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Ether; use it or not, some say yea, some say nay.

A

Acesneights1

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NEVER use starting fliud on a Diesel Engine with glowplugs. That is why your truck has a sticker on it tha says seriuos engine damage may result. Trust me, one shot of ether at the very minimum will wipe the glows. It goes up from there and stops at broken crank/cracked piston. You "shouldn't" use ether on any diesel engine. Some take it better than others but ideallly the engine should start without it. Remember these are not old 2 stroke detriots.Friends don't let friends use ether..Just don't do it. Period.
 
Non Typical said:
Hmmm. I have used starting fluid before on diesels, and the GP's have worked afterwards. As long as you are cranking the engine over, and don't stop until it fires up, it should be fine. .
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You were lucky.You probably cooked a few and didn't even know it. If they were working fine you would not have needed it in the first place so they may have already been damaged. Trust me. 20+ years as a diesel mechanic. Ether bad..:nono:
 
Acesneights1 said:
You were lucky.You probably cooked a few and didn't even know it. If they were working fine you would not have needed it in the first place so they may have already been damaged. Trust me. 20+ years as a diesel mechanic. Ether bad..:nono:
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Look at my sig (the waldon) has not seen any thing else than start fluid in 10 yrs and none the worse for it:smile5:I dont use the glows at all,(drains the single batt to much)

OOPs, Waldon (small wheelloader) is not in sig. Has a 6.2 swapped in as power plant
 
Acesneights1 said:
You were lucky.You probably cooked a few and didn't even know it. If they were working fine you would not have needed it in the first place so they may have already been damaged. Trust me. 20+ years as a diesel mechanic. Ether bad..:nono:
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Great advice here. Take it how you want to.

Ether is like crack for engines, once the engine needs it to start, it probably wont ever start again without it. It predetonates like a bastard and can do all sorts of damage to connecting rods, valves, pistons, not to mention the completely abnormal shock to the crank.

Plus its really healthy for that engine to 'catch' on the ether, and rev up to 3000rpm without a drop of oil, and zero oil pressure.

Don't use it.
 
Not to pick a fight here, but.

I have used ether on my truck before. Instruction on the can OK it for diesel use. My truck typically will start without it. Doesn't that negate the sentence that once used, it won't start without it?

I too worked at a truck shop, and many of the veteran mechanics there, would use ether if need be. The key is to have the engine cranking when you spray, and only to shoot a little. (very little).

I have used it on 7.3's, 6.5's, 6.2's, various tractors, and many gas engines.

If the engine does not fire right away, or cranking slows down, you have to leave it for 25-30 minutes and let the ether evaporate. Starting with the ether in the intake is what can cause dropped valves.

Again, I am not looking to pick a fight, or disrespect anyone here. Just sharing my experiences with diesel engines and starter fluid.
 
I've started companies fleet trucks with ether, I will never use it on something that I own and repair myself. It will help start the engine sure. It also takes life off an engine, it can also predetonate back through the intake and blow a flame right back into the can your holding in your hand.

I really dont' care if you want to use it in your engine or not. I just don't want someone who is reading these threads trying to fix their truck to start using ether to band-aid a problem that can easily be fixed otherwise, without any danger to the engine, and without taking life off of a perfectly good 6.5.
 
Gawd,you guys are paranoid.A little wiff of ether wont hurt nuttin.Common sense applies.
besides that,since when does a engine get addicted to ether ???,it aint a person on crack cocaine.
There's for pete sake, tractors and other engines factory supplied with ether set ups.( JD and perkins comes to mind)
And yes, people should refrain from using it if at all possible,and leave it for the less faint of hart.
 
Damn, Maybe GM could have avoided bankrupcy if they hadn't wasted their money putting these stickers IN EVERY DIESEL THEY MADE.
Nuff said.
You asked for advice and I gave it. Like I said, spray away. Someone else can take it from here.
 

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Acesneights1 said:
Damn, Maybe GM could have avoided bankrupcy if they hadn't wasted their money putting these stickers IN EVERY DIESEL THEY MADE.
Nuff said.
You asked for advice and I gave it. Like I said, spray away. Someone else can take it from here.
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Ace,i did not ask for advice,neither did i give any.
The telling "sticker" somehow never made it on the GM made Detroit diesels:smile5:

I'll leave the issue be,not worth further arguing over:grouphug:
 
Maybe just keep a lid on it here. If you guys have had bad experiences with it, sorry to hear, and it's good that you let people know.

As I stated, I am sharing MY experiences with starter fluid. You won't addict the engine to it, and if you are careful, I feel you can safely start your engine with it. The site has disclaimers about info received here.

