Satoh Bull won’t start

[TheCrazySatohMan]

Hello everyone, I have a Satoh Bull 25 hp diesel 2cyl that will not start. I paid $1500 for it in a non-running condition. It is 4x4 with a front end loader, 2800 hours. I got all the water out of the system, put new fuel in and primed it up. It has 330 psi in one cyl and 340 in the other. Is this enough? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Roadworthy]

Are the glow plugs good? Do you have voltage to them? How did you "prime it up"? There's a specific sequence for bleeding the air out of the fuel lines. Did you replace the fuel filter? Is the fuel turned on?

 

[TheCrazySatohMan]

Hello Roadworthy, by priming I mean I bled all the air out of the system the correct way. I didn’t replace the filter, I just flushed it. One glow plug is broke off, but one works correctly. I’m assuming the one glow plug isn’t hindering it? It’s like 80 degrees here in Missouri.

 

[Roadworthy]

I had a Mitsubishi D2510 four cylinder. Without glow plugs it was difficult to start on a hot day (over 100) and not wanting to go at all on a warm day (80 or so). I never checked the compression but at 1500 hours I'm sure it was down a bit. You should have enough compression to run but may not be spinning fast enough to get enough heat. I'd go for glow plugs as the next step and be sure you've got power to them. That glow plug indicator on the dash is a coil of nichrome wire to drop the voltage to the glow plugs and frequently the ends will corrode dropping all the voltage there, leaving none to the glow plugs. The glow plug position on your starter switch can also fail.

 

[nepa]

Are you following proper starting procedure? Most Satohs require the engine speed to be set to absolute full fast for cold starting. This is besides having working glow plugs.

 

[Roadworthy]

Good thought, Nepa. Full throttle position acts like a choke on a carbureted engine, kicking in some part of the linkage - I don't recall what it's called but it was in my manual.