Hi all...I'm new here. Long story with important questions follows:
I recently bought a 1975 Santana 30 with I believe the original
engine. Prior owner had her for 30 years and had the
engine professionally rebuilt but I'm not sure exactly how many years or hours ago. Its not been used much at all the past few years, but I need to deliver the
boat in the next couple of weeks for
winter storage and that will include transiting the East River in
NYC...so a healthy
motor is required.
I'm not familiar with
marine diesels (yet) so each use I've verified
cooling water flow as shown by the PO. No functional gauges - tach,
oil pressure and temp are all inoperable. Two engine uses ago I didn't see flow so I inspected the impeller and it looked good. Opened sea clock and
water flowed well. Reassembled and observed water coming out with
exhaust as PO advised was normal. As we were returning to
mooring under
power I noticed white smoke/steam building out
exhaust...then
motor rpm slowed by itself. I put it in neutral and the
rpm came back up. Since we were close to the
mooring and in a tight spot, I put it back in
gear to get to the mooring. Engine slowed, then stalled and won't restart.
So far I have removed the thermostat (rusted mess), exhaust manifold (fairly plugged with iron oxide bits and carbon) and the
head (looks like it's a bit warped on the non - cam side and has been weeping seawater down the block for awhile). Piston tops, valves and cylinders look great. No
funny or bad noises. No water in
oil and doesn't seem to be oil in the water.
Before pulling the
head I could fairly easily turn the flywheel through many revolutions by hand regardless of the decompression lever position. This scared me into pulling the head but there's nothing obviously wrong so far...???? Maybe its something unrelated/coincidental that's keeping it from restarting? I have about 1/3 tank of
fuel.
Money and time are serious hurdles at the moment (but I know I'm not the only one in that
boat :-D)
Thoughts????
Thanks in advance,
-Keith
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