D2 donkey engine

check for a good fuel flow to the carburetor
check for a nice blue spark on the spark plugs
check the crankcase that its not diluted with gas

Carbureter is not so easy to get off nor to clean

[quote="Richard~J~W"]So a friend has just got hold of a D2, he reckons the donkey engine won't start - but he's not mechanically minded so no idea what.......and asked me to take a look at it "one day". Now bearing in mind I have never worked on these things before does anyone have a list of basic things to check (apart from fuel in the tank) rather than wearing myself out with the pull cord.

Is the carb easily overhauled and set up? Is it OK to run on this new unleaded petrol? Easy way to check the spark is strong enough?

thanks[/quote]

Engine only holds about 1 quart of oil. If its sat change it to insure there is no gas in it. When you get it started shut it off by shutting the gas off and let it run out. Just leave the switch in the on position and use for emergencys.

As stated check for spark. My favorite way is to have someone else pull the rope while I hold the plug end of the spark plug wire. I have found it hurts less if I grab someones ear with the other hand. Or you can hold the plug against a good ground.

Open the petcocks and see what comes out. If you have gas flowing and its not firing some will normally run out. If you have no compression valves might be stuck open. The head gaskets are reusable if you need to remove the heads to free the valves. These engines will run however with little compression so do not expect a lot.

If you have to remove the carb to clean it is a bit of a job but believe me, way easier than on a 212 grader. There are posts in the search function discribing drilling out the lead plugs and cleaning the carb. There is also a long jet in there that is easily broke on disassembly. Learn about the carb before disassembly so you have a better chance of not having to look for semi rare parts. I use avaition gas when I can get it or the good non-oxygenated premium. It does not gum up and go to crap near as fast as the other crap.

If you have no spark you may have to clean the points in the mag. Posts discribing how are in the archives also.
Good luck and keep us posted.

I think Neil ran a rather in depth post on the Pony or maybe only the Carb? Do a search of his name and see if you can find his Thread. I wouldn't take the engine off unless it has major mechanical issues. Needs cooling jacket connections to run. On the bench you would have no way to keep it cool!

Let us know your findings from Dan's list in post #2, so we can target the area of concern. Also examine the spark plug wires, the plugs, and go ahead and change the oil while you're there. To check the spark, remove both plugs, and sit them on top of a piece of bare metal on top of the pony so they're well grounded. Pull the starting rope smartly and check both plugs for a good blue spark. Check also if you can where, roughly, the spark occurs relative to the crank position (there is a timing mark on the flywheel), just so we can confirm that it's roughly in time. Don't consider removing the pony yet - plenty of things to check before we get to that point. Do take off the hood though, and note the nuts to undo to loosen the belt-driven pony governor (two of) and to remove the pony air intake in case we need to get access to pull the mag and carb.

Thanks for the feedback fellas. Much appreciated.

I have been reading back through the archives and historic posts and there's some great info in there.

On ebay I was also looking for a service manual but it seems that they don't include the donkey/pony motor - or at least its not listed in the index.

the operation and maintenance manual has info on the pony operation

Hi Richard,
This may seem very basic, but it does affect starting , to anyone who has never worked on an old donkey engine and understood the controls, you pull the throttle knob out to idle and push in for full bore, the opposite to what most people expect. I reckon its easier to take the carb off to clean it out and re-try than to take the whole motor off, some of the mounting bolts are a bit awkward especially the one in front against the rear of the main block. If the bendix is already engaged, this puts too much drag on the motor for an easy start.

[quote="catsilver"]Hi Richard,
This may seem very basic, but it does affect starting , to anyone who has never worked on an old donkey engine and understood the controls, you pull the throttle knob out to idle and push in for full bore, the opposite to what most people expect. I reckon its easier to take the carb off to clean it out and re-try than to take the whole motor off, some of the mounting bolts are a bit awkward especially the one in front against the rear of the main block. If the bendix is already engaged, this puts too much drag on the motor for an easy start.[/quote]

Hi CatSilver,

Thanks for the reply. Honestly speaking I haven't seen this tractor yet, someone else who has had a D2 for years spent a lot of time trying to start it, in the end managed to get it running by pulling it with another tractor. Also the steering clutches are stuck.

This was several years ago, the machine got put away and nothing done to it......then it came up in conversation over the weekend.

So I am looking for a training course on D2 basic maintenance now :eyebrows: