Doug:
"There sure is a lot of hype that goes along with all these slow speed engines....."
Damn you have a dim view of these engines
to all others:
i have been around diesel engines from little guys from 6hp aircooled to 1710 ci cummins and 12v149s, and just about everything inbetween.
without exception the common offerings from cummins, detroit, mack, navistar, cat, perkins etc
are much more of a problem to repair, requireing all manner of specialized tooling, expensive parts
(albeit easier to get sometimes) special processes and more than the average DIY'ers ability to effect any meaningful repairs. my bet is kubota, isuzu, etc are nearly as heavy on the above requirements.
as opposed to the listeroid, petteroid, and to a lessor extent the changfa, where most able bodied DIY'er can effect a repair and get his engine back online using some pretty crude methods, few tools and low expense.
are they perfect? certainly not.
but what engine is?
are they reasonable in price? yes!
what other engine meets this criteria?
i have said this before, and it bares repeating..
"as a certified diesel mechanic that has many years experience with many differing engines..
if i were to pick an engine and a generator head to be dropped on Mars with,,, you damn sure bet
that it would be a listeroid and an st head"
i would hope that folks would read the meaning behind that statement
you might ask why i would make such a choice?
because i can think of no other engine that is so easily made to run, and run long hours,,, even if it smokes, rattles, knocks and leaks.... it will continue to run.
if i needed a big end brg,, i am confident i could relign the old one with tire weights if need be and scrape to refit and it would work
if i had a badly scored crank journal and given enough time, i could resize it in my garage as well, and it would run
if i had a bent pushrod, or a bent valve, i know i could straighten either and make it run again.
if i had a noisey ball or roller brg, i know i could repack as necessary and make it work,, maybe it makes some noise,, but it will run.
if i have a scored injector pump, i am confident i could make it work again as well, same for an injector.
if i had an idler with a broken tooth or three, i know i could put new teeth on it as well if pressed to do so.
i cannot think of an easier to repair and make run engine
there is literally nothing on these engines that cannot be made to work given a bit of time and some
forethought
would it operate at western standards, probably not... but faced with running and not haveing a runner.. which would you choose?
i think it also should be stated that most folks regard this "hobby" if you will with some bit of passion,
there are many good importers that work tirelessly to improve the product. I think to continually berate the engines based on "small sampling" is not fair and undermines the efforts of those that are
doing the work to improve not only engines that are imported but those that already are here.
again i will state for the record that these engines and the st head are an amazing product for the dollars spent.
i can if i chose find all the faults with either the engines or the st head, but what good does it do?
better to analize the faults, find ways to make them right,, than to just call them junk, wouldnt you think?
especially when there really is no alternative engine or genhead that:
1. is within the DIY'ers price range
2. is within the DIY'er means to not only maintain but repair
3. is within the DIY'ers budget for tooling
4. is within the DIY'ers ability to understand without specialized training
5. will continue to run, even if it smokes, rattles, knocks, and leaks
6. seems to run for thousands of hours with sand, dirt, grit and poor quality control
7. will burn just about any fuel that is flammable
8. can be hand crank started... and...
9. is commonly available (ok ,, relatively speaking)
now then if you can find an alternative that fills these 9 criteria, step up and tell me
i am all ears,,, rather "eyes"
bob g