

 

[lostmarbles]

Anyway, I torqued the reconditioned injectors to 80 N-m (which was way-less than half the torque that I needed to undo the old ones).

(FSM torque spec = 60 - 80 Nm or 44 to 57 ft-lb)

And I kept the red plastic caps in place on the injectors for as long as possible to try and stop any dirt from entering (which would have been disasterous).

I also tried to avoid dirt entering the fuel circuit through other openings!

I then tightened everything except the "leakage manifold nuts" and the "high-pressure-line nuts" on top of the injectors.

Then I got my son to apply air pressure to my fuel tank before tightening each of the four "leakage manifold nuts" (covering my engine in diesel fuel in the process). This was to ensure that this "high section" of my bleed/leakage circuit became "free of air" (probably for the first time in its life).

I then operated the primer pump and checked for air at the top of my fuel filter and in the injector pump (but found none).

Next I got my son to crank the engine over while I tightened the "high pressure fuel line nuts" on the top of each injector (again covering my engine in diesel fuel ).

Well..... The engine was stone cold so I never expected it to actually start. And I had the hand-throttle pulled out fully to aid "venting the unburnt diesel from the cylinders". So you can imagine what happened next ..............


Yep. She fired up and "screamed her ring out" (vehicle, ships, motorbikes or whatever are ALWAYS of the female gender) while my son just sat there in the driver's seat looking worried!!!!

So anyway I've confirmed she still runs!


And I think it could even be smoother/quieter too.

But I've "called it a day" and won't be doing anymore work on "the old girl" for a while.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is "strong winds" so I don't fancy working on her tomorrow (but we'll see).

PS. - Here in Wellington NZ you don't need to be travelling down the motorway to have your bonnet fly up and smash into your roof. Here the air does the travelling for you while your vehicle is parked in your driveway. (Yes - I have the bonnet dents to show for this!!!)

So checking hot/cold idling rpms, doing another video, and trying to compare power output (with what I had before) are all things I've still yet to do!

 

[crushers]

a small vacumm works well to keep the debrise out of the chamber but i love your broom sitck idea...

your attention to keeping dirt out of the injection system is impressive

nice write up.

 

[lostmarbles]

OK. The wind is picking up here now but I actually got to do a few things this morning before the wind got too annoying.

I did the "idling and performance" testing and hopefully took enough video to put together another "clip" for U-tube.

Instead of waffling as I usually do - Let's just go straight into a comparison of all the idling rpm data:

Prior to tappet adjustment: 792rpm (cold) - 854rpm (hot)
After tappet adjustment: 803rpm (cold) - 865rpm (hot)
After injector change: 735rpm (cold) - 865rpm (hot)

Edit 8 Nov - But I now think this last "cold-idle" figure was merely due to my engine being colder. So I don't think my reconditioned injectors have affected my cold and hot idling rpms at all.

Anyway - I'll adjust the hot idle to within spec (625 to 675 rpm) shortly (tomorrow or whatever).

I also tested the cruiser on those two hills this morning and found it couldn't really climb beyond 65kph (3rd gear) on the main highway hill, but performed "same as usual" (2nd gear) on that other steeper hill. -- But I believe the drop in speed on the main highway was simply due to battling into "quite a severe headwind". In other words - I've observed NO INCREASE IN OVERALL POWER (yet the cruiser still seem quieter, smoother, and more responsive).

Edit 8 Nov - After considerable driving - I still consider there to be "no-change" in my power output. I even managed to repeat the "80kph-by-the-top-of-the-main-highway-hill-achievement" again with the recon injectors - in the absence of a headwind - so that confirms my power output hasn't gone the other way and fallen.

My guess is that my "exhaust emissions" will be cleaner now (- But I'm not going to test to confirm whether this REALLY is the case or not.)

And it does now tend to start more readily (need less glow time) - perhaps as a result of BOTH the new glowplugs and recon injectors. And I think the tappet adjustments has made it idle ever-so-slightly quieter/smoother.

Now I'll see if I can put together that video and add the link here........................................

Right - Here it is - All of it shot this morning - And that means "shot tomorrow" for lots of you guys because in
New Zealand we're already well into "Tuesday 28th October"!

YouTube - 1979 BJ40 cruiser with reconditioned injectors

What do you reckon? Does she sound quieter? Or is she still the same rattly/smokey old girl?

