Mahe 36: Engines

[Seastream]

More FAQS: Has anyone had to have their Volvo D1-20 injectors repaired/replaced/rebuilt? I've got a bad (leaking) injector in my port engine; local mechanic has indicated he can't get generics and that the injectors alone are ~$400 each from Volvo. I'll do it if need be, but wish I had Yanmars now.

[colemj]

The injectors are standard Bosch ones. Any diesel pump/injector shop can easily rebuild them.

Mark

[Seastream]

Another Q: Anyone recommend a Volvo-Penta mechanic near Fort Pierce, FL?

[rabbi]

It seems i caught some fatty diesel bug and need to clean the tank.

Has anyone ever removed the tank from the boat? I know how to get at the tank and what connections are there but once undone: does it fit through the companion way??

The tank is 200cm long so more than there is headroom but maybe it will fit at an angle. Would be nice to hear some encouraging success-story before ripping the boat apart!

[Seastream]

Rabbi:

I think the fuel tank is removed through the starboard stateroom. The 'inboard' wall of the stateroom is removed, then the (disconnected - plug all lines!) tank is slid into the stateroom, thereon up the stairs, through the salon and out the sliding doors. Haven't done it myself but it seems logical, being the only way (post construction) of doing it non destructively to the rest of the boat. Is there no chemical treatment available to avoid you removing the tank?

[rabbi]

I don't think i can get away without a pressure clean. There is quite a bit of hard sludge in there. my filters are clean, the stuff doesn't even get to the pre- filter because its big enough to clog the pickup-pipe at the bottom of the tank. Its brwon malley stuff and has a consistency like what you can find in a shower drain. I made a hook of a metal hanger and have fished for these balls of mud.fojnd a good handfull and there are for sure more.
Greece fuel seems to be the common cause here.

The 'how to' remove the tank is clear. Getting out of the cabin into the companionway should be no problem but will it fit up the stairs? It needs to be turned vertical in the stair / companionway area. Its 200cm long while there is only 195cm headroom so maybe it works at an angle.

[Jef & Marin, Netherlands]

To remove the fuel tank on the Mahé is a lot of work.
You have to remove the port wooden wall in the starboard stateroom. Amongst other you have to remove the triangular wood through which the throttle cables run.
I have seen it done on a Mahé Evolution, there is is much more simple.

Note that the lower end of the fuel pick-up pipes has a gauze. Which is a stupid thing to have there, it clogs instead of you filter clogging. The dirt stays in the tank, and should be pumped out and get into the pre-filter where you can detect and remove it. I would get the fuel pick-up pipes out and remove the gauze. I know of one case where the under-pressure caused by a blocked gauze killed the membrane of the fuel pre-pump.

Instead or removing the tank through the stateroom> You might consider cutting a hole next to the fuel tank, in the backrest part, and putting a round or square inspection hatch there. Look through the inspection hatch for getting to the fuel valves to determine where to cut.
Of course that way your cleaning will be less thorough than if you really remove the tank.

Take care not to kill the screwholes of the inspection cover going into the tank. On the Mahé Evolution I saw, the screw were just tapped into the plastic, and first removal enlarged some screwholes so much that a new tank had to be fitted (warranty case of a new boat where the inspection hatch leaked, the thread might have been damaged already during production since the tanked leaked at delivery)

[rabbi]

Removing the wall panel is a routine job already. I had little diesel bug issues since we bought the boat last year and have removed that panel a few times to get to the pickup lines. Which BTW don't have a gauze in our case. The slime was fat enough to clog the pipes. We tried some chemicals and also cycled the diesel from the tank through filters to clean it but obviously this failed to remove the bug. I wanted to handle this issue in the yard over wintertime.
But yesterday we were caught in a heavy thunderstorm with sustained winds of 55kn and peak gusts just above 60kn. Big steep waves and water pouring down as well as thrown up from the sea. That in itself was for us a pee-in-the-pants situation but to make it worse the stirred up diesel bug caught us and both engines died in the first minutes. Surfing down the waves we made 14kn under bare poles. Luckily the wind was parallel to the coast and it lasted only 20minutes. But it left us with a full calm afterwards and we had to get going as a gale was forecast for the afternoon and we were from the next shelter. Northern Sicily isn't a nice place to be these days.

I jury rigged a jerry can of clean diesel which brought us to the next safe port. Im glad that i never throw things away so i still had plenty of hoses and connectors of all sizes left over from the watermaker install. Without these bits it would have been much harder. Even so it was ugly work in a smelly cabin while being tossed around.

