"Fred" wrote:
"Bruce" wrote in message
.. .
"Fred" wrote:
I'm not saying you're wrong but ether has been used in the starting of
diesels for decades. What authoritative evidence is there of this type of
damage?

None. It's an old wives' tale.

Diesel engines that start only reluctantly usually need some form of
mechanical attention. Using EasyStart prolongs the time until they
finally get that attention.

During that intervening period, they will only start with EasyStart,
giving rise to the (erroneous) beliefs that they are either "addicted
to EasyStart" or that EasyStart has done some permanent damage.

Neither is true; the engine just needs some proper maintenance, and
until it gets it, using EasyStart is the only way it will start.


Thanks for that. I was curious since Easystart can also be used to aid the
starting of petrol engines, hence may not be ideal for a diesel engine in
terms of rate of combustion and hence stress engine components.


I would not give it a moment's thought. It makes initial combustion
from cold easier, that's all.


The 2.5 is unusual in that it doesn't have any glow plugs. Also the
standard battery is hardly man enough to churn the engine at a good speed
such that in the last 2 years of my van's life it needed Easystart on cold
mornings.


A bigger battery is a boon on a diesel. One of my cars has a 3 litre
six cylinder diesel engine and the glow plugs aren't working as they
should. Uprating the battery from 100 Ah to 120 Ah has helped make
starting more predictable.


You say it implies maintenance but there isn't a schedule for
maintaining injectors or the pump. The van was maintained in every other
respect and had 2 recon injectors over it's life which didn't make any
difference. (Apparently they were dribbling!)


I'm surprised there is no service schedule. On my car, the injectors
are tested for correct delivery volume and spray pattern and no
leakage, every 40,000 miles. Perhaps Ford only advise this in
response to a report of a problem, rather than as preventative
maintenance.

I have often heard it said that the Transit is designed for a short
but very hard working life. I considered buying one as a base for a
motorhome but was advised that the rustproofing is almost non-existent
because Transits are not designed to last more than 3-5 years and
250-300,000 miles. Mechanically, they are tough within their design
lifespan but can unreliable after that.

I chose a VW but I still have a lot of respect for the Transit.