Is it OK to use starter fluid on a diesel truck engine?

starting fluid is perfectly fine. not the best thing 20 years ago. but it's greatly improved now.

i don't have a place to plug when i park my truck on hometime. sometimes it's even needed just camping out overnight. up in the dakotas.

i've even had the mechanics use it when they can't get the truck started after installing new fuel filters.

 

Heck, WD-40 works well. too. Take out the air filter and one squirt in the intake.

 

its ok to use,that bring said do not use too much and ether lock the engine. bad things will happen if used in excess.

 

No spark! Its a diesel. ...

 

back in the day most old Detroits wouldnt start without ether
modern engines if they still have good compression and good batteries shouldn't need it
too much starter fluid washes down cylinder walls
probably no worse then cold oil until the engine warms up
long term damage happens everytime you cold start any engine
just dont know how much
like every cigarette is damaging your lungs
just might be 20 years until the effect is reflected back to the cause

 

Its ok. Some trucks still come with stock starting fluid canister. I would recommend after spraying starting fluid spray some wd40 to give it some lubrication

 

gasoline requires a spark to ignite, diesel ignites under compression alone, starting fluid ignites with either compression or spark.

I've used starting fluid on gasoline and diesel engines of all types without negative consequence for years, but in theory if you use too much starting fluid it could damage the engine as the explosive force is greater than diesel or gasoline. I've heard stories (can't say if they're true) of blowing the head clean off the engine due to accumulation of starting fluid.

 

Interesting... I have a JD tractor that I use starter fluid on, but now will not.

What is Starting Fluid?

Starting fluids are comprised of volatile hydrocarbons, heptane, butane, hexane and a mixture of up to 60% diethyl ether. Ether is clear, colorless liquid that has a low autoignition temperature – handy when the engine you are attempting to use it on it cold. The temperature at which ether auto ignites is 360 Fahrenheit or 182 Celsius. Ether also has a high cetane number, a measure of fuel ignition delay – ether has a high index and so the delay from fuel injection to fuel combustion is shorter. Finally, ether has no lubricating properties like normal diesel fuel does, making it harder on gaskets and seals. Starting fluid is widely available at any automotive supply chain and typically costs $4-5 per spray-can sized can.

How a Diesel Engine Fires

When we take a closer look at the basic mechanical principles of a diesel engine it become easier to understand why reaching for the starter fluid when you are having a tough time getting your Kubota to start is not a good idea.
In any diesel engine, only air is introduced to the combustion chamber. The compressing of this air raises the cylinder temperature to over 1000 degrees F (550 Celsius). At this precise moment, the tip of the injector opens and diesel fuel, also under pressure, is injected into the top of the combustion chamber. The extreme heat then ignites the atomized diesel fuel, firing the piston downward supplying power to the crankshaft.
Your Kubota’s diesel engine produces between 412 and 470 psi of compression. The air sucked into the engine on the upstroke is squeezed at a 19:1 ratio. Depending on the engine model, the tips of the injectors will open between 1700-3400 psi. These are high compression numbers! Your Kubota’s engine is pressure ignited and built to operate within its design limitations of 470 psi of compression. When we introduce an unregulated fuel source, like starting fluid, into the combustion chamber, the compression is much more volatile and can exceed specification – in short, that fluid can grenade the engine.

The Effects of Starting Fluid

The only way to get starter fluid into the engine of your fuel injected Kubota tractor is through the air box. When you spray starting fluid into the air box of the engine, it replaces a certain volume of air with a highly explosive and volatile fuel.
Once the engine is cranked over it quickly begins to compress the air and starting fluid now inside the combustion chamber. As the piston begins to move upwards compression increases and cylinder temperature begins to climb. However, since starting fluid will ignite at a lower temperature 360 F (182 C) versus the diesel fuel at 1000 F (550 C) a flame inside the combustion chamber occurs ahead of the injectors opening to deliver their fuel.
Kubota fuel injection pumps are designed to begin delivery to the injector at 14-22 degrees Before Top Dead Center (BTDC), depending on the specific engine model. This means that as the piston in still traveling upwards, a flame has already started inside the combustion chamber! Spray some diesel fuel into this flame ball and add a little more compression and you can see where this is going. BANG!

With starting fluid displacing the air, ignition now occurs explosively, uncontrollably and with such force that the upper limits of compression pressure are well exceeded. Never, ever use starting fluid on a diesel engine with glow plugs! KA-BLOOMIE!! Kubota tractors all have glow plugs!

 

99% of the time you use the happy gas the air filter never gets removed, so the only thing the engine is taking in from the gas is the vapor. WD40 would do nothing for this.

Mikee, starting fluid is perfectly fine to use, just don't get to carried away with it. We use it to get brand new equipment going in the cold so we can load it or unload it.