Yanmar Smoking and Making Oil

[r.furborough]

Just a quick thought, what is the air intake pipework like before the turbo (suction side), If there is and rubber reinforced hose it may have delaminated and collapsing (although externally it looks OK) and be restricting airflow as the turbo 'spools' up. Outside of this, I think everything else has been covered....

[sigmasailor]

Don't rule out the injector nozzles (correct type and installed correctly?) or even the calibration your previous mechanic did for you.
The HP pump: unlikely (but possible) it doesn't explain the low turbo boost pressure you saw (was that gauge showing the correct values?); maybe the boost compensator on the pump got hung up or an internal membrane activated by this boost failed.
Back-pressure I expect to be around 1-2 meters water column (40-80 inches); will a few inch deeper be a real problem? You did reduce the pitch.
'Toasted' engines can be fixed with a head overhaul and some new rings. Since it ran OK I find this hard to believe right now; why would it decide to act up?
Can't wait to see some reliable readings.

[bstreep]

Is it possible...

That this could be more than 1 "change" that is stacking up to cause this problem? What else did you do during the refit? It still seems overloaded. Along with adding weight, didn't I see you added a high output alternator? Did the engine get realigned/misaligned? Did your stuffing box get repacked? What kind of packing? It bothers me that it runs fine in neutral, but not under load.

Feel free to ignore the above, but sometimes we just need to step back and say: "OK, what has changed since this thing last ran well?".

[Tspringer]

I have disassembled the entire fuel return system looking for any sort of blockage and found nothing. The issue is not a blocked fuel return line.

I cannot get anyone out here to do any compression or other testing. We cannot leave the dock here today and motor inland because the 4 knot current and 20 knot wind has us pinned into the marina. IF we leave at slack water around 1pm, we would be motoring against the current/tide the entire way and arrive in the Ortega area at low tide and thus unable to cross over to the Ortega river. Basically, we cannot leave here until tomorrow very early am if we want to go inland. Even then, I still do not have anyone firm who can for sure do compression and other testing. We would be motoring inland simply to get a more secure location, there is nobody there who can tackle this.

I have been speaking with mechanics all over the country.... The discussions just go in circles.

We have two choices: continue to take total shot in the dark money dart semi-blind attempts to fix this engine or find a place for a total repower.

A repower would cost around $14K when its all said and done from what I can tell. We are already at $3,500 on attempts to fix this engine and we are no closer to a solution. Nobody can tell what is wrong with this engine. I am rapidly approaching the point of believing that it flat out cannot be fixed short of removing it and doing a complete tear down and rebuild. That would not only take weeks but costs would approach that for a new engine regardless.

Time is a big factor. We have as a family been trapped aboard like a prison for 2 full weeks now. Everyone is miserable. IF we had a home to go back too, we would have bugged out already. Sitting around for another 2-3-4-5 or whatever weeks while we continue the endless and fruitless hunt for some undiagnosable engine malfunction is not an option.

I have pretty much exhausted the Jacksonville area Yanmar mechanic options. There is one guy who seems good and capable.... he is in Green Cove Springs and is totally swamped, he cannot come out here and work on it.

The guys who sold me the turbo I won't let back on the boat and besides they also never returned my last calls. All the other guys I have been talking too.... most are stumped to the point they no longer return my calls. I have one guy who says they can compression test the thing but not until Wednesday and even then I know they have little to no Yanmar experience.

It seems we have no good options and I cannot formulate a plan. The only plan I can come up with at this point is to try and sail south if/when we get a weather window (no chance until the weekend it seems now) and then try to locate a decent place to commit financial suicide and do a complete repower.



Terry

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by Tspringer

There is one guy who seems good and capable.... he is in Green Cove Springs and is totally swamped, he cannot come out here and work on it. Terry

man sorry to hear of your troubles. you must be referring to Stuart Marine and yes you really should get this guy to look at your yanmar. he is one of the best around and can also install new if need be. good luck.

[Navicula]

dont be so hard on yourself....your doing a great job with what you have to work with, ..........but, it starts and runs fine at ideal, why not check the stuffing box

[sigmasailor]

Remember the 'meten is weten'?

Before deciding to re-power get someone to at least compression test your engine. I've seen dedicated Yanmar testers well under a 100 dollars in Google http://www.hoyetractor.com/mm5/merch...t_Code=CT-4150 I'm just not sure what adapter you would need and if the one in the picture will fit. Shouldn't Yanmar be able to advice you here?
You can test the back pressure in the exhaust yourself if you can rig some clear hose to one of the fittings in your exhaust system; if things are normal you will not see more than a couple of PSI there. Fill the hose with water and simply see how much of a water column the exhaust can support; you will probably need some rubber hose to deal with the temperature.

[danielgoldberg]

Ugh.

Have you spoken with Larry Berlin at Mack Boring? You really should do that, if you haven't. If nothing else, Larry will be able to point you to the right person in your area.

