cadillac diesel

[wrench]

Mr Hopland, I will have to dig it out and see who made the wrench...there was a plastic fuel distributor gear that was replaced with a metal one. I did this on the one i had rebuilt. It is the piece that turns inside to sequence the port timing for the fuel injectors...I would recommend this change. I figure if you arent having any issues, it was probably changed out years ago.

[cadman56]

I purchased a Pontiac Safari in 1981 diesel  new.  Very noisy and smelly, great fuel mileage.  At 18,000 miles is started burning oil.  5 qts. in a 200 mile trip.  At 20,000 miles I couldn't make the trip.  I started carrying a full case of oil.  I finally got GM to put a Cadillac engine in it, it was the only one availabe in Kansas at the time.  that engine went 80,000 miles then both heads cracked with the wife on her way to work at 10 degrees F outside.  I went to a 307 Olds V8 after that.  the  changeover went very well.  Larry

[TJ Hopland]

It wasn't a gear, it was more of a washer sort of thing.  I believe the official name was flex ring.  I think the idea was it would dampen the connection to the governor.   With sudden RPM changes you could get in a car there were apparently issues with the governor getting stuck or damaged.  I think it also effects the idle quality so you can see why they tried to smooth things out.   A tractor doesn't tend to change rpms as rapidly and were not expected to idle as smooth as a Cadillac.

The symptom of the ring failing isn't usually some issue with the governor its stalling because the debris plugs the return port out of the pump which is also the pressure regulator.  All the internals of the injection pump work of hydraulic pressure (using the fuel as the fluid) kinda like an auto trans.  If the whole housing pressure spikes all the rest of the metering gets screwed up, usual mode is no fuel delivery at all.   

I have seen the pumps apart and there are quite a few little bits and pieces in em and a lot of things you can screw up if you don't know what you are doing.  I found a shop that still has the 5.7 mounts for their test machine so I just take them in when I have issues.  Someday I may decide to learn more but for now I like just being able to bolt the pump on and go knowing its been calibrated and tested.    I actually have no idea what my guy puts in em, he came highly recommended and I have not had any issues so far with stuff I have had him work on.       

[wrench]

It wasn't a gear, it was more of a washer sort of thing.  I believe the official name was flex ring.  I think the idea was it would dampen the connection to the governor.   With sudden RPM changes you could get in a car there were apparently issues with the governor getting stuck or damaged.  I think it also effects the idle quality so you can see why they tried to smooth things out.   A tractor doesn't tend to change rpms as rapidly and were not expected to idle as smooth as a Cadillac.

The symptom of the ring failing isn't usually some issue with the governor its stalling because the debris plugs the return port out of the pump which is also the pressure regulator.  All the internals of the injection pump work of hydraulic pressure (using the fuel as the fluid) kinda like an auto trans.  If the whole housing pressure spikes all the rest of the metering gets screwed up, usual mode is no fuel delivery at all.   

I have seen the pumps apart and there are quite a few little bits and pieces in em and a lot of things you can screw up if you don't know what you are doing.  I found a shop that still has the 5.7 mounts for their test machine so I just take them in when I have issues.  Someday I may decide to learn more but for now I like just being able to bolt the pump on and go knowing its been calibrated and tested.    I actually have no idea what my guy puts in em, he came highly recommended and I have not had any issues so far with stuff I have had him work on.     

You are correct, sir...looked into it and it was the flex ring on the governor damper...there are a couple of options to eliminate the plastic piece...