After that experience we won't continue with this sort of problem. Just cleaning or chemical treatment isn't enough. I want this bug gone. The diesel bug we have seems to be extraordinary productive and fat. I fished through the inspection hole with hook from a coat hanger and there are palm sized slime things in the tank. There is much more of this in the tank so i don't see an alternative to the tank removal.

So today i removed the tank.
Really it didn't look like a bad job initially. The panel was already removed, just like the pickup and return lines. So i sucked out the diesel and disconnected the vent and filling hose (hard job, very thick hose with lots of stainless reinforcements so i cut it away). Removed the lashes that hold the tank in place and slid it into the bunk. This is not that easy as its a tight fit.
I sucked out some more diesel. The bug clogged even my 16mm hoses so i fished for some diesel bug from the inspection hole. I got out maybe 3liters of slimy things and could finally get almost all diesel out.
I cleaned the tank on the outside and put some tape over the holes to prevent spill.
All that was relatively easy work.

The hard part was to get the tank up the stairs. We needed to snug it through at an angle buy it still would not fit. After carefully trying for an hour I finally true without much care but using some brute force instead. It left some stains on walls and ceiling but the tank is outside now. If stains are the price for getting rid of the bug so be it.
What have these designers thought? Had they made the tank just 197cm instead of 200cm it would have been easy. Granted, that would reduce the capacity from 210 liters to 207 liters but who cares.

Anyway the tank is out now and will be pressure cleaned tomorrow.

[rabbi]

And a picture of the slime.

[rabbi]

Today i had the tank cleaned with a pressure washer. Next a few liters of gas and some cleaning chemicals, a bit shaking and then another pressure clean.
This was done iin a small fisherman's yard, no yachts around at all. So this was done for a nominal fee: 10 euros for the beer fund.
And that included a new filling hose as i had to cut away the old one.

They even were happy to take my slimy and milky-grey diesel, i guess they still have some old engines that can eat this bug.

Bringing the tank back into the cabin was no big deal now that we knew we had to apply some brute force. The marks on the ceiling can be removed with acetone.
I cleaned the pre-filters in the water separators and replaced the fuel filters at the engines. I reconnected the tank and filled with some jerry cans of fresh diesel, primed the engines and the engines are working like a charm again.

Overall it was easier than expected, except for getting the tank up the stairs.

[DtM]

Well done.

[RKsailsolo]

Yes, well done. And an extremely well documented report of your experience that we can learn from. Unbelievable picture of the bug! Seeing that extreme really helps me understand the need to be diligent in maintaining diesel systems to the best of our ability.

[rabbi]

I don't know if this is an extreme case but I guess so.

Since we had some trouble from the beginning I am sure we inherited this but from the PO.
We always use a filtering funnel when refilling. I think it's called Mr Funnel and it does really filter out quite a lot of dirt and water.
Plus we add some additive called Grotamar to kill any living thing in it.

But I guess the main reason is simply the quality of diesel at the yacht filling stations. Especially off-season the diesel is often not really clear but a bit milk instead.

After this event we made a point to change our habits a bit. Whenever we are near a car filling station we just take a merry can with us to keep us topped up.
Not only is the fuel much cleaner. It's also much cheaper. Like 1.25 euro per liter instead of 1.95 in the marina. Italian way of ripping you off.

[Rufduck]

Shucks, my carefully crafted post just disappeared.

Have read this entire thread but didn't find answer.

Problem D1-30 B port engine excessive cranking to start, 20-30+ seconds. Once warm, no starting issues. Stbd engine starts fine.

Changing oil tomorrow to Delo 400 SDE. 15W-40. Old oil was last changed in Grenada but not sure with what. Note, November to March sees freezing temperatures here.

Local diesel is quality ultra low sulfur fuel and is fresh.

1). I was hoping to find an alternative to Volvo for glow plugs..???
2). Anyone have any obvious things that I may have overlooked?

Am delighted to have found as incite full a group.

Cheers, Martyn

[Cotemar]

Martyn,

It sounds like the glow plugs.

The Glow Plugs are very easy to check with a volt meter set to continuity check.

Glow Plugs are just like incandescent light bulbs, they burn out after a few years and must be replaced.

Volvo Penta Glow Plug 21192358

Perkins glow plug 84815

Evc Electrical System D1-D2 D1-13F, D1-20F, D1-30F, D2-40F - 7746500 - volvopentastore.com
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