Oh - and to make it easier - Here's a repeat of the link to show how it behaved/started with the old injectors:

YouTube - Starting a 1979 BJ40 diesel cruiser

 

[lostmarbles]

What? No-one has anything to say about the before/after comparison? (Even slinging sh#t is better than silence!)

Surely those peeps (BTW - thanks for that new word Wayne) that reckon they've got "piston slap" must be able to hear the same noises from my old girl? I just prefer to think of that noise as "harmless diesel knock". -- You know - the little man (with poor aim) inside the engine banging the pipe with a hammer?

This morning I've been closely comparing my video footage of "before injector replacement" and "after injector replacement" to try to determine any REAL (as opposed to imaginary) difference in "sound".

I reckon it's hard to tell really!

I tend to think "the little man may have chosen a smaller hammer and smaller pipe" giving rise to a more "tinkley sound" (almost bell-like) at idle.

Anyway - I compiled another video for myself where I put "before" and "after" clips side-by-side of

• firing her up
• giving the accelerator a jab
• operating the hand throttle
• walking aound the engine bay, and
• exhaust noise

And ya know what - If I'm honest I still would have to say that the old girl's sounds haven't changed to any significant degree.

I guess the main thing I've gained is "peace of mind". (And God knows - I n-e-e-d that )

 

[crushers]

peace of mind = damn, i wasted a bunch of money and time...

if it makes you feel better then it is worth the expense.

i just wish there were more "just drive the darn thing" vs "what is that noise? OMG, i hope the poor thing doesn't die"

you know, there are times when i am glad i am hard of hearing... if i can't hear it, if i can't smelll it, if i can't feel it then there is nothing to worry about...

seriously, nice write up and thanks for posting it up M8

 

[lostmarbles]

peace of mind = damn, i wasted a bunch of money and time...nks for posting it up M8

Cheers
Thanks Wayne.

Got another pix to post here........................... Right now I've just lowered my idling RPM to the lowest I've EVER had it.

Lowering the idling RPM:




Now I have a "hot idling speed" of "1200rpm" at the alternator which equates to "680rpm" at the crank.

I've still got good oil pressure showing on my "unreliable factory gauge" too - even after having dropped the revs by almost 200.

I guess I always had the revvs high cos I felt it provided better oil circulation - but I never actually measured them (to compare them with the FSM spec) until doing this thread.

 

[amaurer]

Great job Tom. Maybe yours sounds just like mine, maybe it doesn't, frankly I don't know anymore. This is somewhat like reading tea leaves, however as you know I'm a big fan of the "peace of mind" excuse too.

I'm a little surprised new injectors didn't aid you with starting; I guess the old ones weren't in bad shape. Impressive bout of smoke, however, I kinda wish mine would do that so I could scare children and annoy hippies (but then, inevitably, you all would have to sit through a thread of mine on the proper color and character of smoke, yadda yadda...)

 

[lostmarbles]

Great .....................aracter of smoke, yadda yadda...)

Ha ha.

Even the start-up smoke situation isn't simple when you think about it Drew. Because I am sure a lot of those "start-up particulates" are just what's been already sitting in the exhaust system. (I imagine that the big "puff" on start-up - from the injector pump being in "overinject mode" - then simply dislodges them.)

I'll never forget playing a prank on a workmate that "backfired" on me. _Excuse the pun.. (And I never even told the workmate about it afterwards because I felt so stupid and was too busy trying to clean myself up. )

Anyway, I crept up behind his bus and stuck the sole of my shoe against the bus's exhaust pipe outlet. (I think I was hoping his engine would cough and splutter - perhaps even "die".) But instead the pressure built up to the point where I could no longer keep my foot there. So upon removing it I got covered from head to foot in a THICK coating of black diesel soot - I have never before or after seen such a HUMONGOUS cloud of soot!

 

[lostmarbles]

About time I finished off this thread.

I guess a lot of people would think it was already finsished - but not for me. Ideally it's gotta work OK AND look nice too.

First I painted the busbar to make it look pretty - That's black POR15 primer followed by a few coats of gloss black from a rattle can:



Then I had to shorten my "insulating caps" to take into account the reduced length of thread protruding from the tops of my glowplugs (as a result of using double-nuts):



And here is how the glowplugs/busbar/caps look now:



I'm happy with that

 

[lostmarbles]

And I'd hate to work on other people's old vehicles for a living. Even when you do your best to do everything right, things still go wrong. (So if it was someone else's vehicle, they'd no doubt be accusing me of shoddy workmanship!)

