Lehman 120

[DaveWalter]

I have a couple of questions,
1. I was wondering if anyone Knows where I can get a service manual (hard copy or PDF)for a ford lehman 2715E at a reasonable price $50 to free?
2. I am going to need to start this engine,it has sat for 3yrs. an auto mechanic I know tells me to replace all filters, charge them with new fuel and bleed and prime lins upto the injector.then try start as normal. He thinks it is not neccessary to bleed the injectors. Will I get the same response from people with marine diesel experience? Thanks in Advance

[Moosemiester]

Bob Smith at American Diesel is the man for the manual.

3 years? Change the oil and fire it up. Mine sat for six years, started on the first crank. These are extremely reliable engines.

Many trawlers have huge tanks, and limited use, and fuel that is 10 years or more old. It still burns, and burns well.

The only way you kill a Lehman 120 is to overheat it, or fail to change the oil in the injector pump. Yes, the injector pump has it's own, separate oil chamber and it is critical that this be changed with the engine oil. There's a fill plug on top (big slotted screw), a drain plug at the bottom, and a nut you take out to know that it's full. Messy job - drain, replace the plug, put oil in until it runs out the hole, quickly put the nut back in.

The other advice I can give you is to fill the engine oil to the mark scratched on the dipstick, not the factory mark. The factory mark is designed for an engine that sits level - the ones in our boats don't.

How many hours? These things are good for 10,000 hours or more. Mine has 4,000 runs like a new one. It won't hurt to change the coolant, and the fuel filters of course, but there is no need to reprime anything unless it ran dry.

Alan Robbins
1976 34' D/C Taiwanese Trawler
Anchor Pointe, Ohio

[DaveWalter]

Thanks Alan, The oil in the injector is that going to be a 15/40?

[Moosemiester]

Hi Dave
I use straight 30 weight Rotella in my engine. Same oil goes into the engine goes into the injector. That engine was built before the days of multi-viscosity oil, so I try to stay true to that era. Same goes for old car engines too :-)

Alan

[perchance]

Do not precharge the fuel filters unless you are in a NASA clean room for obvious reasons.

[AnchorageGuy]

Dave, we have the FD 120. The engine manual is online at several places, Google can be your friend, then print it out if you need paper. Change the oil in the crankcase and injector pump, straight 30 wt. Install new primary and secondary filters. Bleed any air out of the system to per the manual you found. CHANGE THE water pump">RAW WATER PUMP IMPELLER. Hit the ignition a couple of times without actually starting. Fire it up. it's a great engine. We have several posts on our Beach House blog under the Engine category. Chuck

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by perchance

Do not precharge the fuel filters unless you are in a NASA clean room for obvious reasons.

Huh?????

[perchance]

a ten micron primary and a three micron secondary fuel filter.Would you risk adding contaminates down stream of your filters by prefilling them before installation?

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by perchance

a ten micron primary and a three micron secondary fuel filter.Would you risk adding contaminates down stream of your filters by prefilling them before installation?

Most owners of diesel engines that change their own filters usually pre-fill the filters as they are installed. See The Trawler Beach House: Ford Lehman Diesel Oil And Filter Change . Since I doubt that any of us are going to use contaminated fuel to pre-fill a filter it's highly unlikely that the fuel system will get contaminated with this practice. As a matter of fact, fuel added from a fuel jug is probably the cleanest fuel that will enter the system. It saves tons of time and effort. How would drawing the fuel from the tank, which very well may be contaminated, thus the need for a filter, eliminate the problem. How would you suggest uncontaminated fuel get into the filters? Chuck

[djmarchand]

Dave:

The Grand Bank Owners web site has the Lehman manual. You will probably have to register first, but anyone can.

I know that you got a lot of advice to change the fuel filters, but it seems that adds another possible complication- did you bleed it properly. I would start it, let it run for a while and then change the filters. If it doesn't start then troubleshoot the fuel system which includes bleeding.

Oh and some Lehmans have the oil reservoir injection pump and some have an entirely different model that doesn't.

And before starting, turn the engine over a few times with a wrench on the front nut to make sure everything is free.

David

[AnchorageGuy]

David and Dave, The FL 120 needs to have the oil changed in the injector pump. The 135 does not. IMO, starting the engine without clean filters and oil has a greater potential for harm than not bleeding properly. But that's just my opinion. Our 120 will start and run even if there is a bit of air, a bit not a lot, in the system and will work it out in short order. It's a little rough at first but soon smooths out. Chuck

[AnchorageGuy]

Dave, I would highly recommend that you contact either Bob or Brian Smith at American Diesel, American Diesel Corporation , for any information on your engine. They are the most knowledgeable folks when it comes to the Ford Lehman. They will answer any questions, give you the straight scoop, even if it means they don't sell you anything. Brian has helps us learn our engine inside and out and has saved me literally thousands of dollars in unnecessary repairs. Chuck

[Moosemiester]

True Story - My FL120 had been seriously neglected by the previous owner. The Racor FL900 looked black in the bottom, when I got it out of the boat it was caked SOLID - not sludge, solid as a rock. The filter itself was metal - how old was it? Who knows. The engine (secondary) filters weighed four, five times what a new one does. After replacing the tanks and the filters, when I went to bleed the system I removed the farthest bleed screw, and pumped out black goo, not fuel - for quite a long time.

The engine was running fine like this. Seriously. All this talk about NASA clean rooms is pure bunk. This is a 1970's tractor engine, not a modern high pressure 700psi common rail diesel we are talking about here....