Finally gave in and tried using starter fluid on a cold Detroit Diesel

I always swore it was a hack that would wreck your rings, but after fighting a 6V92 for 45 minutes at 6am in January, I hit it with a half-second shot and she fired right up. Has anyone else stopped being stubborn about this and actually seen any real damage from occasional use?

2 comments

2 Comments

black.joel2d ago

I swore by the same thing for years, told every young mechanic I worked with that ether was a sure way to scuff up a piston. Then I watched an old timer hit a cold 8V92 with a quick squirt and it fired like it was July. That made me rethink everything. I have used it maybe half a dozen times since then on that same engine and never noticed any ring issues or scoring. I still think you have to be smart about it, a full second blast is asking for trouble, but a tiny shot now and then is probably fine.

leo6122d ago

The whole ether debate is one of those things where folks get locked into a rule without ever stopping to ask why the rule exists. Same thing happens with running an engine low on oil to "change it cleaner" or never using a torque wrench on lug nuts because "I can feel it." Rules get passed down like gospel but the real trick is understanding the "why" behind them. With ether, the danger comes from using too much, not from the stuff itself. A measured half-second squirt on a cold morning is a calculated risk, not a hack. This happens in a lot of trades, not just wrenching. People turn a good caution into an absolute law.