GM to customers: "Ummmm you might want to keep that SUV out of the garage..."

[Speedy]

Cars are more reliable and last longer than ever. Perhaps there are more recalls because the rules are also tighter than ever. The automakers don't wait until 'unexplained acceleration' kills a bunch of people. Ok, maybe not.

[RAMd®d]

Drivers these days are a bunch o' sissies!

An electric starter is just one more thing that can go wrong, like power windows.

If you can't turn a crank to start yer car, ya got no business driving one!

Just remember to keep all yer thumbs on one side.

[eustacetilley]

RAMd®d wrote:
Drivers these days are a bunch o' sissies!

An electric starter is just one more thing that can go wrong, like power windows.

If you can't turn a crank to start yer car, ya got no business driving one!

Just remember to keep all yer thumbs on one side.

Actually, you have a point, even if it wasn't the one intended.
When I bought my Boat a few months ago, before signing the papers, I went over every cubic inch. I found things that the previous owner of two decades didn't even knew were there.
One was some kind of weird green wrenchy thingy. It might have been mistaken for a demented winch handle, or the kind of thingy used on those old automotive screw jacks.

To me, it was so obvious, as the Volvo engine was painted exactly the same color.
I showed the almost previous owner how it attaches to the engine, and where the compression releases were, and where the little hidden finger push manual fuel pump was.

Then the discussion wandered into breadcrumb territory. He had no idea that the little hatch in the Teak and Holly Sole was put there specifically, (The Virgin Beneteau handbook, in French, addresses this point a number of times.), for breadcrumbs.

He also had no idea that there was a second Spinnaker, used maybe only once in a Mumm's Cup race, (It says "Mumm's Cup 1987" in bold lettering.), complete with all rigging and snap shackles, stashed under the V-Berth, in a compartment nominally meant for an anchor. He always kept his anchor on deck, where it was handier.

Once it was thoroughly clear that I owned the boat, I put that Green Engine Crank to use for only one time, as a matter of Principle. Push the Throttle once to engage the Pre-Start, pop the Compression releases up, tickle the hidden manual fuel pump lever, crank like hell for three revolutions, and then drop the Cylinder Number One Compression release, and that thirty year old Volvo gulped into life. The Green Engine Crank did exactly what it was designed to do at that point- it neatly popped off the front of the engine and went right into the Bilge.

There are stories, well Legends really, of the kind to tell to Little Children to ensure that they won't get a wink of sleep, of those who got the Starting Sequence wrong, and who actually managed to crank an old Volvo Marine Engine into starting backwards, the result being no oil pressure, a lot of black smoke, a re-arrangement of the bones in one or both arms, and some significant loss of teeth.
***************

I've never owned a new car, (Or a new boat for that matter...), so all this new-fangled gadgetry has little appeal to me. Yet once Chrysler comes out with a fully stripped down, totally manual, 2-Door version of the new Dodge Dart, I'm going to be tempted. There is nothing really wrong enough with the new Dart that pulling out maybe a thousand pounds of Mod-Cons wouldn't cure.
Dodge Dart... no, thats wrong. They have the rights to the names, they should use them.
The "2016 Lancia Dart Sprint Zagato". (The "2016 Lancia Dart Sprint Zagato Spyder" is too much to hope for.)
Just for giggles, they should come with a Green Engine Crank, and instructions on how to use it, in Italian.

Lotus is doing quite well in the minimalist realm. And Morgan has new life as well. Morgan well understands that the fourth road wheel is really an unnecessary luxury. Three road wheels are quite sufficient...

Eustace

[Speedy]

It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to crank it backwards with the keying on the crank slot. Might be doable if the hand crank was held tightly pushed into position while the engine started. You are more likely to find the two-stroke firing backwards while using the electric start for other reasons. I have managed to do that.

[wowzer]

eustacetilley wrote:
[quote=RAMd®d]
Drivers these days are a bunch o' sissies!

An electric starter is just one more thing that can go wrong, like power windows.

If you can't turn a crank to start yer car, ya got no business driving one!

Just remember to keep all yer thumbs on one side.

Actually, you have a point, even if it wasn't the one intended.
When I bought my Boat a few months ago, before signing the papers, I went over every cubic inch. I found things that the previous owner of two decades didn't even knew were there.
One was some kind of weird green wrenchy thingy. It might have been mistaken for a demented winch handle, or the kind of thingy used on those old automotive screw jacks.

To me, it was so obvious, as the Volvo engine was painted exactly the same color.
I showed the almost previous owner how it attaches to the engine, and where the compression releases were, and where the little hidden finger push manual fuel pump was.