Also, it may not take as much time as you think to get a rebuild. The way it works, usually, is that you have your engine pulled, and Yanmar (Mack Boring) sends you an entirely different rebuilt engine, and they keep yours. That's assuming they have one in their inventory, and they have many. If you decide you need a new engine, that might be worth considering, as it would be much less expensive.

Also also, I would take the boat south to Ft. Lauderdale (just one guy's opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it). You are much more likely to get more and better service technicians there. It seems like you could motor down the ICW at a slower speed, or sail outside if you have the weather (it's "only" 325 miles or so). I don't know if you are from Ortega, causing you to push to get there as opposed to anywhere else. Other pluses to Ft. Lauderdale are (i) on your way to where you want to go, (ii) your family is much more likely to have fun while you sort this, which is no small consideration.

So sorry you're having to endure this.

[Tspringer]

Originally Posted by TACK OFF

dont be so hard on yourself....your doing a great job with what you have to work with, ..........but, it starts and runs fine at ideal, why not check the stuffing box

The shaft rotates easily by hand when the engine is not in gear. The prop operates as it should and is if anything underpitched. The turbo is brand new. The exhaust shows no kinks or obvious problems (I am trying to find a plumber with a video snake who can come out and help inspect it)


Yes, I spoke at length with Joel Stuart at Stuart Marine. He is swamped with backed up work and is adamant that he cannot come out to try and fix it. He also could not get to it anytime soon even if I was at his shop which I cannot get too because we cannot get to Green Cove... bridges prevent this.

I believe Joel is the only real diesel mechanic in the greater Jacksonville area and he is unavailable. That leaves us needing to get elsewhere.


Terry

[Tellie]

Hi Terry,
I know a few of the Yanmar folks over at Complete Yacht in Ft. Lauderdale. I remember them telling me a while back when I re-built my Yanmars that they didn't have compression adapter either, found that odd myself. The suggestion of getting one from Yanmar tractor sounds like a good idea if the adaptor fits. This is a test you can do yourself easy enough and one that has been repeatedly suggested here on this thread often. A nice addition to your tool box as well, probably pay for itself many times over with the ability to help out other Yanmar owners in your travels. I know this has got to suck wind. But you said you might think of heading down here. If that does work into your plans let me know. At the least we can offer some good ol southern hospitality and drive you around some and a few meals for you and your family.
You have my number if you do head on down give us a shout.
Tellie

[Tspringer]

Tellie... Thanks! I bolted the watermaker in its place but still have not had time to plumb and wire it.

If I thought the Yanmar compression tester for tractors would work I would order one, but the photos I have seen show and adaptor that would not work and I have been unable to find any info on what adaptor would work. Basically, I would be ordering a tool with little chance it would actually work.

I am watching the weather very close. We may have window to head south tomorrow and if so we are gone.


Terry

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by Tspringer

Tellie... Thanks! I bolted the watermaker in its place but still have not had time to plumb and wire it.

If I thought the Yanmar compression tester for tractors would work I would order one, but the photos I have seen show and adaptor that would not work and I have been unable to find any info on what adaptor would work. Basically, I would be ordering a tool with little chance it would actually work.

I am watching the weather very close. We may have window to head south tomorrow and if so we are gone.


Terry

Weather is snotty here today, rain, rain and more rain.
I couldn't resist for the price. I called Hoye Tractor Parts, hyper linked above, about the compression tester. You were right. It will not work. What they do is take an old injector and turn an adapter out of either stock aluminum or cut down one of their existing stock adapters. Problem here is that tractor injectors it seems are much larger in diameter than marine injectors so they probably can't make one small enough. Bummer, I was ready to order one for myself as well. Yanmar did say because their mechanics supply ther own tools that they buy a lot from NAPA and perhaps NAPA has an adapter. I still find it befudling Yanmar doesn't make one.

Don't worry about the watermaker. Once you get here if you haven't done anything more with the watermaker install, I'll come by and help you finish it up.

Tellie

[sigmasailor]

Here's what you need: http://www.mackboring.com/CMFiles/Do...iesCatalog.pdf

Page 40 of the PDF file: part no MACK 103 and MACK 679

[Steve W]

regarding compression; not sure this would work with a diesel engine: Several years ago, my Buick Park Avenue company car (3.8 liter V-6) started running a little rough and lost power. Pulled into a small garage in east Texas and the owner, after spitting about 2 quarts of tobacco juice while he listened to it idle, had me shut off the engine, pulled the coil wire ( so it would not start) and then had me crank the engine. He could tell it lost compression on one cylinder by the uneven sound of the engine turning over when cranking it. It was a bad valve.The difference between an engine with good compression was easy to hear... steady, consistent cranking, no rise and fall of cranking rpm. Not sure how to accomplish this test with a diesel since it will start with just fuel & air, unless the fuel supply was closed off. Grasping at straws trying to help islolate the problem, but could this simple test help determine if he has a low compression on a cylinder?

[shakey doug]

G' day Terry,

Remove injectors check hole for extra copper sealing washers ,while injectors are out reset valve clearances to correct value taking care to have piston on compression not exhaust watch valve movement sequence to establish correct timing ,turn engine in running direction.

Shakey.