Good Evening Campers...... l've a start up & pulling away noise (s) conundrum...and excess fuel on my HJ47 4.0 Diesel.

[kenjera]

l laid my ute up for a week, l went out today and after starting it & driving way.. its making a 'dry bearing' noise which stops after 100yds or so. My initial thought was previously & still is, as l depress the clutch the noise stops, so l'm thinking 1 of the 2 clutch bearings are on the way out...l want to change the entire clutch, l just haven't had the time.. To throw another spanner into this query, when l went up the valley and stuck my head out of the door l could hear a noise traverse the entire length of the underside of the truck as l slowly drove along ?. (which is a 1st)..The clutch noise wasn't there...Now l'm thinking that this noise might be the alternator as l've short somewhere which drains the battery..(l'll have to check the amp's on it just in case it needs renewed)..l'm going to fit an isolator switch to get around the shorting issue for now as l'm still waiting on my wiring loom quote...

Lastly, l recently fitted a new diesel pump diaphram and my fuel consumption has gone up...l've since adjusted the revs but nothing else would l be right in thinking l might have to also adjust the mixture screw as there's a distinct smell of diesel coming out the rear pipe even when its warmed up after a few miles..?

 

[charliemeyer007]

Well leave it in neutral, wheels choked, set the parking brake and the hood open. Reach in and start it up - go put your hand on the alternator - you should be able to feel/hear the bad bearing. As it warms up the grease might melt some and the noise goes away until next time. Or you could take off the belt and spin it by hand and see how it feels/sounds gritty is bad.

Put transfer case in neutral. Shift threw the 4 speed gears look and listen for noise.

Got any local car people friends to listen to the issue?

 

[kenjera]

Well leave it in neutral, wheels choked, set the parking brake and the hood open. Reach in and start it up - go put your hand on the alternator - you should be able to feel/hear the bad bearing. As it warms up the grease might melt some and the noise goes away until next time. Or you could take off the belt and spin it by hand and see how it feels/sounds gritty is bad.

Put transfer case in neutral. Shift threw the 4 speed gears look and listen for noise.

Got any local car people friends to listen to the issue?

l can pop into the garage tomorrow and get their verdict. Whats your thoughts on AGM batteries ?

 

[charliemeyer007]

Batteries these days aren't really good anymore IMHO. I used to easily get 10 years out of the DieHard Golds. I buy the biggest battery I can get. My last one several years ago came from O'Reilly's. ($200) It is on a board in the battery tray because it hangs over the lips. A few months ago I bought new 2/0 cables way thicker than the 2 that were on there. Plus I like cast on terminals much better than the clamp on replacement/temporarily fix ones. I did recycle a 2 size to be a ground down to frame mounting bolt from the 2/0 ground on the engine

I run a battery maintainer on it overnight once a week or so. I don't trust any of them to be plugged in all the time, they fry stuff over time. I have been known to pry off the plate on the maintenance free ones so I can look into the cells and maybe add some distilled water.

Letting a lead acid battery go dead several times will kill them.

 

[kenjera]

Batteries these days aren't really good anymore IMHO. I used to easily get 10 years out of the DieHard Golds. I buy the biggest battery I can get. My last one several years ago came from O'Reilly's. ($200) It is on a board in the battery tray because it hangs over the lips. A few months ago I bought new 2/0 cables way thicker than the 2 that were on there. Plus I like cast on terminals much better than the clamp on replacement/temporarily fix ones. I did recycle a 2 size to be a ground down to frame mounting bolt from the 2/0 ground on the engine

I run a battery maintainer on it overnight once a week or so. I don't trust any of them to be plugged in all the time, they fry stuff over time. I have been known to pry off the plate on the maintenance free ones so I can look into the cells and maybe add some distilled water.

Letting a lead acid battery go dead several times will kill them.

l've just taken delivery of 10... 110amp AGM 12V batteries from the solar array which are holding their charge okay, l was going to try one of them in the ute..as the 1yro lead based keeps dying on me...probably alternator/short related thats under warranty. l have cast terminals albeit they're getting on in age, so maybe new cables might help too. Would you have any idea what the voltage of the live cable to the alt maybe..?...l'm thinking about replacing that too as l know its had 4 soldered splices along the existing cable (White/Blue)...l discovered this when l repaired the passenger wiring earlier this year..

 

[charliemeyer007]

I think my 30 A oem alternator puts out 13.8 V when charging measuring at the battery. Measuring voltage is subject to the meter, hardly any two agree 100%. When my alternator goes I'll be putting a GM 1 wire 105 A unit and will by pass the ammeter and just monitor the voltage. It will be connected with a nice fat wire.

Starters pull 100's of amps at least 300 or 400 to spin over a 6 cylinder especially when cold. I'd look and see if your solar array batteries are up for the big draw. Block heaters help even on gas engines, diesels they are a must. Battery heaters could be a good option as well as stick on oil pan heaters.

Good soldered joints are fine with proper insulation. The issue is when folks used acid core solder (it will corrode over time) instead of rosin core.