Neat vid. I remember as a kid nearly everything my grandfather owned had a pony engine to start it. D4, D6, D7,D8, D9, a few DW21's, and of course the old Cat 12 grader. I even remember an old TD 18 that started on gas and ran on Diesel. If it was all in tune and decent condition it would start easily in the coldest weather. Plus most could be hand cranked or rope started if the battery was dead, again if it was tuned good. Magneto points and sparkplugs were the key.
Usually starting fluid with a pony is just an impatient operator. me, I would just sit in the warm pickup enjoying a cup of coffee while the diesel warmed up for a bit, then open the diesel throttle to start it right up the first time.I don't know if that pony has the two speed function but the old 14A dozers I worked on had a low speed for cold weather where you started the warm up process and then shifted to high range when the oil got a little thinner as it warmed.
One thing I noticed is the go juice to get the motor to fire quicker. I never had to use that for a pony starter. The pony would put enough heat into the diesel to make it pretty easy to catch. I suppose that engine might be a little worn. The other issue for us was that when the pony quit working we just pull started the machines with something else.
As cool as that is, I'm glad technology has evolved. I would hate to have to do all that at 30 below to be honest.
As cool as that is, I'm glad technology has evolved. I would hate to have to do all that at 30 below to be honest.