Ether or Starting Fluid not recommended

[55s]

Another thread mentioned hard starts and the use of starting fluid.

My understanding is that this will damage an engine over the long term, since the higher volatiloty can blow gaskets and heads and melt piston tops.

I use a kitchen baster for injecting a little gas into an engine, especially those pesky side draft models when it hasn't been started for a while.

Question. Does starting fluid hurt Studebakers? Injected gas?

Paul R

[KGlowacky]

I don't know the answer, but I must pass on this story about my Studebaker and Ether. When my 56 wagon was delivered it had two flat front tires. I tried to air them up to roll if off the tailer but the seal between the rubber and rim was broken. The guy delivering the wagon asked me if I had a can of ether handy. I got him one and what he did to this day brings a big smile to me of craziness and disbelief. He sprayed ether into the tire and then (at the same time)took his lighter and lit the ether in the tire and added air with the compressor. It made a loud bang, expanded the tire and sealed. The second tire I stood outside for the performance. I asked him where he learned this. He said over the road truck drivers do it all the time. I still have that can of ether on my self and everytime I look at it I think of my Studebaker. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PROCEDURE TO ANYONE BUT I WILL NEVER FORGET IT. And as I tell everyone my first experiance with my Studebaker started with a bang.

[sbca96]

I would assume a Studebaker V8 would be a bit more forgiving in this
type of starting proceedure, but in the example of my dad's snow blower
too much starting spray literally blew the engine apart - no one was hurt.
My brother inlaw insisted on "helping" my dad = a new snow blower.

Tom

'63 Avanti, zinc plated drilled & slotted 03 Mustang Cobra 13" front disc/98 GT rear brakes, 03 Cobra 17" wheels, GM alt, 97 Z28 leather seats, soon: TKO 5-spd, Ported heads w/SST full flow valves, 'R3' 276 cam, Edelbrock AFB Carb, GM HEI distributor, 8.8mm plug wires

[JDP]

I prefer a little gas down the carb, I do avoid starting fluid. Once you've heard a free hard detonation knocks from it's use, you tend to worry.

JDP/Maryland
64 R2 GT cost to date
$60,984.29
63 R2 SuperHawk
63 Lark 2 door
54 Starlight
52 Starliner
51 Commander
39 Coupe express
39 Coupe express (rod)

[studegary]

I do not recommend using straight ether. Back in the '50s, I did, but not any longer. I remember watching a doctor pour containers of ether into his Packards that had been stored.

IMO, modern starting fluids are okay to use, as directed. They should only be sprayed for two to three seconds into the air cleaner. Modern starting fluids contain; Heptane, Diethyl Ether, Hexane, Carbon dioxide and upper cylinder lubricant.

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longer

[Guido]

Many a tractor head has been cracked due to someone loading it up with ether. Back in the old days I used WD-40, less volatile, but now it has been reformulated and doesn't appear to work at all.

[JDP]

Carb cleaner works fine.

JDP/Maryland
64 R2 GT cost to date
$60,984.29
63 R2 SuperHawk
63 Lark 2 door
54 Starlight
52 Starliner
51 Commander
39 Coupe express
39 Coupe express (rod)

[cjsteak]

Offroad people use that starter fluid in the tire trick all the time. It's usually when they blow a bead due to extremely low tire pressures in the middle of nowhere. I've seen it done, but never had the opportunity to try it (never lost a bead on my '49 CJ2A, or '03 Rubicon I just sold). On a big mud tire, it's a less violent explosion and is the equivalent of that quick burst of air a tire machine pumps into your tire when they mount it for the first time. the smaller car tires have less rubber to flex and "wobble around" so it is a bit more violent hehehe...

It's a really cool trick though!

Chris

1958 Commander Starlight Hardtop Coupe

[rusty nut garage]

Ether/starting fluid is fine when used correctly.........however you must not use too much. Thats the problem thats usually encounterd when we novice's put it into practice.
Russ

Russ Shop Foreman "Rusty Nut Garage"
57 SH (project)
60 Lark VIII 2dr sd (driver)

[dictator27]

I put a comment on here and it seems to have vanished - into the ether? [xx(][}][^] Weird.

