HEAVY METAL

By Staff
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Fairbanks-Morse diesel type 'Y', style '' two cycle, 80 HP, 300 rpm, weight 14 tons, built 5/16/21. Note: In the foreground is a 1921, 6 HP Fairbanks-Morse used to run the starting air compressor.
Fairbanks-Morse diesel type 'Y', style '' two cycle, 80 HP, 300 rpm, weight 14 tons, built 5/16/21. Note: In the foreground is a 1921, 6 HP Fairbanks-Morse used to run the starting air compressor.
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This is a typical view of a piston being removed and the come-a-long connected to a windlass as a lifting device. Note: 37 HP semi-diesel in background.
This is a typical view of a piston being removed and the come-a-long connected to a windlass as a lifting device. Note: 37 HP semi-diesel in background.
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Fairbanks-Morse diesel built 10/25/26. The governor housing, fuel reservoir, injector pumps and air starting valves were removed for repair and inspection.
Fairbanks-Morse diesel built 10/25/26. The governor housing, fuel reservoir, injector pumps and air starting valves were removed for repair and inspection.
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Cylinder head showing the water jacket and combustion chamber. The cylinder and hot head weigh 305 pounds.
Cylinder head showing the water jacket and combustion chamber. The cylinder and hot head weigh 305 pounds.

Route 4, Box 518 Easley, SC 29640

This article has been prompted by the activity associated, this
summer, with two large 80 HP Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines. In
early 1970 and 19711 wrote three articles in the GEM on the subject
of locating, moving and starting these engines. During the past 15
years of start-ups and running for various groups and individuals
these old engines have been given lots of care, but being run just
for static display and never under a load, carbon build-up has
become quite heavy on the pistons and rings. There had been one
piston pin that always knocked quite a bit and one connecting rod
bearing had started running hot due to the lack of oil getting to
the slinger ring on the crankshaft. The water jacket gasket between
the hot head and cylinder head dried out and began to leak. The
leather seals in the crankcase air valve had deteriorated and
cracked making the engines hard to start. The air start check valve
in number one cylinder was not seating because of carbon build-up
which caused the loss of compression. The injector pumps were
losing their prime between starts making it necessary to reprise
the system each time and the injector nozzles dripped after each
injection.

Well, with this list of problems I decided to start a major
overhaul project. The first thought that came to mind was the
overhead rigging and large tools that would be needed for such a
project. A set of one inch drive sockets starting at one inch
through four inches were acquired and the over head scaffolding was
rigged as needed.

Some insight on the history and specifications of these engines
might paint a better picture of what is ahead. The engines serial
numbers are 632698 and 660568. They were built by Fairbanks-Morse
Company in Beloit, Wisconsin and shipped May 16, 1921 and Oct. 25,
1926 to parts unknown. These two engines wound up in the western
part of South Carolina to supply power to sawmills and cotton gins
some 60 years ago. The old engines are full diesel, type
‘Y’, style ‘VA’, two cycle, 80 HP, 300 rpm and
weigh about 14 tons each. They have a dry crankcase, therefore all
lubrication is done by a Madison Kip lubricator and oil reservoir
located under each main bearing. The engine is started by
compressed air driving down number one piston and when number two
comes up on compression it starts firing.

The first step of this overhaul project was to remove the number
one cylinder head with the leaking air start check valves and
remove the piston in the same cylinder that had a piston pin knock.
The water manifold between the two cylinders was removed first,
which weighs 200 pounds, next the hot head was removed after
loosening the 1.5 inch hold down nuts. The cylinder head is held in
place by 10 studs 1.5 inches in diameter with 2.250 inch nuts. The
cylinder head and hot head weigh 305 pounds. The crankcase
inspection cover and crankcase air valve was removed to expose the
connecting rod and bearing. A come-along was rigged over head on a
windlass and chained to the piston by two eye bolts to pull the
piston and connection rod from the cylinder. The piston, rings,
piston pin and connecting rod weighs 515 pounds. The rod bearing
halves are held together about the crankshaft and to the connecting
rod by two 1.750 inch diameter and 18.0 inch long studs with 2.250
inch nuts. The rod bearing halves are solid brass with 0.250 inch
thick babbitt lining and each half weighs 42 pounds. The oil
collector and slinger ring that is attached to the crankshaft and
supplies oil to the connecting rod bearing was removed for
cleaning. This is a typical tear down of one cylinder, so by
multiplying by four cylinders one can see the amount of work to be
done.

