What Diesel Engine repairs should one know how to do?

[Bean Counter]

Make sure you carry the right size feeler gauges for the tappets, same for generator and outboard spark plugs etc.

[stormalong]

Having owned three boats with inboards in the last almost 50 years I am amazed that so many people want to carry a spare starter motor. I have never had to replace a starter motor.

The boat I have now has had two engines which together have close to ten thousand hours. Starter motors do not fail unless you abuse them. If your engine does not start in the first five seconds something is wrong.

Perkins 4-108. 5600 hours when replaced - 18 years old. Leaked oil and needed an overhaul. Chose to replace it. Still ran great but underpowed for my boat and dated design.

Present Beta Marine 50 (BV2203), now well over 4,000 hours and runs great. I always use preheat when engine is cold.

[Trwl36]

Did miss seeing engine thermostat? Depending on the engine it may be simple or not to replace. I would definitely replace it, even if still working, every two or three years when the engine coolant is changed.

[Captain Graham]

Originally Posted by pskudlarski

Great thread. I am just trying to decide on and collect spare parts cache.

Am I right to assume that having a working panda generator (and good solar panels) makes spare alternator less "mission critical"?

A diesel engine only needs electrical power when starting for the glow plugs (heater) and the starting motor.
So you really do not need an alternator at all to generate power, you just need a battery fully charged.

But you will still need an alternator that can spin so that the belt can power the water pump.
I do not now how often an alternator will lock up or freeze not allowing it to spin.

The issue with having a spare alternator and starting motor is will it be in good working order after being stored on your boat for 10 years.
I would recommend if you have these spares on board you should vacuum seal then keeping all moisture out.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse

A spare starter on board would be good.
The replacement starter for my boat is 185$ in Toronto. Priceless down island.

.

LOL. I bought a backup starter 15 years ago as insurance against starter failure. It's paid off remarkably, I'm still running the 29 year old starter and the backup sits and collects dust.


I should have bought a spare fuel tank back then for the same reason.

[mark maulden]

A belt short enough not to use alternator. May not be technically tight but can get you somewhere if alternator bearings go.

[GWilly]

Great question and discussion. It’s one I thought of when I bought my first diesel powered boat about 4 years ago. I’d agree with most points which have been noted, with the caveat that I wouldn’t (personally) try anything that’s internal to the engine. Get a good mechanic - which in some areas is hard to find.

The spare parts question is also a good one. I’d love to see lists of what you all have aboard. I’ve got a number of fuel filters, spare actuator, throttle control, belts, and props for my Volvo duoprop, but that’s it. I doubt I want to carry a spare alternator or starter, as those *usually* don’t crap out all at once, and proper, scheduled maintenance will pick up one that is failing.

[Matsubob]

Agree to all of the above. As to "supplies", a shop manual for your particular engine is invaluable! What you don't know, you can look up and learn. What you don't remember, you can look up and recall!

[steve77]

Originally Posted by Matsubob

Agree to all of the above. As to "supplies", a shop manual for your particular engine is invaluable! What you don't know, you can look up and learn. What you don't remember, you can look up and recall!

Fully agree with the above statement, regardless of where you are cruising. A manual can be worth its weight in gold. For the rest, I would say it depends on your cruising area. If you have solar or wind generation, I would say your need for a spare alternator drops considerably.

For most areas, I have found that almost anyplace that has cars and trucks has a shop that can rebuild starters and alternators. I do not bother with spare starters and alternators for this reason. I had my genset starter (Yanmar 3GM) rebuilt two years ago at a local automotive electrical shop in Corsica in 24 hours with no fuss.

Now, if you are in some remote atoll in the southern Pacific, then perhaps you need these spares, but for most places, I would say not. If your starter or alternator is some esoteric brand, then buy spare brushes and perhaps diodes to hand to the alternator tech for the rebuild.

My opinion only.

Steve

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by FabioC

As a related question for those of you who know how to do:
how did you learn? By trial and error? Did you have a friend who showed you? Did you hire a mechanic to show you? Did you take a class?