Anyway - No. 3 injector kept weeping diesel from the nut at the top. And after going through multiple "tighten - then check", tighten - then check" episodes ....... it was STILL leaking and I had reached the max torque I was prepared to go to :




My solution was to undo the nut completely and put a dab of grease on the thread and just above the ferrule so that more of my spanner torque would end up pushing the ferrule into its seat (and less would be wasted in friction). - It worked a treat too!

I actually used a sophisticated moly grease that is meant for the "angleheads" in "brushcutters" (where the revs are in 5 digits).

Oh - And that braided hose that was leaking oil appears to be cured too. So I've now got no known leaks in the engine bay (or anywhere else for that matter).

 

[crushers]

buddy, you are meticulious...
there is NO WAY i can be that way on my own rigs, jump in and drive... change the oil once or twice a year...

amazing.

 

[Dougal]

Having seen this rig in the flesh, I can attest that yes, it is as clean and tidy as it looks in the photos.

 

[OinkOinker]

Oh - And that braided hose that was leaking oil appears to be cured too. So I've now got no known leaks in the engine bay (or anywhere else for that matter).

thats just not right, a leak free cruiser??

 

[crushers]

<not for long>

 

[peteinjp]

Tom,

Great info- I think you deserve your own website!

One thought- torque specs are generally for dry to lightly oiled threads. If any lubricant is applied you can throw them out the window. This may be why you had problems getting the injector to seat without leakage. This is why many consider angle torque specs as well as measured stretch to be more accurate for crucial settings such as rod and head bolts.

Awesome work and thanks for your detailed documentation!

pete

 

[leonard]

Tom just thought I'd post a quick reply to thank you for all your work on posting all that great info. I just spent 2 hours reading this thread as I am having big troubles with my own rig. After reading this it makes me see that slow methodical fault finding is the key and that I could do everything myself. I'm just afraid of hurting it and badly damaging the engine as its a low oil pressure problem and I only have it 4 months.
I have nearly the exact set up as you my cruiser is in the elements all year round and I can only work on it weather permitting and as you can imagine living in Ireland it gets frustrating.

Thanks again p.s love New Zealand might see the rig on the road when I'm over that side of the world again.



Lenny 1979 Bj41v (pretty nice original condition)

 

[lostmarbles]

Tom just thought I'd post a quick reply to thank you for all your work on posting all that great info. I just spent 2 hours reading this thread as I am having big troubles with my own rig. After reading this it makes me see that slow methodical fault finding is the key and that I could do everything myself. I'm just afraid of hurting it and badly damaging the engine as its a low oil pressure problem and I only have it 4 months.
I have nearly the exact set up as you my cruiser is in the elements all year round and I can only work on it weather permitting and as you can imagine living in Ireland it gets frustrating.
Thanks again p.s love New Zealand might see the rig on the road when I'm over that side of the world again.
Lenny 1979 Bj41v (pretty nice original condition)

Hi Lenny

Thanks

If you're ever coming over this way I'd love to see you and you can compare driving yours with driving mine. (I'm in the capital - Wellington.)

(I'd love to visit Ireland but I doubt I'll ever get the opportunity.)

As for low oil pressure, worn cam bearings seem to be the most common cause (based on threads here covering the same complaint on the more-common similarly-engineered 3B engine).

But first I think it would pay to confirm your problem with a "bourdon-tube type pressure gauge" because the "old electric combination meter gauge and sender" may have become out-of-calibration perhaps.

And if worn cam bearings are the culprit, replacing them isn't as difficult as you might imagine. I believe Amaurer has a thread where he replaced just the front one (which was the only one he found to be "missing chunks") with his engine "in situ".

 

[Trollhole]

Great thread and very a very timely bump as JP and I will be performing a compression test on this motor prior to rebuild. I'm hoping it turns out good and only the bearings need to be replaced.

 

[txnight]

Tom, this thread was a tremendous help!!

I went to remove an injector this morning from a 2b and I thought to myself, "There is no way it takes this much torque to remove this damn thing!"

Big relief (laugh) when I saw your picture of a high lift handle acting as a cheater bar. Can't wait to try it for myself!!

Have a good one and thanks again.

Bill D.