Bobcat 751 with Peugeot started in 17F this morning

[shawn macananny]

Hey guys, figured i'd chime in and let you know i decided i would start my bobcat this morning at 17 degrees to see how well it did. Waited for the glow plug light to go out, then for battery voltage to come up, cranked it for about 10 seconds and it was puffing some good smoke but wasnt cranking fast enough, battery had about 11.5-12v with no load, under load less than 8v, which i already knew was already on its way out, swapped in a new battery, 850 cca (biggest i could find to fit in there) cycled glow plugs onces, cranked it about 5 seconds and she fired right up. 17 degrees is pretty cold for bobcats from anything ive even used, the 753s with kubotas had alot of trouble starting, and even the T190s needed 30s of glow plugs to start and sounded awful starting, so i am pretty pleased with my little Peugeot starting in such cold weather (about the coldest it ever gets here really)

 

[Tazza]

That shows the engine is in good shape, it really does like a nice charged battery. I always felt the starter was a little under powered on those engines.

 

[shawn macananny]

That shows the engine is in good shape, it really does like a nice charged battery. I always felt the starter was a little under powered on those engines.

I went to start it the other morning, was about 14f, with the new battery, i had to try it twice cranking for 10-15 seconds but it fired up in and cleared up in a 10 seconds or so. I did some reading and apparently the glow plugs do not last very long on these engines so i decided to order 4 new ones to see if it will make it easier to start, i also ordered a new starter, not that this one is bad but maybe the new one will be more powerful. If not, at least i will have a spare if one decides to go from the extended cranking. The last thing i want is a bobcat i cant get started when i need it to plow snow.

 

[Tazza]

I went to start it the other morning, was about 14f, with the new battery, i had to try it twice cranking for 10-15 seconds but it fired up in and cleared up in a 10 seconds or so. I did some reading and apparently the glow plugs do not last very long on these engines so i decided to order 4 new ones to see if it will make it easier to start, i also ordered a new starter, not that this one is bad but maybe the new one will be more powerful. If not, at least i will have a spare if one decides to go from the extended cranking. The last thing i want is a bobcat i cant get started when i need it to plow snow.

New plugs wouldn't hurt it.
I don't think 10-15 second cranks are really excessive, still not a bad idea to have a spare, especially if you can get a good deal on one.

 

[shawn macananny]

New plugs wouldn't hurt it.
I don't think 10-15 second cranks are really excessive, still not a bad idea to have a spare, especially if you can get a good deal on one.

Yeah new plugs were bout $50 shipped, starter was 139 shipped, seemed cheap enough. I was reading on some Peugeot forums how easily they can get their cars to start and thinking it could be better, though they do not have to turn a hydraulic pump to start their cars either. I still feet there is room to improve.

 

[Tazza]

Yeah new plugs were bout $50 shipped, starter was 139 shipped, seemed cheap enough. I was reading on some Peugeot forums how easily they can get their cars to start and thinking it could be better, though they do not have to turn a hydraulic pump to start their cars either. I still feet there is room to improve.

Exactly, when they start them, there is no load, we have a pump to start spinning too with thick oil, so there is a reasonable load there.
Will be interesting to see if the new starter has more cranking power. That and shirt fat battery cables to get as much juice there as you can.
That price sounds pretty good to me as well.

 

[reaperman]

Exactly, when they start them, there is no load, we have a pump to start spinning too with thick oil, so there is a reasonable load there.
Will be interesting to see if the new starter has more cranking power. That and shirt fat battery cables to get as much juice there as you can.
That price sounds pretty good to me as well.

Why not install a block heater on your machine. Its much easier to start a machine thats been plugged in for a few hours appose to trying to crank on over without any assistance. Its just so much easier on the engine when they have been plugged in.

 

[shawn macananny]

Why not install a block heater on your machine. Its much easier to start a machine thats been plugged in for a few hours appose to trying to crank on over without any assistance. Its just so much easier on the engine when they have been plugged in.

The battery cables seem to be pretty thick on it already though i may switch them out with 0 gauge THHN, i've found that makes for a much better battery cable since they have thicker strands. Harder to bend but will carry a huge ammount of amperage. I've used it on any vehicle i had to replace cables on.
The block heater is my next route though i have heard sometimes it will cause the glow plugs not to cycle at all and could make it harder to start. I will probably end up doing that as well i just wanted to determing the health of the engine as it is with normal components. It seemed it may have used a few quarts of oil since the last oil change, but i cant be too sure i its leak or burning, i dont see any smoke, it's always dripping a little oil but i also have a small hydraulic hose fitting for the auxillery leaking and going under the engine so its hard to tell. I only added oil once so i am going to be keeping a closer eye on it this time.

 

[reaperman]

The battery cables seem to be pretty thick on it already though i may switch them out with 0 gauge THHN, i've found that makes for a much better battery cable since they have thicker strands. Harder to bend but will carry a huge ammount of amperage. I've used it on any vehicle i had to replace cables on.
The block heater is my next route though i have heard sometimes it will cause the glow plugs not to cycle at all and could make it harder to start. I will probably end up doing that as well i just wanted to determing the health of the engine as it is with normal components. It seemed it may have used a few quarts of oil since the last oil change, but i cant be too sure i its leak or burning, i dont see any smoke, it's always dripping a little oil but i also have a small hydraulic hose fitting for the auxillery leaking and going under the engine so its hard to tell. I only added oil once so i am going to be keeping a closer eye on it this time.

I cant speak for any other machines other than mine. But when plugged in for a few hours or so. The glow plugs cycle for a minimum of 20 seconds. If I turn off the key after the first cycle and then turn it on again, it will cycle for another 20 seconds. So the option of cycling more then once is open when the machine is plugged in. The longest I've saw the glow plugs cycle on my machine without being plugged in is 30 seconds.