mbracewell
Member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2005
- Messages
- 11
I thought I would share some tips for new owners of diesel Bobcats. Maybe someone can learn something at my expense rather than their own. I bought a Bobcat 743B this summer. It was very hard to start first time of day but if it was warm it started without a problem. When starting it blew white smoke which if you have read other threads is a sign of unburnt diesel and possibly a glow plug problem. It would take me 5 -10 tries to start if I got the choke set just right. I should have just tested and replaced the glow plugs at $5.86 a piece. Instead I opted to put this off until I had to replace the starter at $190. So I pulled and tested the glow plugs and they were ALL bad. After replacing the plugs I am happy to report the Bobcat starts on the first try. Every diesel engine has it's own quirks but here is what works best to start my 743B. Set the choke at about the half-way setting. Glow for 20 seconds (at 50 F through 90 F; haven't gone through a winter yet) Start the engine. As soon as it sounds like it is starting to try to fire push the choke all the way down (off) and it should start. Moral of the story: If you are getting white smoke on startup or suspect a problem with the glow plugs take the time to check and replace them. They are a lot cheaper than replacing your starter. I hope this helps someone out. Mike