Is it OK to use starter fluid on a diesel truck engine?

You just gotta make sure you use enough to get it to seat, or else you might think the tire is going to go up in smoke.

 

Volvo's have intake grid heater as well. But you have to initiate it by putting key in on position and pushing in on the key. Grid heater icon comes on in instrument panel hold for up to 20 sec then crank. Amazed me the other day in north dakota some o/o had a volvo and ran batteries dead. He owned the trk since new and never read the owners manual. And i knew about it. Why do they even put manuals in trk's no one reading them?.

 

I had to use a little ether last month to get the truck started after I changed the secondary fuel filter on my Detroit. I waited to long to start the truck after breaking the seal on the filter gasket, and it was just like running it out of fuel. So, I spray just a little on the outside of one air cleaner, and I mean just a small amount....you only want the fumes going in the intake, a little is all it takes. She started, coughed and ran rough at first until the air cleared out of the lines.

I watched a guy one time saturate both air filters with ether.....A really bad idea, but we all get to run our operations any way we see fit...lol...

 

I have a hard time using "genius" and "engineer" in the same sentence.

 

I was assigned a new Volvo day cab with a pre-heat device in 1985. It had other unusual features such as an air assisted clutch and full syncromesh. Driver could put it in any gear at any speed. It better be the correct gear before engaging the clutch.

 

Most of my trucks from the 80's and 90's had an ether bottle attached to the top of the engine, press a button on the dash and it shoots starter fluid directly into the intake.. Why would peterbilt install that if it didn't work on diesel engines?

 

Yup, that's old school, a coworker back in '78 parked his tractor at home when it was like minus 5-10 and did not plug it in, owner got unglued as he just built a new garage to park 8 tractors, put the tarp around the cab, built a fire under the oil pan and put a torpedo heater under the tarp, after freezing our butts off all afternoon the truck started, the owner stated I hope all of you learned a lesson, I didn't spend thousands on a new garage just so you can act stupid like this.......

 

I heard of mechanics back in the day at the old 76 Truck Stops would have contests to see how high they could get a truck tire to jump off the ground doing that......

 

Funny, I learned how to do it while working at a 76.

 

Yup, my DAD, a former 76 mechanic, taught me to do it this way too.
But he also told me to be VERY VERY careful when doing this, tires can explode too.