Then the discussion wandered into breadcrumb territory. He had no idea that the little hatch in the Teak and Holly Sole was put there specifically, (The Virgin Beneteau handbook, in French, addresses this point a number of times.), for breadcrumbs.

He also had no idea that there was a second Spinnaker, used maybe only once in a Mumm's Cup race, (It says "Mumm's Cup 1987" in bold lettering.), complete with all rigging and snap shackles, stashed under the V-Berth, in a compartment nominally meant for an anchor. He always kept his anchor on deck, where it was handier.

Once it was thoroughly clear that I owned the boat, I put that Green Engine Crank to use for only one time, as a matter of Principle. Push the Throttle once to engage the Pre-Start, pop the Compression releases up, tickle the hidden manual fuel pump lever, crank like hell for three revolutions, and then drop the Cylinder Number One Compression release, and that thirty year old Volvo gulped into life. The Green Engine Crank did exactly what it was designed to do at that point- it neatly popped off the front of the engine and went right into the Bilge.

There are stories, well Legends really, of the kind to tell to Little Children to ensure that they won't get a wink of sleep, of those who got the Starting Sequence wrong, and who actually managed to crank an old Volvo Marine Engine into starting backwards, the result being no oil pressure, a lot of black smoke, a re-arrangement of the bones in one or both arms, and some significant loss of teeth.
***************

I've never owned a new car, (Or a new boat for that matter...), so all this new-fangled gadgetry has little appeal to me. Yet once Chrysler comes out with a fully stripped down, totally manual, 2-Door version of the new Dodge Dart, I'm going to be tempted. There is nothing really wrong enough with the new Dart that pulling out maybe a thousand pounds of Mod-Cons wouldn't cure.
Dodge Dart... no, thats wrong. They have the rights to the names, they should use them.
The "2016 Lancia Dart Sprint Zagato". (The "2016 Lancia Dart Sprint Zagato Spyder" is too much to hope for.)
Just for giggles, they should come with a Green Engine Crank, and instructions on how to use it, in Italian.

Lotus is doing quite well in the minimalist realm. And Morgan has new life as well. Morgan well understands that the fourth road wheel is really an unnecessary luxury. Three road wheels are quite sufficient...

Eustace

Wow. It is rare for me to completely not understand a thing that was said, but this is one of them. I gather it is a startup routine for a engine on a boat. :hail:

[wowzer]

billb wrote:

Does GM make bikes ?

miley-signs154:

[Lux Interior]

wowzer wrote: I gather it is a startup routine for a engine on a boat. :hail:

An old blow-boat.

Modern stink-pots are much easier to start!

[eustacetilley]

Speedy wrote:
It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to crank it backwards with the keying on the crank slot. Might be doable if the hand crank was held tightly pushed into position while the engine started. You are more likely to find the two-stroke firing backwards while using the electric start for other reasons. I have managed to do that.

Those old Volvo engines have pretty heavy flywheels, and you have to really put your shoulder into it to get a few revolutions going before popping the Compression Release.
If the engine is already warm, and you decide to be Manly, or just plain Stupid, and decide not to use the Release, it is possible for the Diesel to combust before reaching TDC, and then it tries to run backwards, badly.
Here is a drawing of how the bits fit together:


Part 35 is the hand crank, and part 5 is the replaceable pin that the crank engages. I have a spare pin.

There's a good discussion here:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f54/...18968.html

Note that many people don't know how to properly start a Volvo Diesel even with the electric start; they talk about cranking for 30 seconds as if it was normal. It isn't.
1) Push throttle fully forward and set back to about 25%.
2) Pull out and push firmly back the Main Decompression Control. (This is what (normally) is used to stop the engine.)
These two actions set up the Starting linkages.

3) Tickle the Manual Fuel Pump lever for around ten seconds. This is absolutely critical, and very few people even know that it exists. This purges the Injection system of any gas bubbles that may have formed since the engine was last run.
4) Turn on the starting circuit, the oil pressure buzzer should be buzzing. Turn the Key to Start and keep it there until the engine catches, and the buzzer stops buzzing. If it doesn't catch in ten seconds, stop, turn everything off, make a cup of tea, and then work the problem. It will probably be bubbles in the injectors, and the fuel system will need a total purge with preferably fresh Diesel. This is very messy.

Eustace

[Wags]

billb wrote:

does not catch on fire in garage

It's only zero emissions if you hold your breath and take GasX.