The "correct" way to start a diesel engine. (1 Viewer)

jollyrodger

LIFE MEMBER
Oct 1, 2012
6,264
26,386
Devon/Cornwall
Funster No
23,107
MH
'Obby
Exp
Since 1968'ish
The old Marathon I used to drive ,fruit mkts on way up and roof tiles back from Sandtoft Yorks
Use to start up early morning and cover the airfield in white smoke in the colder winters till things got warmed up :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: f6c
May 3, 2016
2,154
20,254
Ayrshire, UK
Funster No
42,868
MH
Swift Kon-Tiki
Had one car which needed the clutch pedal depressing to start.

But in a manual I always start the car with clutch pedal down, having driven a lot of multi user cars where last person has left it in gear...certainly wakes you up as you lurch forward :eek:

Any car Should be parked in gear or Park if an auto. Some handbrakes are notoriously poor & unreliable. Advanced driving page 1.
 
Last edited:

jonandshell

Free Member
Dec 12, 2010
5,476
8,299
Norfolk
Funster No
14,648
MH
Not got one!
Exp
Since 2006
Any car Should be parked in gear. Some handbrakes are notoriously poor & unreliable. Advanced driving page 1.

Not doubting what is written, but that advice sounds like it is from the 50s!
A non-functioning handbrake is illegal under Road Vehicle Construction and Use Regs, is it not?

You wouldn't pass an MOT with an inefficient handbrake after all.
 
May 3, 2016
2,154
20,254
Ayrshire, UK
Funster No
42,868
MH
Swift Kon-Tiki
The older tractors that I knew required about 5 mins worth of heater plugs followed by 5 mins of cranking. One cylinder would fire up, them a few more got lonely & joined in, then all four would finally sing. The clutch pedal required to be pressed all the way home to the slip clutch before they'd engage the starter.
Our TDI Discovery's didn't required heater plugs to start (user manual instructions) unless temp was about -20c but always started instantly. Today's heater plugs hit their start temp in one or two seconds & are barely noticeable, we had a brand new diesel Ford Galaxy powershift in 2011 & that had a starter button & wouldn't crank over til it was happy that the heater plugs had done they're work. You just hit the button & let go, the car's computer did the rest.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
May 3, 2016
2,154
20,254
Ayrshire, UK
Funster No
42,868
MH
Swift Kon-Tiki
Not doubting what is written, but that advice sounds like it is from the 50s!
A non-functioning handbrake is illegal under Road Vehicle Construction and Use Regs, is it not?

You wouldn't pass an MOT with an inefficient handbrake after all.
Couldn't disagree more, even some very recent vehicles had appalling handbrakes, try Mercedes Sprinters 2001 til 2006 & VWs Transporters of the same era simply could not be trusted on a hill & the manufacturer's advice was that it was a "Characteristic" NOT A FAULT??? Plenty on here will have ran or are still running these vehicles as moho's. However, if you like to trust a handbrakes mechanism, carry on as you are! Today's news has an example of serious injury or death (can't remember which) of a runaway vehicle.
 

TheBig1

LIFE MEMBER
Nov 27, 2011
17,509
42,755
Dorset
Funster No
19,048
MH
A class
Exp
many many years! since I was a kid
Any car Should be parked in gear or Park if an auto. Some handbrakes are notoriously poor & unreliable. Advanced driving page 1.
I learnt that and to turn the steering to the curb when I was first taught to drive. we lived on a very steep hill and saw several vehicles pop their handbrake and roll away at speed. had a couple of our vehicles hit by such runaways and next door had the wall demolished a few times. such things stick in your memory
 

Techno

LIFE MEMBER
Deceased RIP
Jul 28, 2010
15,475
20,752
Leeds the one up North
Funster No
12,905
MH
Rapido 7090F 3 litre 160
Exp
May 2010
I don't have a clutch pedal and I can start it in gear or in neutral
Obviously the computer must disconnect the gearbox for me as gears are not engaged until accelerator is depressed

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
GeriatricWanderer

GeriatricWanderer

Free Member
Feb 1, 2015
1,194
4,199
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, just cos I can!
Funster No
34,964
MH
Pop-Top Campervan
Exp
45years
I learnt that and to turn the steering to the curb when I was first taught to drive. we lived on a very steep hill and saw several vehicles pop their handbrake and roll away at speed. had a couple of our vehicles hit by such runaways and next door had the wall demolished a few times. such things stick in your memory

Interesting - on some streets in San Francisco you will get a ticket if you don't leave your wheels turned into the kerb.
 
Apr 13, 2012
5,504
18,591
Funster No
20,541
MH
Mobilvetta Euroyacht
Exp
1996, then break 'til 2011
In France if parked in a street full of cars you are expected to leave your handbrake OFF and out of gear...... so that you could 'push' your way in, or 'push' your way out...................:whistle:
 
May 16, 2014
816
1,056
Ammanford
Funster No
31,503
MH
Dethleffs Trend
Exp
since May 2014
Off thread a little but I remember an old Daf 55 automatic that had to be started in gear (otherwise you could not engage drive or reverse). The thing you had to remember though was to keep your foot HARD on the footbrake, especially if the choke (some may be too young to remember those) was out otherwise it would leap forward (or back). Fabulous little car I remember and it would beat any 1275 mini away from the lights!

