markstud darren trifena
Fortun Bawa
Have the fuel pump and injectors checked first. Last year ours wouldn't start when hot, following cutting out. This year it wouldn't start! We've ended up with a rebuild, after which we initially had problems with it stalling in neutral, but a small adjustment has sorted that out.
What sort of Lister is it? The problem sounds like it is fuel pump/governor related and an engine re-build should not be necessary to cure any problems in that area. Is the tick-over set at the right speed? If it is you might need to get the pumps serviced and/or some adjustments/ renewals in the governor but they are not an engine out job for most Listers
thanks for replies and I'll try and give a better picture. Sorry don't know model of Lister and can't look at the moment as has been abandoned due to "starter motor failure". I can't get back now to it for over a week.
Back to cutting out problem. Have had the fuel system looked at by said engineer. It will keep going with extra revs. For the first 3-4 hours it runs nice, no prob. It's when it gets hot I have problems.
EG. going into a lock on tick over it just cuts out but will start straight away. But as you can imagine this is really not the time to be mucking about constantly having to re start the engine. (maybe doing this is what has done the starter motor)
Can you adjust the tickover slightly with the slow running screw? is the air filter clean? Air filter should be clean (I hope) as just had the engine serviced. Have to admit I don't know about the slow running screw.
I think Canuck is thinking oil dilution, as am I, and it will show by a rising oil level and thin, dieselly oil. It is caused on those Listers with internal fuel pipes when you get a fuel leak inside the engine and any competent engineer should be able to fix it in a very few hours or less.
When metal gets hot it expands, the tolerances in a diesel pump, high pressure side, are very tight. As the pump wares, it can move outside of those tolerances. Also adjustments are not necessarily made in the right direction.
A really good tip is to remove the pump, take it to a specialist with the correct measuring equipment, to re-calibrate. 9 from 10 they'll only have to adjust it, but you may need a new bit in there. When I got mine done I took the injectors along as well Total cost was more than I had anticipated at three hundred quid, but it was like a new engine, started without the heaters, and even now a few years later its a fantastic starter, and runner. Highly recommended.
Compression and air are easy to test. Fuel is more complicated. If you have fuel in the tank, a new filter, and the pipes are clear, then the injector pump is most probably the culprit. I totally endorse Yamanx's suggestion that you get the pump and injectors serviced.
If it is the Lister some of us think it is there will be one pump per cylinder INSIDE the engine. All set up with shims. Until we have ruled out partial seizure caused by oil dilution or get a positive ID of the engine I do not think this is a very good idea.
We need to ID the engine and rule out dilution and then cooling air flow (assuming its air cooled). Only then should we start considering a fuel problem and if it starts easily from cold I doubt its a worn engine. If it starts easily a soon as it has stalled (but with more throttle) I doubt its fuel. If may be a broken governor spring but lets do the simple things first.
I am not familiar with that particular engine, so I would bow to your experience. However, for others reading this with similar issues with diesel engines of a more common type, this is a good plan of action Makes a great deal of difference
If it is the Lister some of us think it is there will be one pump per cylinder INSIDE the engine. All set up with shims. Until we have ruled out partial seizure caused by oil dilution or get a positive ID of the engine I do not think this is a very good idea.
I can see where everyone is coming from with their hints at oil dilution, but the OP said it only stalls on idle after 3-4 hours running (I assume that is 3 or 4 hours and not 3/4 hour). If the cooling system is working properly there shouldn't really be much difference in engine temperature between 1 hour and 3 or 4 hours running time.
But I later discovered that the air baffles had been fitted upside down resulting in a lack of proper cooling air circulation around the cylinders. I have seen 3 other LR/SR engines with baffles fitted upside down so it can't be a unique problem! But convincing a mechanic that this might be the problem could be a different matter!
When we had an old SR3, on hot days the longer it had been running the slower the tickover would be, until eventually it would cut out at tickover. There was a slight improvement after careful setting up of the injector pump timings, but basically we only ever solved it by increasing the tickover speed in hot weather. However that did mean that it was too fast until the engine had got really hot.
It overheated badly on the Trent once, after a long hot slog from Cromwell to Keadby, and cut out just as we were lining up to enter Keadby lock. That, coupled with a misunderstanding of the lock-keeper's hand-signals meant that we hit the wall beside the lock very hard; hard enough to have to buy some new screws to fix the cabin top back on, and hard enough to topple a china barrel of whisky off the worktop and break it on the floor. Half a gallon of whisky in the carpet kept the dogs drunk for a week. After that incident I regarded the increased tickover speed as a small price to pay for a reliable engine.
Hi I remember that turning into Keadby so well after struggling with a broken propeller blade down the Trent I would have made sure all the whiskey was drunk to give me dutch courage before that lock entry. Unfortunately I had no whiskey but that didn't stop me hitting the wall - so I'll have a drink tonight to all those who have hit the lock wall or been washed out into the Humber.
The company was formed in 1986, after owner Hawker Siddeley Group Plc merged Dursley, Gloucestershire based R A Lister and Company (acquired in 1965), with Yeovil, Somerset based Petters Limited (acquired in 1957).
In 1992, Hawker Siddeley Group Plc was acquired by BTR plc for 1.5bn.[1] In 1999 BTR merged with Siebe to form BTR Siebe plc, which was renamed Invensys plc.[2] In preparation, BTR sold any subsidiary operations, including Lister-Petter in 1996 to Schroders Venture Capital.[3]
In 2000, with Schroders looking to exit, the firm was bought through a 13.5M management buyout, enabled through selling the original Lister factory site to the South West Regional Development Agency. By this time, the core engine products were in demise, and the company employed around 250 people on a turnover of 35M. Cost-cutting measures included closing the award-winning foundry in 2001: it had been one of the most advanced in Europe when it opened in 1937. In 2003, the company fell into its first administration.[4]
Both companies produced a range of small diesel engines, ranging from single-cylinder water-cooled engines of 2.7 horsepower (the 'Zeta' series) up to the 64 horsepower (48 kW) 'Delta' engine. One higher-power engine of up to 335 horsepower (250 kW), the 'Omega' is also produced under licence. The engine designs range from more recent design high-speed turbodiesels (such as the 'Gamma' or 'Omega' engines) to traditional single-cylinder medium-speed types such as the 'A-Series' and 'Phi' types.
Lister Petter engines are generally used in stationary industrial applications such as pumping and electricity generation. The company produces a range of complete generator sets, units equipped for welding and in-house pumping sets, as well as supplying engines to other equipment manufacturers. L-P engines are widely exported, especially for use in irrigation projects.[5] The company also maintains a long tradition (of both its founder companies) in supplying engines for marine applications both as prime mover engines for small vessels and as auxiliary power units in larger ones.
Lister Petter's main product, the 'Alpha' series of sub-2-litre engines, is also available in spark ignition forms for running on natural gas or propane.[6] L-P also manufactures and sells biodiesel plants, allowing customers to produce their own fuel for diesel engines.
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