CAT D7 17A STARTING PROCEDURE

[pcmuseum]

Can somebody please help me figure out how to start an old D7? I found it in the woods, and it is complete, was carefully covered many years ago, and would probably run with a few hours work. I just don't want to start randomly pulling levers, in case I wreck something! All of the controls are free, but I have no experience with one of these kicker engines.

[Euclid]

you get that old D-7 fired up yet???? :shock:

[SprueOne]

yeah, what happened?

[dplant8961]

Hi, PCMuseum.
Procedure For Starting Cat D7 7M, 3T and 17A and D8 2U and 13A Crawlers.

I will assume that you have petrol/gas in the pilot motor fuel tank, diesel fuel in the main tank and that you have checked and topped up all other fluids and that you have the appropriate crank/starting handle for the pilot motor.

Place the decompression lever for the diesel engine in the ‘Start’ position. This lever is found facing outwards at the rear of the diesel engine, just ahead of the firewall/dash panel.

Make sure that the diesel engine throttle is fully forward in the ‘Off’ position. It clicks into this position as it shuts off the fuel supply to the diesel engine.

Locate the starter clutch and starter pinion control levers, just behind the pilot motor, on top of the starter pinion housing. These two levers share the same pivot, piggy-backed one on top of the other. The top lever is the starter pinion control and the lower lever is the starter clutch control. There is a third lever on its own behind these two. This is the Hi-Low range control lever for the starter pinion. You will normally only need to use low range in extremely cold conditions.

Turn on the fuel cock for the pilot motor fuel tank, found underneath the tank itself.

Turn on the magneto switch for the pilot motor, usually found low down on a bracket at the front end of the pilot motor. The ‘On’ position is usually top of switch to the rear of the tractor.

Locate the choke control, just inboard of and ahead of the carburettor and pull it out-forward to apply it.

Place the crank/starting handle over the square on top of the vertical cranking shaft with the handle facing toward the centre line of the tractor, push down on the handle to engage the dogs at the bottom of the vertical shaft and pull gently toward you until you feel compression. Let the handle rise up and move it back toward the centre line of the tractor. Re-engage the dogs by pushing down on the handle again and, while holding weight against the dogs, remove the downward pressure. Now pull the handle quickly and firmly toward you.

WARNING!!!!! DO NOT HOLD DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON THE HANDLE WHILE CRANKING!!!!! That is a good way to sustain an injury if the motor kicks back at you.

Repeat the above process until the pilot motor starts. Once it does start, ease the choke in until the motor runs smoothly with the choke right in.

With the pilot motor running smoothly, push the starter clutch control firmly toward the diesel engine and hold it there to stop the starter pinion from turning. Now pull the starter pinion control lever toward you and then back toward the back of the tractor until it clicks into position. Once you have this lever clicked into the engaged position, slowly pull the starter clutch lever toward you until the diesel engine begins to turn then continue pulling it toward you until it too clicks into position. You should now be able to let go of both starter clutch and starter pinion control levers. (Note: If the starter pinion is worn, you may have to hold it in engagement when the load comes on to prevent it jumping out.)

Once the diesel engine is turning over, wait until the diesel engine oil pressure gauge starts registering some pressure, then move the decompression lever to run and open the diesel engine throttle. If the Gods are on your side, the diesel engine will start. At this point, both the starter pinion and the starter clutch should throw out automatically. Then you can turn off the pilot motor fuel cock and let the pilot motor run itself out of fuel.

If the diesel doesn’t start and you get clouds of white smoke from the diesel exhaust, shut off the diesel throttle and let the pilot motor turn the diesel for a while longer to warm it up some more before opening the throttle again.

As the diesel engine starts, make sure that the starter clutch and starter pinion controls DO disengage. If they don’t, you are highly likely to have a catastrophic failure of the pilot motor as the diesel engine drives it to a severe over-speed situation. If you see that these controls have not disengaged automatically, manually disengage the starter clutch yourself. If, for some reason, it won’t disengage, shut the diesel engine down immediately by closing the throttle completely. Do not hesitate. Hesitation could be expensive.

In cold to very cold conditions, you may need to let the pilot motor turn the diesel for a while longer to warm up the intake manifold and thus the intake air for the diesel before trying to start the diesel.

Do not leave the pilot motor running for more than a minute or two without the diesel engine turning over as the pilot motor has no water pump of its own and relies on the diesel engine water pump for water circulation. This is also another reason for leaving the pilot motor turning the diesel for longer in cold conditions as it also warms the diesel engine due to the heat that the pilot motor puts into the cooling system.

Hope this helps.