Newbie-Two Machines-Engine Swap...Here To Stay!!

[jay42782]

hey guys!! new to the forum and new to skid steers!! i have been around them most of my life but never owned one and let me tell you i will always have one around untill i leave this world!! i live in the country and help is hard to find for odds and ends and these machine give you the extra helping hand. well for starters i bought two machines for my first purchase!! yes two..lol.the first machine is i believe a late 70's early 80's Hydra-Mac.it is equipped with a 2cyl isuzu diesel.old school T handels.this machine was gone through to the last nut and bolt 2 years ago minus motor.looks great just kinda small but i will upgrade soon.only thing i dont like is you have to use starting fluid for the first start till its warm and then your good to go.i know this is not good on diesels so thats why i have turned to the pro's here.the guy i bought it from said the glow plug wire was not hooked up? i didnt know if maybe thats why starting fluid is needed? other that that its a good solid machine. the second machine i bought is a maybe early 80's mustang 345 with the black,yellow and white decals that run the entire length of the lift arms.this is the machine i was after but the bad news is the motor was pulled.looks to be in pretty good shape and i only gave what scrap price is.my question to you is what would be a easy to come by diesel engine for a repower project?i was told he thought it had a 40hp gas engine.i know this has been covered many times but i have had no luck searching.i would love to do this swap and keep this one and sell the other but did not know what i was getting into. just to let everyone know i do not intend to bump and run this forum.i plan to have a skid steer from here on out and want to learn these machines inside and out.i greatly appreciate you guys taking the time to read this and give me any tips and pointers to look for during this engine swap and repower. thanks again!!

 

[Tazza]

No glow plugs will make for harder starting, that's for sure. Look for the glow plug rail, and see if they are connected and if they are agetting power.
Removing them and checking if they work is a good idea too. Use a battery cable and touck them to the terminals, see if they glow red right to the tip, if not, they are bad and need replacing.
When they are all working, give it say 15-30 seconds of glow, then crank, see if it fires right up or not. The colder it is, the more glowing you will need. Just don't leave them running when the engine has started. They will run for a few minutes ok, but too long and they will burn out.

 

[jay42782]

No glow plugs will make for harder starting, that's for sure. Look for the glow plug rail, and see if they are connected and if they are agetting power.
Removing them and checking if they work is a good idea too. Use a battery cable and touck them to the terminals, see if they glow red right to the tip, if not, they are bad and need replacing.
When they are all working, give it say 15-30 seconds of glow, then crank, see if it fires right up or not. The colder it is, the more glowing you will need. Just don't leave them running when the engine has started. They will run for a few minutes ok, but too long and they will burn out.

thanks Tazza! great info