I did start the thread to see if you could help me diagnose my no start problem. I will be pulling plugs tomorrow to see if I can find the problem there. So let's keep it chill, eh?
 
Acesneights1 said:
NEVER use starting fliud on a Diesel Engine with glowplugs. That is why your truck has a sticker on it tha says seriuos engine damage may result. Trust me, one shot of ether at the very minimum will wipe the glows. It goes up from there and stops at broken crank/cracked piston. You "shouldn't" use ether on any diesel engine. Some take it better than others but ideallly the engine should start without it. Remember these are not old 2 stroke detriots.Friends don't let friends use ether..Just don't do it. Period.
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I think what Matt meant is once you use it and wipe the glows out it is the only way it will start.

1st off, Bison, I thought I made it clear here in the above post that I wasn't talking about Old school Detriots but light duty diesel engines that have glowplugs.
2nd,
Non Typ, You asked for advice on hard starting. You said you use ether. My advice to you from experience was that you most likely damaged the glows using ether. I am not where you are and can't offer onsite diagnosis but from what you have stated that is my best guess. you both fired back that ether is ok for these engines, so like I said spray away then. Your starting issues are fixed. Just buy more starting fliud. it won't hurt the engine anyway right ?:thumbsup:
 
The problem with ether is that it is highly combustible.

Once it hits the glowing red plugs, it will ignite......now what happens when all cylinders fire off at the same time folks?.....

Glow plugs and ether don't play nice together....

I won't bother to post my credentials....suffice to say that I know what the hell I am doing....
 
OK, thanks for help guys.

What do you people not get when I say, I have used it many times, without damage, I know many other guys, including veteran diesel mechanics, who have used it, and I feel that it can be used safely to start? My point is, I have used it over the years, and have yet to see damage done. From light duty trucks, up to compound turbo'd Cats.

I am not trying to pick a fight, and I don't understand your apparent need to get worked up and feel that I am trying to put you down. If I didn't want some input, I wouldn't have asked. I have a few suggestions, I will try them.

Maybe our Canadians diesels are tougher because of the colder winters, lol.
 
OK,here is my ether story. Bought my truck with rotted gp's. I mean they are rotted clean off with the head. SO, i needed to use ether to start it. I have been now for almost a year. I DO NOT RECCOMEND IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Like they say, the engine becomes addicted and now doesnt even like to start at times when it used to. My gp's are all unplugged. Ether is potent, and you dont know what its capable of until it happens. Some people get lucky, while others dont. But, i do have another engine that is going into the truck, so i really dont care what happens to this one.... But, thats the story i tell when people think the 6.5 is a wuss wuss engine About the why everyone flips out thing, just dont want to see a fellow members rig down due to ether explosion....
 
Exactly my point. If Bison and Non typ want to spray away, go for it :thumbsup: But the this is an open forum and people can take bad info from it which is why we try to keep the posts accurate and using ether on any diesel is never a "good" idea but using it on a light duty, glow plug equiped diesel is surely asking for a major problem. I don't post for the sake of posting. I know what ether does to glows cause I did it myself and now know never to do it again. One shot wiped 6 of 8 glows and blew the starter drive.
 
Yes, some of the older large diesel trucks you can use ether on but gp equiped vehilces it is VERY dangerous. You may not see the damage at first, but it only takes a couple of times. But yes, this is an open forum, and it is your truck. Do as you please......:thumbsup:
 
I'd stick with the general consenses gentleman.....The collective knowledge here at DTR, in my opinion are the 6.5 Frontier Forging Alumni....Time and time again i've seen people try to shoot holes in the information given by the elders, to no avail.

May you press lightly on your ether can, Grasshopper.....Go in peace....You have been warned, do with this nugget of wisdom as you like.
 
chrisk1500 said:
So your current problem is not related to the ether huh?....
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No. This truck had this problem right from when the GP's, Injectors, and IP were all replaced with new parts. Ether wasn't used before or after. It was only recently that I used the ether on this truck to start it.

I agree, it is an open forum. Therefore, if someone was to ask, I would say the same thing I tell everyone that asks/confronts me face to face. This is my truck, this is what I do, you have to be careful when you spray, etc.

Brooklyn, you could do without the condescending attitude. What pisses me off is when someone decides that they know everything, or have the right to make fun of someone else because they know better.

Buddy. Thanks for the tip. I'm thinking of putting my new Optimas out of the 93 into the 95. See if that helps to KNOW I have new batteries in there.
 
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