The next major step on one engine was to remove the fuel
reservoir and injector pump housing. The fuel injector pumps and
injector nozzle were completely disassembled and all valve seats
were lapped and honed with 9 micron diamond paste. The air starting
valves that are located in the same housing were removed and their
seats were ground and lapped.

To repair the piston pin that was knocking, the old pin and
connecting rod were removed from the piston and a spare rod and pin
that were on hand installed. The connecting rod bearing that was
running hot was cleaned and scraped. The 7.0 inch diameter
crankshaft journal that had some babbitt build-up on the surface
due to over heating was polished with strips of 80, 120 and 200
grit abrasive paper. The two connecting rod bearing halves were
reassembled on the crankshaft and a number of shims were added or
removed until a proper clearance of 0.010 inches was obtained. The
leather air seals on the crank case air valves were replaced with a
rubber base material which works just as well. The two stuck piston
rings are another story. One ring was freed up by using WD-40 and
lots of gentle working back and forth, but the second one broke
when I just about had it free. I called Mr. Joe Sykes in New York
and lucky enough he was able to make me a new piston ring. The
starting air check valve in the number one cylinder head was
cleaned, ground and lapped for a good fit. After all these parts
had been cleaned, adjusted and reassembled it was time for the big
test to see if the old diesel had survived a major
refurbishment.

The starting tank air pressure was built up to 200 psi and
number two piston was positioned three degrees past ‘top dead
center’ (TDC) at the injection position so the fuel system
could be primed. The injection pump primed real easy and a strong
pull should be felt on the manual priming lever as the injector
pump picked up the fuel and forced it through the fuel nozzle. Then
the large 6 foot diameter flywheel was rotated around positioning
the number one piston 10 degrees past TDC, which is the starting
position and the pressure relief valve on each cylinder was closed,
completing the prestart procedure. The starting air lever was
pushed forward to the start position allowing the air pressure to
drive the number one piston down, and as the number two piston came
up on the compression stroke to the firing position you could hear
loud explosions occurring in the cylinders as the large fly wheel
gained rpm’s and a cloud of black smoke and smoke rings
bellowed from the 12 inch diameter exhaust.

It is hard to describe the feeling one gets inside when one of
these old engines comes to life after you have had a personal
encounter with all of its nuts and bolts and many working and stuck
parts. Whether it be a small 2 HP or 80 HP or tractor, I am sure
you fellows in engine land have experienced this feeling and know
it is impossible to describe it on paper. I am sure you will agree
with me when I say these old engines and tractors will even talk to
you when they are running, if you understand the language they
speak. And as new life is restored to these engines they are proud
to find themselves in the hands of owners where they will be
treasured and can give many hours of pleasure to all kinds of
people, old and young alike, instead of having been carried to a
junk yard for destruction.

Just as these old engines meant a way of life to past
generations and excitement and curiosity for the present
generation, so does the title of this article imply. Heavy Metal to
past generations meant just what it implies, but we parents with
teenagers know that today’s meaning is loud heavy music, much
louder than any old engine and not near as understandable to us. I
hope in the future that the teenagers of today will be able to
grasp part of our past, whether it be some ‘Heavy Metal’,
or music, and get the same satisfaction from it as we have from
some of the things left in our past. The question is: Have we in
our generation left anything, as we were left, to grasp? Only time
will tell…

  • Published on Nov 1, 1986
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