4-53 Detroit quit screaming

Yesterday afternoon with the temperature 50 degrees higher than a couple days ago and up to +12 F I decided I had better go skid some firewood out. With the extra cold temps we have been blowing through the stockpile pretty fast. My Ranger 666D grapple skidder has been setting by the cabin at our woods property since last fall. I took my torpedo heater and generator along, heating it for a hour before I started it. It fired right up with no issue. After letting it warn up for about 30 minutes while I loaded a load of firewood I went to skid. I drove about 40 yds. and it died rapidly like it seized. It would not spin. It had oil pressure as it sat there idling during warmup. When I first started it, it had taken about 30 seconds to build oil pressure on the gauge as is common in cold weather with the capillary tube gauge. After setting for about 10 minutes while I pulled covers and further checked things over I pushed the starter and it spun like normal and immediately started. It ran about 15 seconds and died, no oil pressure showing on the gauge this time. Not sure what is going on but I expect the worse. I am wondering if something in the oil pump could have broke when I revved it up to move. Them Clark transmissions take a healthy dose of power to move them the first bit of distance when they are cold. I am going to have to haul another machine over there and pull it back from the edge of the swamp where is now setting. I'll have to pull the engine to even get to the oil pan. The entire belly pan is one complete welded assembly. Weather is going to have to get better before I tackle this one. Meanwhile I better keep my eyes open for a spare 4-53. I got an extra 3-53 and a 4-71 but no 4-53s. My wife just told me to quit thinking about it and take her fishing instead. I guess I will for a couple days and let it warm up a bit more.

Better do what the wife says. LOL ………...and Valentines day is coming up. If she says "You don't have to get me anything, I know you love me." ……….its a Ice Cold Bear Trap from which there is NO RETURN! I've known the crank gear for the oil pump to strip before on some I have seen in the past. Last one I had do something similar, the engine oil had gelled.

Hmmm that’s not good. Hang tight until July and I’ll be up to fish it. Uh I mean “fix” it! Haha.

Junkyard said:

Hmmm that’s not good. Hang tight until July and I’ll be up to fish it. Uh I mean “fix” it! Haha.

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I can wait and I will. I better start saving some fish.

Vetech63 said:

Better do what the wife says. LOL ………...and Valentines day is coming up. If she says "You don't have to get me anything, I know you love me." ……….its a Ice Cold Bear Trap from which there is NO RETURN! I've known the crank gear for the oil pump to strip before on some I have seen in the past. Last one I had do something similar, the engine oil had gelled.

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Not only Valentines Day on the 14th but her birthday is on the 12th, and our anniversary on the 16th. I either get them all or am banned to the dog house long enough that it pays to remodel it.

If your coming up this way fishing you better bring a snowplow and some shovels with you.... snow is gettin deep on the lakes , they are flooding now and we're supposed to get six more inches tonight. Then back to twenty below. Season ends in a couple weeks as well, so you better not dilly dally.

Gulp. That's a bummer. Weird stuff always seams to happen when its super cold. I don't know much about Detroits but I have a strong back and a weak mind. LOL.
Just have Junkyard pick me up on the way by, and we will get it done in no time.

farmerlund said:

Gulp. That's a bummer. Weird stuff always seams to happen when its super cold. I don't know much about Detroits but I have a strong back and a weak mind. LOL.
Just have Junkyard pick me up on the way by, and we will get it done in no time.

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Sounds like a plan to me!!

I think the first thing I would do, after making sure wife is happy, would be to pull oil filter and cut it open to see if there is anything in there to scare you!

farmerlund said:

Gulp. That's a bummer. Weird stuff always seams to happen when its super cold. I don't know much about Detroits but I have a strong back and a weak mind. LOL.
Just have Junkyard pick me up on the way by, and we will get it done in no time.