I have read a couple of the usual books on diesel engines, and I am at least familiar with the parts and their operation, but when it comes to actually performing some of these repairs, it is still challenging, especially on the parts that are very difficult to access, then you do not quite have the right tool, etc. Mechanics of course have figure it all out, but with trial and error the learning curve is steep...

Good question! My first boat had a diesel that was a neverending source of problems. I knew NOTHING about boats (this is in the days before it was cool to know nothing, buy a boat and film it all) and just winged it through the keys and Bahamas. Ignorance is bliss as they say, and funnily enough I sailed more in that boat than my next boat I knew inside out.

I digress. The next boat I fitted two new diesels and did all the wiring, plumbing and installing myself. They had a couple of breaking in niggles so every time the engineer came out, I made sure I was there asking questions and learning.

Skip to the latest boat with twin Lombardinis. One engine works a dream, the other is being a pain in the arse. Luckily the above dealer is also the dealer for these, so while I can do the filters, liquid changes and impeller changes myself, I’ll be paying their engineer to come onsite for a morning (£45 per hour) to give me a full run down of the engines, how to swap the timing belt, pumps, injectors, and also what to look for when it comes to sail drives. For about £150, that’s going to save me a lot of service ££ down the line.

N

[Sojourner]

As someone who has plenty of skills with old gas engines and rebuilding lots of things, EXCEPT anything to do with boats, my learning curve was/is steep. Specific to our engine, we carry a large range of spares and maintenance items, but as someone else stated, as with anything, the MOST important thing to carry if you are not a diesel mechanic is knowledge... ie the exact shop service manual for your engine. With that, either you or any decent mechanic you find can do anything. I have the physical copy, plus PDFs downloaded on a variety of devices and phones.

As for a newbie trick: have a full tool kit obvs but i keep duplicates of important tools/sizes in a smaller case in the engine room with a spare headlamp. Working in an emergency with the sea beneath you is hard enough without first finding the right size spanner....

[theDangerz]

Originally Posted by FabioC

As a related question for those of you who know how to do:
how did you learn? By trial and error? Did you have a friend who showed you? Did you hire a mechanic to show you? Did you take a class?

Great thread, and extremely helpful since im trying to teach myself Diesel engine maintenance/repair while underway!

Had a similar issue a few years back when we had moved into a VW Bus to travel Mexico and Central American but I didn't even know how to change the oil because it always ran great (right up until it actually mattered)!

Here we go again (kind of)!
Now we're living on a boat and island hopping and ive never touched a Diesel engine in my life (up until a few weeks ago).

Its best to learn on your own engine as that's the one you'll need to keep running... and getting "acquainted" is easy enough at a marina/anchorage when you've got google/youTube and all the time in the world (as well as a few dozen experienced sailors and/or a paid mechanic nearby to run to for help if needed).

But I can tell you already that the rules change rapidly and the learning curve much steeper when your engine decides to shut down while you're in the middle of nowhere motoring directly into big seas and winds and already late for your planned arrival to get safely into a bay before darkness (ask me how I know).

So far the same skills I taught myself (and backups I ordered) while doing the basic maintenance have helped get the boat running again, but... even when you've done in before - trying to replace filters and bleed a fuel system while twisted like a contortionist into your engine compartment and getting thrown around in big waves is no piece of cake, especially with the addition of the stress involved!

Best thing I did was force myself to do the work myself even though I knew I had a million other things on the list and there was someone far more skilled a few blocks away.
Simply put... where we're going there won't be anyone else to do the work, and if yesterday holds true the emergency will also happen when there's no signal to consult google/youTube for help!

[LJH]

It is not just an issue of spare parts. Make sure you can access all of the components and their mounting nuts, bolts etc. Some may be inaccessible without a long socket extension or may need a special tool. Accessing the engine side of a 4-108 injection pump for example.

[Gaia]

Agree with all of the above but would add injector removal and possible replacement and using a compression gauge. Also I believe exhaust elbow inspection and possible cleaning or even replacement and ditto for motor mounts I would add.

Adding an Aqua Drive to the installation could also be described as trouble prevention as is installing a
Strong type shaft seal. Not a face seal!

Much depends in where one cruises, financial wherewithal, and need to do stuff at sea.

Jim

[Scaramanga F25]

Troubleshooting would be very high on the list.