Also had several Hyundais that needed clutch down to start.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
May 8, 2016
1,685
78,516
silver coast, portugal
Funster No
42,972
MH
C Class: Low profile
Exp
Boatie for 20 years
I agree with the comments regarding handbrake efficiencies (or lack of)

MOT requirements appear to demand 25% efficiency on handbrake, which is pretty inadequate IMO Link Removed

I always park in gear, and generally leave wheels turned into the curb on hills
 

Enword

Free Member
May 20, 2014
1,900
7,999
Devon
Funster No
31,568
MH
Coach Built
Exp
Race van conversion for years
Friends had Electronic Handbrake fail, car ran away & hit a wall,think Vauxhall had probs with E Handbrake as well once, leave it in gear
 

roamingman

Banned
Mar 14, 2014
204
220
Angus
Funster No
30,525
MH
Coach build
Exp
2012, tents, caravan. 1990
there was me thinking to start a real diesel engine, you switch on the ignition and crank the handle

After leaving school got a job as a coalman, the motor we had was a Thames Trader, it got worse and worse got to the state of me in drivers seat pulling up the starter handle in the cab with left hand and leaning out of the door going underneath the wing and pushing in the solniod button with right hand and boss cranked the handle at the front.
 
May 3, 2016
2,154
20,254
Ayrshire, UK
Funster No
42,868
MH
Swift Kon-Tiki
Off thread a little but I remember an old Daf 55 automatic that had to be started in gear (otherwise you could not engage drive or reverse). The thing you had to remember though was to keep your foot HARD on the footbrake, especially if the choke (some may be too young to remember those) was out otherwise it would leap forward (or back). Fabulous little car I remember and it would beat any 1275 mini away from the lights!

Also had several Hyundais that needed clutch down to start.

Ah that was the vehicle that eventually became a Volvo of all things. A good idea but with very poor actuation. The belts actually pushed the car, not pulling as many people thought.
 
May 3, 2016
2,154
20,254
Ayrshire, UK
Funster No
42,868
MH
Swift Kon-Tiki
Ok, so we carry on driving a dangerously defective vehicle, but mitigate our negligence by leaving it in gear.
Explain that to the courts......

Without being rude about it, what else could you do? The vehicles that I've mentioned had that had this "characteristic" & you were stuck with it. You can get the handbrake to scrape through the MOT but within a few weeks of driving the handbrake was a no no.
Lets try putting it another way, what does it cost to park a car in gear? Nothing, so you've got belt & braces free of charge. Not much is free in this day & age.
Try reading this, then try convincing me of your point of view, oh & just to focus your point of view, imagine that this child was your son!!! Nasty, I should say so, but the kid was someones son.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-37431503
Oh one other problem might have been that the Sprinter ambulance has this type of crap handbrake, so you wonder why the paramedics turn the vehicle off instead of running safe mode & as luck would have it, the Police might arrive in the same type of vehicle!

BTW safe mode means, engine running, no keys in ignition & unable to drive off without the keys, this was supposed to allow the crew to have full vehicle generating power to charge the three 130 amp gel batteries. Some hope, the batteries last about 6 months tops!

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Last edited:
Feb 22, 2008
12,258
44,933
Norfolk
Funster No
1,575
MH
Nearly Tugging
Exp
Since 2004
The disadvantage of the tiptronic gearbox unlike a real automatic is it has no park position so the handbrake must be totally relied on.

My Hymer / Fiat was supplied with park chocks which must be used in some European countries when parking on a slope according to the handbook.
The square wheel next ? :rolleyes:
 

The Dotties

Free Member
Jan 31, 2015
1,872
4,022
Gloucester
Funster No
34,955
MH
In between
Exp
Ex Newbie
The handbook for my 2011 Ducato advises depressing the clutch pedal on cold starting.
 

Jaws

LIFE MEMBER
Sep 26, 2008
23,821
71,977
Thetford Norfolk
Funster No
4,189
MH
C class, Chieftain
Exp
since 2006 ( I think ! )
When I worked on fork trucks I was given the firms diesel transit pickup.
Official clock on time was 8am.
I was allowed to arrive 40 minutes later as I had to wait for the milkman to turn up so I could jump from his big ol' batteries.
Thing had a york engine and even after a rebuild it was still a bitch to start on a cold morning.. And that soon degenerated to a will not start situation within a couple of thousand miles.
In the end the guv'nor allowed me to use easy start which SOMETIMES got the bloody thing fired up..
Ended up fitting an easy start remote can so I could give it a squirt from inside the cab !

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

vwalan

Funster
Sep 23, 2008
8,835
5,798
roche cornwall
Funster No
4,148
MH
lynton5th wheel
Exp
since a child
The disadvantage of the tiptronic gearbox unlike a real automatic is it has no park position so the handbrake must be totally relied on.

My Hymer / Fiat was supplied with park chocks which must be used in some European countries when parking on a slope according to the handbook.
The square wheel next ? :rolleyes:
in many eu countries its law that you use wheel chocks if on a marked slope if your vehicle is over 3,500kg .
its another spanish police money maker.
 

maxi77

Free Member
Mar 20, 2013
892
560
Kingdom of Fife
Funster No
25,172
MH
coacbuilt
Exp
newbie
I believe the reason for depressing the clutch was to loose the drag of the gearbox when the oil was cold. Certainly you could tell the difference on the1928 Austin 12/4 I used to own. With modern lubricants it is probably a close thing between the drag of the gearbox and the drag of the clutch. I had an old BMC B series diesel in a boat and they suggested 1/3 throttle after 30 seconds preheat. All I do on the car or the van these days is wait for the preheat light to go out and start, works a treat every time.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Feb 9, 2008
4,086
5,902
SW Scotland
Funster No
1,453
MH
LP Coachbuilt
Exp
Since 2008 after caravanning for 20 years
I remember one diesel generator we would start with a roll of 35mm film and a bengal match, worked every time!
 

maxi77

Free Member
Mar 20, 2013
892
560
Kingdom of Fife
Funster No
25,172
MH
coacbuilt
Exp
newbie
We used to start Napier Deltic engines with a blank 12 bore cartridge, 0 to 1800 rpm in the flash of an eye

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Funsters who are viewing this thread

Back
Top