1955 Bucyrus Erie help needed

Jason - Congrats on the 15-B purchase. That is a very nice straight machine! I purchased one last fall and mine has the Caterpillar engine too.

Regarding the potential stuck diesel. You will want to put the decompression lever in the "Start" position as that will be true decompression. Another option for attempting to turn the diesel over would be to engage the pony motor pinion and put a large socket on the pony flywheel nut and see if you can rotate the diesel.

Jeremy

Thanks for the reply. Would like to see some pictures of your machine also.

On the decompression lever, is pulling it away from the engine put it in decompression mode or pushing it in towards the engine? Also, need some direction on the start handle too

Jason - Congrats on the 15-B purchase. That is a very nice straight machine! I purchased one last fall and mine has the Caterpillar engine too.

Regarding the potential stuck diesel. You will want to put the decompression lever in the "Start" position as that will be true decompression. Another option for attempting to turn the diesel over would be to engage the pony motor pinion and put a large socket on the pony flywheel nut and see if you can rotate the diesel.

Jeremy

Here is a good video explaining the starting sequence. This is a D2 shown but the procedure will be the same for your D315.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcz7qPz8QTE

Jason - Congrats on the 15-B purchase. That is a very nice straight machine! I purchased one last fall and mine has the Caterpillar engine too.

Regarding the potential stuck diesel. You will want to put the decompression lever in the "Start" position as that will be true decompression. Another option for attempting to turn the diesel over would be to engage the pony motor pinion and put a large socket on the pony flywheel nut and see if you can rotate the diesel.

Jeremy

OK...update. I was hoping that the main crane clutch was engaged, keeping the diesel from turning over but no such luck. I believe the pinion is already engaged (red circle). If I Push the bigger handle towards the radiator while turning the pony over, it severely drags the pony down but the diesel still doesn't move. I also have the decompression release pulled away from the motor. Am i doing this right?

Yes it appears you are doing things correctly. Good call on verifying the main clutch is disengaged too. These cranes are a little more difficult as you cant just pull it like you could do with a crawler to confirm the engine rotates.

What does the diesel exhaust pipe look like on the roof, Does it have a good flap on it? Might help to determine if water possibly made its way into the engine. Any history from the previous owner on how long it was sitting or condition when last ran?