dougies, think that one through again. It is as I wrote. It is not usually a
problem on a balky diesel because the diesel starter motor takes so much juice
the battery is dead before the waterlift fills us. A balky Atomic 4 can --
and some owners do -- fill the waterlift system. This is because the Atomic 4
has a vastly oversized water pump (not sure why) and with its compression
ration and auto starter motor it will crank over a long time before killing a
group 27 battery.

think it through again, dougies. cranking over a balky engine without starting
it WILL fill the waterlift if yo have enough battery capacity.

naive, the only time the "last two words" have any import is when you
(hereafter referred to as yo-yo) crank a non-starting engine over for an
extended period of time (during which yo-yo has left the cooling water
intake
open) until the entire exhaust system downstream of the waterlift muffler
has
been filled with water

Umm... no.

If you crank a non-starting engine for an extended period of time, the
"entire exhaust system downstream of the waterlift muffler has *NOT*
been filled with water" because the engine valves and cylincers have
been pumping air the whole time.

DSK