Detroit 6-71 wet stacking

Truck Shop said:

There were other choices.

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Yes, there were other choices, but none offered arrangements that were as versatile as the Detroit inline, none.

Ive got a yard full of the darn things.Even had chimney fires at times and black oil rain. As said above make sure the air box drains are clear.Broken rings and blower seals just need to be fixed. I have never filled mine over half on the dipstick. when i get a diligent new hand on a machine that actually checks oil and fills them to the brim we get a mess.Sounds haywire but it helps on a crane that never works.

You win willie59, but fact is years back any truck model could be bought for $3000 less with a 2 stroke so money is an object.

I like the 2 stroke Detroit’s because I’ve made a hell of a living rebuilding them for 30 years. LOL

Truck Shop said:

You win willie59, but fact is years back any truck model could be bought for $3000 less with a 2 stroke so money is an object.

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Well, I did previously mention they were "very affordable"...at that time.

Vetech63 said:

I like the 2 stroke Detroit’s because I’ve made a hell of a living rebuilding them for 30 years. LOL

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Money! LoL.

Very affordable doesn't mean it's good.

Vetech63 said:

I like the 2 stroke Detroit’s because I’ve made a hell of a living rebuilding them for 30 years. LOL

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30 years ago I scrapped all my 2 stroke tools.

And Deere put Detroits in two ag tractors.

Back in the eighties I was working construction, the company had a 79 W900 with a 00-92 that was a total pos. It used a gallon or better of coolant a day it would run out the drain
boxes/a constant steam vapor. The governor and rack linkage was so worn it it was slotted. One cold morning it was fired up on the job site and she started to roll real heavy and long.
Then she took off for the moon smoking like hell. One of the operators yelled {Aren't you going to do something} I replied {Yah I'm going stand here and watch it blow}. ---------------------
----rod through the block she did. All the drivers were happy as could be to see it die.

Truck Shop said:

The governor and rack linkage was so worn it it was slotted.

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That doesn't sound as much like a POS as it does an engine that is so worn slap out that it's begging to sling a connecting rod out of the block regardless of what brand it is.

crane operator said:

My truck crane with a 6-71 will wet stack when sitting on a job site. I have to get it out on the road to get it hot enough to burn the oil out. I don't think you can keep it from wet stacking , if it doesn't work hard enough to get warmed up.

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I am a 2-stroke Detroit fan but I will be the first to say that in the old hoisting cranes in Minnesota that idled 99 percent of the time they needed a accessory that was never offered to my knowledge. In the winter the heaters never put out enough heat to defrost the window, even if you were careful not to breathe. Getting warm was not a option. They should have been built with a fire pit in the cab.

old-iron-habit said:

They should have been built with a fire pit in the cab.

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Nah- just dont' work when its cold. Or hot. Or raining. Or if the mosquitos are out. Shoot, just retire and fish......

The Detroit dealer here in Tulsa doesn't even rebuild the 2 stroke engines here anymore, they get sent to OKC. The last 2 engines I did were referred to me by them. There are still a lot of them out there still running and will be for some time to come.

Folks, the two strokes were a great engine when used in the right application, but it's a design that has to be loaded 95% of the time-it hates idle time and no load situations. There for
it's a bad choice for equipment like a crane. In every aspect of manufacturing it boils down to money-it's always about cost to stay competitive and those engines fit the bill on cost.

willie59 said:

That doesn't sound as much like a POS as it does an engine that is so worn slap out that it's begging to sling a connecting rod out of the block regardless of what brand it is.

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And I should have stated that better {The whole truck was a POS}. and yes it was worn out-the coolant that was poured in it everyday was worth more than the truck as a whole. Typical on site
dump truck.

The 110s in the old Euc quarry trucks were slobber boxes, except when they came out of the hole then cleaned up, the same 110s series engine on a Fleeting Service tow boat would dribble some from air box drains but had no inclination to slobber as when stuck on a line of tows pointed Upstream were running props to keep tension down on anchorage lines, pedaling Downstream they were often shoving deep draft hulls thru the muddy bottom and still shoving hard or in maneuvering had prop wash to drive the boats sideways. Seldom were they left to idle for long periods except locking out. Can say they are quite a good marine engine, HATED Dirty conditions, were some OK in HE when were beaten on day in day out but again dirt would beat on them. The EMDs are a different breed altogether but just the same a Saltwater Chevy!! My own K100C 8V92 soured myself on DDs.

FIRST Rule learned when taught to drive a DD in a 8664 FrtLnr, Open door, Insert Hand to door frame, SLAM Door THREE Times to be good and mad when drive the Shifter/Throttle.

Things don’t look that bad to me, but what do I know...

I've worked on and done inspections on more than a hundred cranes in my time and can say from experience that the choice of power plant doesn't make a lot of difference on the slobbering. Diesels don't make heat when run at idle and they all will wet stack and/or develop wet leaks over time. I've seen plenty of Cummins engines with coolant dripping down one side of the block and oil running down the other side. I've seen plenty of Cats with oil seeping out all the covers. I've even seen a few Mercedes engines with the bottoms blown out when they went from low idle to high idle with a load that they didn't want to torque through. And I've seen plenty of slobbering Detroits with caked up exhausts all because lift cranes just don't get a lot of hard running. The application is just hard on any engine.
As to the subject engine, if it is running good and even on all cylinders, just button it back up and run it with a heavy load for a few hours and it should clean up. If you can't do that, then just get used to the idea that your engine is going to be messy. You can rebuild it and spend a lot of money but the engine will likely go right back to wet stacking.

I Agree JC. Let it drip, doubt will change anything with any work.

No one has mentioned changing the thermostat to a known good one.
It may help maybe (probably) not.