ls your lift truck too old togjv_eup smoking?

I f tSN'f necessarily true that a I smoking diesel-powered lift truck means big trouble or that a little oil leak means impending failure. Yet, one can't make snap judgements about diesel engine service. Diesels are designed with high pressure fuel systems that require extreme cleanliness and precise calibration if they are to function properly. You can diagnose many symptoms and make certain corrections if you use common sense and recognize your limitations.

Hit and miss repair, with parts being replaced helter skelter until something works, costs money and causes downtime under any circumstance. In the case of diesels. benefits of fuel saving and high reliability can best be maintained if diasnosis of service problems is done witlh the right tools used by capable people.

Proper diagnostic tools can pin- point such problems as faulty injectors, low compression and faulty fuel pumps. With the help of a nozzle tester you can identify such common problems as leaky or plugged nozzles. A compression tester is what is needed to check cylinder compression. A calibration machine is what the professionals use to check pump settings and output, and there are many others well recognized in service shops.

Despite the rising number of

By Vern L. Koelling Product Scrvice Representative Industrial Truck Division Allis-Chalmers Corp Matteson. Ill.

diesel powered lift trucks used in industrial and distribution applications, many users of these trucks find proper diagnosis a real problem. In the case of the black smoke symp- tom, they err by changing the pump when a nozzle is leaking or plugged. If low power is the symptom, a common maintenance error is to overhaul the engine when adjustment of the timing would have corrected the condition.

Naturally, it's great if you can do all your diagnosis, or some of it, yourself. But if you can't, make your own preliminary evaluation and then call on your dealer who does have the diagnostic tools and the expertise to handle a diesel engine.

Let's take a look at preliminary diagnosis you can do for yourself.

When a problem with a diesel engine is encountered, preliminary checks should be made to ascertain if the problem can be easily resolved. For instance, if the diesel engine will not start it is not yet time to rip the injection pump off or start turning screws. Is there fuel in the tank?

Is fuel flowing to the fuel pump, to the injectors? Perhaps the fuel system has an air leak or requires priming. Are you using the pioper grade of fuel? Check the air intake system for restrictions. Always check the basics prior to probing into the more complicated components.

Fuel injection systems are of two types, the individual unit and the multiple unit form. The first consists of a combined pump and nozzle individually located at each cylinder and operated by a rocker-arm and pushrod from the engine camshaft. The second type comprises a single pump assembly which is engine driven. High pressure fuel is delivered to separate nozzles at the cylinder through high pressure tubing lines. Since the diesel engine has no electrical ignition system, faults can often be traced to the fuel system. You say you have smoke! What color is the smoke? Color often tells the tale.

White Smoke: Usually indicates a cold engine. Some white smoke when the engine temperature is not normalized can be expected. White smoke should cease when engine temperature is normalized. (160-180)

Blue Smoke: Indicates the burning of engine oil. Check to see the engine oil level is not over full. There may be a problem at the oil rinss or valve guides.

Black Smoke: The most common smoke is black. Lack of efficient combustion is indicated when black smoke soars from the exhaust pipe. The correct ratio of air to fuel is not being realized. Since the easiest of the above two areas to check is the air intake system, the air cleaner and duct work should be checked for restrictions. Has the air inlet system received proper care and service? At this time the timing should also be checked. Lack of power and black smoke indicate late combustion.

If the above areas are found to be correct the fuel system must now be checked for the delivery of the proper amount of fuel at the proper pressure being injected at the correct time.

On most diesels, during the transition from no load to heavy load, a burst of black smoke will appear as an over abundance of fuel must be injected into the cylinder to absorb the rapid load increase. This symptom is to be expected and adjustment will not eliminate the condition.

High pressure fuel pump delivery usually requires calibration on a sophisticated test stand. There tests can be made only when a load condition is equated. The fuel pump settings are usually sealed after the factory setting. Tampering or breaking of the fuel pump seals may void the pump or diesel engine warranty. In most instances, tampering with the fuel pump adjustments will complicate rather than eliminate fuel system problems. The fuel system is the lifeblood of any diesel engine. The system will perform reliably if the system is kept clean.

Story at a Glance

Avoid snap judgements about diesel engine service it's too costly to keep changing parts until you discover the problem what various colored smoke means.

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We were proud to be chosen by Frost Hardwood Lumber Company to erect this pole building at their new facility at Miramar, Ca., shown here under construction.

Rough sawn redwood 4' x 8' panels were used on one side. The preservative treated poles were left exposed to add visual interest. Twenty-four glue laminated beams were used in the 28,000 sq. ft. structure. Easy access is an important feature of this versatile shed.

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Hobbs Wall Co. Gited

The Hobbs Wall Lumber Co.. widely known as "the oldest name in redwood," has won recognition from the Simpson Timber Co. for its achievement of selling more than one million board feet of redwood during 1978.

ln presenting their Million Foot Award to Hobbs Wall, George Kreiss, Simpson's western market development supervisor, lumber. praised the firm for its dedication to successful redwood sales practices and its close attention to customer service. "Hobbs Wall is an excellent company and we are proud to do business with them," Kreiss sai d.

Founded by Calib Hobbs and David Pomeroy and joined later by J.E. Wall, Hobbs. Wall & Conrpany, as it was then known, canle into being in 1864 in CrescentCity, Ca., the outgrowth of a predecessor company established in 1858, two years before Abraham Lincoln becanre president.

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In the 1930s, its holdings in Crescent City and surrounding Del Norte County were liquidated lor estate and other reasons, with the San Francisco facility becoming the center ol operations. concentrating on remanufacturing and selling the outDut of several redwood mills.

Reorganized following WWII bY Lewis A. Codard and Alfred D. Bell. Jr. (a former principal of The

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"Ollie" Lee Retires

O.W. "Ollie" Lee has retired from Oakley Plywood and Doors, completing a long career in the lumber industry.

A native of Rochester. N.Y., he entered banking and advanced to v.p. before resigning to become sec.-treas. of a lumber firm. Later he moved to E.L. Bruce Co. and Georgia-Pacific where he worked for 15 years as a sales rep before retiring. While there, he became a member of the Vice-Presidents' Round Table of top salesmen.

He returned to work as a sales rep at Oakley Plywood and Doors for nine years. Despite retirement he has agreed to suPervise the annual Oakley open golf tournament in July, according to Bud Cligny, mgr. of the company.