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"Strong back and weak mind!" That brings back a memory of the last time I was up in Minn with my dad visiting family. We took a day to visit a Logging history museum center somewhere near Grand Rapids Minn I believe. While touring the grounds dad got talking to one of the guides and told him that back in the `30's he and his dad spent time in a logging camp in that area and mentioned much of the displays reminded him of those day. The guide then asked my dad what kind of logging they had been doing. Dad said they were cutting pulp wood, got paid by the "stick"! Guide smiled and said "Oh! Strong backs and weak minds!" Dad just smiled and said yep!

Got wifi in the dog house??

Probably fuel gelled and oil cold. It will be fine come spring time.

old-iron-habit said:

After letting it warn up for about 30 minutes while I loaded a load of firewood I went to skid.

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John C. said:

Probably fuel gelled and oil cold.

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I would think if it was running for 30 minutes, the fuel would be plenty warmed up. Any detroit I've been around, if you can get it running, you don't have to worry about gelling up because they run so much fuel through the head and back to tank. I always warm up my hands on the fuel tank of my 6v92, its toasty warm in cool weather.

crane operator said:

I would think if it was running for 30 minutes, the fuel would be plenty warmed up. Any detroit I've been around, if you can get it running, you don't have to worry about gelling up because they run so much fuel through the head and back to tank. I always warm up my hands on the fuel tank of my 6v92, its toasty warm in cool weather.

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For normal parts of the world that would most likely be true, but we are talking Moose Lake Minn., where the day before it was down around 35ºF BELOW ZERO! That fuel oil may have still been pretty cold and if skidder had been sitting since fall there's a good chance it had summer fuel in it!

I have seen engines start up just fine here in Central NY in near zero weather that ran a period of time at low idle to jell up as soon as you tried to put them to work. Some times it takes a bit of running to fill the filters with wax to kill them.

kshansen said:

I have seen engines start up just fine here in Central NY in near zero weather that ran a period of time at low idle to jell up as soon as you tried to put them to work. Some times it takes a bit of running to fill the filters with wax to kill them.

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I can't count the number of times this has happened to us. Not only Detroit but Cat and Cummins as well. I have a bridge short half mile from my place that I use as a gauge. 9 times out of 10 if a truck is going to gell up it does it within close proximity to that bridge. A few times I have had them gell up while warming up but if it is going to happen it is usually when I just start down the road. Oh and I forgot to mention I live along a blacktop road with no shoulder that can have a fair amount of traffic certain times of the day which makes gelling up and blocking a lane alot of fun!!!!

I run the best of the best fuel you can get. Its a Canadian blend called P 40. I have never had a problem with this fuel even through the record cold of 1996 at 60 below, until this last blast. It didn't flow through the new 2 micron fuel filters. Had to dump 911 additive to keep them running.

Steve Frazier said:

Got wifi in the dog house??

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No WiFi, Just Dish Tailgater. It would not be bad if the neighborhood critters did not like television.

crane operator said:

I would think if it was running for 30 minutes, the fuel would be plenty warmed up. Any detroit I've been around, if you can get it running, you don't have to worry about gelling up because they run so much fuel through the head and back to tank. I always warm up my hands on the fuel tank of my 6v92, its toasty warm in cool weather.

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I would be very happy if it was jelled fuel but I think not. I have dealt with fuel/jell issues to many times to count. It does circulate a lot of fuel. The tank melts snow fast even in cold weather when a bumped tree drops snow on it. It stopped fast like it seized. When I cranked it and it fired after setting 15 minutes or so it had no oil pressure and stopped fast again. Not sure if it ran long enough to build oil pressure again. I am going to do as Ken said and pull the oil filter and cut it open. I am wondering if there could have been some ice from condensation that plugged and broke the oil pump drive when I revved it up to go. A local old time logger here said that happened to him on a machine that had sat for a few months. I would think that would not be the case after an hour of heat and then ran for 30 minutes, but?

I was being hopeful. From experience, when they seize, the don't usually want to turn over again.

Does it have an electrical system and a starter? Or do you use a crank.....lol sorry just have not seen a 4 -53 in a long time...sounds like gel issue to me....when i had 4-53 in an ardco...if they spun they run lol....oil pressure was never great even new...lol