I bought a Volvo semi tractor cheap, and I kinda got what I paid for, it seems. It's okay, though. There's a lot of stuff that make it well worth it (I think!). BUT...

I'm pretty sure I've got hydrostatic lock after it sat for several months. It started up fine after an initial 4-6 weeks of sitting, but then I let it sit for 3 or 4 months. My question is:

The fittings connecting the injection lines to the cylinders are right on top and are easy to get at. If I just remove them and crank the engine (I hope the engine will then turn over...right now it turns just a fraction and halts), I would hope to see some coolant come out of one or more cylinders. I could then put a little vacuum tube in the problem cylinders and, I hope, suck out the remaining coolant, reattach the fittings, and get the engine running for now. Will this work? What are the gotchas?

Thanks.

 

What engine and what power rating, how many miles on it? Going through engine coolant? When you attempt to start it does it begin to spin over normally then stop violently or does it just seem to lumber over and stop?

 

I can find out these things, but I don't know them offhand. The truck is a '93, and I'm sure it has well over a million miles. I don't know the history of the engine.

I wouldn't describe the engine's stopping as "violent." I would guess the crankshaft turns about 90 degrees, more or less, and just won't go beyond. It is very consistent. The same sound each time. With the hood up, I watch the engine's counter-twisting motion, and it's the same every time. I wouldn't describe it as "turning over." It just doesn't turn that much. The batteries are charged.

I imagine one piston that's at the bottom of it's stroke before compression, and it's just moving part way up and getting stopped by incompressible coolant.

I don't think it's a common rail system, since I see individual tubes running to each cylinder.

I'm thinking my original question is screwed up, since there are injectors under the fittings I see going "into" the cylinders, right? Unscrewing the fitting won't open a hole to the cylinder because there's an injector underneath. Can the injector just be unscrewed? Will that open a hole to the cylinder and let the coolant be pushed out?

Thanks for your reply.

 

93 is a cross over year for all of the big engine makers. You could get a mechanical or electronic engine. It sounds like you have a mechanical Cat. Is the engine yellow?

 

No. It's definitely a Volvo engine. I took a few pics with my cellphone. I'll post them in a little bit. Thanks.

 

You can see the pics here. The first pic shows the two cylinders toward the rear of the truck. The first pic is the cylinder at the front of the truck. Thanks.

http://s819.photobucket.com/albums/z...grease_bucket/

 

CORRECTION: You can see the pics here. The first pic shows the two cylinders toward the rear of the truck. The SECOND pic is the cylinder at the front of the truck. Thanks.

http://s819.photobucket.com/albums/z...grease_bucket/

 

I have never worked on a Volvo engine. It does appear through your pictures that the injectors are external and can be removed easily. I see a injector feed line on top, a return line on the side and a hold down bolt and retainer.

 

So is removing the injectors and blowing out the coolant the way to temporarily "cure" the lock to get the motor running?

 

I would think that would be the first diagnostic step to take. After removing all injectors, you can have a helper crank the engine from inside the cab, while you can watch the engine from a safe distance to see what comes out of which hole. Be careful, it can shoot out with considerable force.

 

Thanks. I'll be by myself, but the hood opens toward the front, and I think I can see all the cylinder tops if I stand up in the cab.

 

Yes, you can do this as long as you disable the fuel supply. I personally would not want pressurized fuel spraying all over the place. As previously stated, I have never worked on a Volvo engine, with that being said I would recommend you research how to shut down the fuel supply without wiping out the injection pump as to avoid future headaches.

 

Do you think I could tie a plastic container over each of the six fuel rails to catch the fuel? Also, there might be only a little fuel if I would only have to crank the engine over a few turns to see which cylinder(s) is leaking. Then I could fashion a sucker from a turkey baster and some tubing to suck the coolant out. Does that make sense?

 

from looking at your pictures i think you have an old td 123 engine, the injection pump should have a lever on it with and air cylinder that is used to shot off fuel delivery, you would have to tie it forwards(post a picture of the pump to be sure, also i think the engine model should be listed on the driver door jamb( maybe not on something that old) but will be on engine tag altough i bet it not legible, as for removing the injectors, sometimes this style sticks in the bore, but you can weld some nuts together and use a sllide hammer to get them out, also if memory serves each has its own cylinder head so repair would be easier-good luck

 

until you can barr the engine over 720* by hand smoothly. i wouldn't be useing the starter on it.