Terry

[John Kirchhoff]

I've used countless cans of ether on both gas and diesel engines over the years with no problem. However, Russ is absolutely correct in mentioning it being used correctly. If you hear knocks that sound like you're beating on the side of the engine with a sledge, then you've overdone it. Starting fluid is great stuff for getting a diesel going after it ran out of fuel. It can be very difficult getting all the air out of the injection lines and since air compresses, the injector doesn't open. Running the engine on ether often times gets things going long enough to force the air out. On the tire deal, I like to use a gas torch striker because throwing the lit match deal is frustrating at best.

[curt]

I have used propane fuel, like used on Colman stoves. A few seconds of propane and my Honda started up in -20 F temps one year. I also use a bit of propaneand sometimes carb cleaner on the Studebaker as an aid to a slow start om a car cold car. Since I rebuilt the carb and adjusted the choke the Studebaker has not needed any starting additives.

[DEEPNHOCK]

I think I have done as many bad things with starting fluid as good things......

Bad things? (Depends on who defines bad[}])
Off the top of my head...
(circa 'a long time ago'.... * names changed to protect the...innocent?)

Breaking top rings.
Pounding tops of pistons down on ring lands.
Blowing head gaskets(rare behind the first two).
Burning eyebrows off trying the tire on bead trick.
Catching the jobber bathroom door on fire.
Almost getting a black eye from the guy who was in the bathroom at the time.
Scaring the heck out of customers by popping off a muffler on the counter when they walked in to the auto supply store.
Catching the counter catalogs on fire .2 seconds later.
Torching the guy in the next isle while he was pulling parts.
Nursing the knot on the back of my head from the tie rod end he was pulling (good thing he wasn't pulling a clutch)...
Blowing the entire air cleaner off the top of the engine.
(Repeated a few times until it became clear)
Trying to explain to the neighbors about the absence of cats in the neighborhood.
Knocking down the street sign with the spud gun.
Explaining to the wife why ALL the potatoes were gone right before supper.
Blowing up the PVC spud gun with a tad too much starting fluid..
Repeating this event right after rebuild...twice...
(the can said cures in two hours... Who has two hours?)
Proving without a doubt that the lighter fluid dual tennis ball can ball shooter should NEVER be done with starting fluid. (pre-spud gun by a decade or so)...
Proving duct tape works great on lacerations (see above)..
Proving to my friends that Studebaker undercoating won't come off with starting fluid, but that firemen do really care.
Yep.. Starting fluid is good stuff..
Jeff[8D]

[Bill Elbert]

Jeff, you too must be from the South, tell us about your experience with carbide and Acetyline, from fishin to exploding targets. Beer, things that blowup and firearms, a boyhood in Texas.

Bill Elbert

59 4E11
58 Champion
57 3E11
48 M16
46 M15
41 M5

[DEEPNHOCK]

Some of it is genetic..
I remember my dad taking us lil' kids to a shooting range in Fox River Grove, Illinois back in the late 50's/early 60's....(in some gravel quarry IIRC)
They had a 'plinking range' that was a covered by a curved stand overlooking a small dirty pond.
You'd toss your old Studebaker quart oil can and shoot at it with your .22 until it would sink.
Dad brought about a case of cans, and he'd toss one out... and thirty people would blast the can right out of the water..
So, my dad took note of that.
The next time we went out he brought all of our old oil cans.
But he filled some of them with the catalyst and resin for styrofoam.
He told us to ignore the can 'way out there' and shoot at the smaller STP can up close.
We were all laughing at the thousand rounds pumped into the quart can long after we plinked the STP can to the bottom of the pond.
At the end of the day I remember all the styrofoam chunks all over the pond.
My childhood is chocked full of some great memories[}]
I miss my dad..
Jeff[8D]

quote:Originally posted by Bill Elbert

Jeff, you too must be from the South, tell us about your experience with carbide and Acetyline, from fishin to exploding targets. Beer, things that blowup and firearms, a boyhood in Texas.
Bill Elbert