Hard Start DT466E

DT 466 ENGINE OIL PUMP from John Whelan on Vimeo.
The regular engine oil pump supplies the HEUI high pressure pump so since the supply wasn't meeting the demand we had a hard start situation. The engine oil pressure regulator appeared to be scored so we attributed the lower oil pressure to that defect.

The oil pump drive and gears had looked alright but who knows what a little wear will do. It could be thousands of an inch causing problems. So after replacing the pump and regulator and using 0W40 oil for the cold start season starting improved drastically. Once we pulled the engine hood off of this bus which was a conventional international 4300 getting at the parts was a breeze.

There was no laying on our backs except for removing the oil pan. One characteristic with all of our DT466E diesel engines was they ran like crap when they were cold. It took some time for the oil pressure in the high pressure side to regulate itself and provide the oil pressure to the injectors. A lot of injector problems were with the injector o-rings that separate the oil from the fuel. They would deteriorate and create an engine miss.

The last of these buses got sold to a church group who took them down to Guatemala. They shipped them by boat the second time around because of an incident while travelling through Mexico. Those road blocks cost a lot of money and you have to watch your back at all times. I talked to a Mechanic who just left to go down there and so some repairs. I hope he has all of the tools and parts he needs. The technology down there is not up to speed so if something breaks it gets fixed in what ever way possible.

The DT466E being electronic needs diagnostic software to analyze faults so I hope the 2 engines stationed down there last for a long time and don't give them grief. I donated a few old parts sitting on the shelf for the air dryer. The mechanic said the air compressor isn't building up very fast. The air dryer most likely needs servicing since it takes out all of the \moisture and oil from the system. Leave it too long and a restriction will build up slowly but surely.

International DT 466E In-Frame Repair

The International diesel engine project is at the head installation stage. We had the head sent to a machine shop and inspected. The valves were touched up and the head was checked for cracks since the failure was an overheating condition. If you're going through all this work it makes sense to take every step necessary to prevent a come-back.

With the head installed the injectors come next. They are hydraulic electronic unit injectors that run on high pressure oil controlled by the electrical signals from the engine ECU. The valve rocker arms are then torqued down and the valves are set at .025 inches.One thing to note with DT 466E engines is the diesel mechanic needs to make sure the engine oil pressure is up to specs because it is responsible for engine starting. If you have low oil pressure for whatever reason you will experience a hard starting or no start condition. We have since returned this bus into service and it's running nicely. The total cost of the in-frame was much less a complete rebuild on a non wet cylinder diesel engine. The fact that everything can be performed in-frame saves a LOT of time and money. One of the disadvantages of running an engine with removable cylinders is they are not part of the block and can move against the sealing o-rings around the liners. If a Mechanic has to rebuild a DT 466 diesel engine once in it's lifetime after hundreds of thousands of miles, I would say that engine definitely paid for itself.

International Diesel Engine Rebuild Installing Liners

In the past International DT466 Diesel Engines used 2 orings to seal the liner in the block. Here is the upgrade with the one seal. You notice we're using Lubriplate grease to pre-lube the seal. You can also use cooking oil which International recommends, all the Mechanics (myself included) in our shop swear by Lubriplate and it has never failed us.

Installing the liner is the next step.It's recommended to keep the liner seated firmly after installation as pictured here with metric fasteners and washers. The liner protrusion has to be checked as well to maintain a good seal surface for the head gasket. I hope this quick Mechanic information tidbit helped you out.

International DT466 Diesel Engine Rebuild Cylinder Liner Seals

International DT466 Diesel Engine Rebuild Update
The next step after removing the head is pulling out the pistons. Once the rod caps are removed they can be pushed up through the cylinder liner and out. Light tapping with a wood drift works as well. The cylinder numbers will be stamped on the connecting rod caps. If there was a thick build up of carbon at the top of the liner, that needs to be removed for the piston rings to pass by easily.

The liners are going to be replaced anyways so you don't need to be gentle removing them. You need a liner puller for this job because of the o-ring seals that have been press fit against the engine block for many years, they require a good pull to jar them loose. (for those of you who have never used a liner puller) The 2 short feet rest on top of the block while the long arms hook onto the bottom edge of the liner. A socket and wrench is used on the top nut and the liner is easily wound out of the block.

Having removable liners for the DT 466 E Diesel Engines makes the in-frame a very cost effective process. We paid around 1500.00 for the "Works Kit" from the International dealer. That's a cheap rebuild! There is no engine removal and that saves a ton of  labor.

Once the liners are removed it's time to do the cleanup on the block deck and engine liner bores. While you're doing this keep an eye out for anything unusual like wear on the block surface or cracks in the casting etc. DT 466 Diesel Engines are bullet proof so the chances are slim to none there will be a problem.

Here's the bad liner or should I say the bad o-ring. We had a full crankcase of sludge, with a gravity feed from the block coolant supply. So the first thing to check if you are losing a lot of coolant is pull the dipstick and check for a sludge build up in the oil.

The new liners have been upgraded with only one o-ring compared to the original 2 seen here. This is the only disadvantage of  running wet liners but this type of failure is not overly common, especially with this engine having under 100,000 miles.

If you are a Mechanic you want to make sure to check on recent Technical Service Bulletins on these DT Diesel Engines . We found one that brought our attention to the new style liner seal and to use a vegetable oil to lubricate the seals. They also need to have retention hold downs after installation to keep them seated in the block.

DT466 International Diesel Engine In-Frame

After removing the radiator assembly from our International DT466 Diesel Engine and then the oil pan that was required to check for leaking liners, The next step is to remove the cylinder head. The head will be sent out for inspection at a local machine shop, the head will be put into a hot tank so all the fittings and plugs have to be removed . The machine shop will do a full service which includes a magniflux  to check for any cracks and a valve / valve seat grind to true up everything back to new. The turbocharger will be rebuilt and injectors  sent to a  fuel injection shop for flushing and bench testing to check for proper operation. These are necessary steps for a Diesel Mechanic to ensure a healthy start up after assembly.

DT 466 Diesel Engine In Frame Rebuild.

One of our International DT466 diesel engines had an incident a few days ago. It over heated and shut down, after discovering coolant in the crankcase the only conclusion was to remove the oil pan and inspect it further. This is an electronic 2001 model but the mechanical principles still remain the same. They have wet liners which are sealed by o-rings keeping the coolant seperated from the crankcase.

After removing the oil pan and pressurizing the cooling system the problem was obvious. One liner had failed o-rings which caused the coolant leakage problem from the beginning. This will require an in-frame rebuild. I am going to document this procedure step by step so you can see the inner workings of the DT 466 Diesel Engine.

DT466 When To Adjust Valves

DT466 When To Adjust Valves is up to the shop or owner/operator. If you're putting a lot of miles and heavy loads on the engine a regular check should be planned ahead of time to keep the valves in tune. With our fleet every year or 50,000 kilometers is the average set point.

In most cases I have never found a valve way out on the adjustment but they still require a bit of attention if you want to keep on top of your maintenance plan. Engine valves take a lot of abuse and wear & tear so they must not be ignored if you plan on keeping your engine for a long period of time.

A loose valve will cause an engine miss or burned valves while a loose valve will upset the valve timing and severely effect the engine performance.

How To Adjust DT466 Engine Valves

Here is an earlier post I did on the valve adjustment for a DT466 diesel engine. This engine is the electronic version but the adjustment remains the same.
I hope this information on the DT466 when to adjust valves has helped you...