ysb8, its drives me crazy!!

[gvandersanden]

Check for air bubbles in the fuel, they will prevent your engine from starting. Or....
A simple anecdote is to put 1 oz. of #10 oil in the intake. It will temporarily seal around the rings and boost compression in order to start.
Another anecdote is hold a lit propane torch at the mouth of the intake while turning the engine over. If the fuel is not the problem, she will start instantly.

[gulfislandfred]

I'm not a fan of WD 40 generally, but it works very well as a safe starting fluid for diesels. If your engine stars easily with a squirt of WD 40 in the air intake, look for fuel system or compression problems.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Halifax Sailor

This issue started last season, no start when launching, finally started after 15 minutes countinuous tries. Was hard start when back at the marina so this is what I have done since. Launching again Monday for another season, somewhat same issue. Slow start, 30-90 seconds before it catches and slowly starts. It wants to start, gives thoise bumps like an almost start then back to just winding. It used to start 10 secs. I know that 30 secs doesn't sound long but the admiral needs a quick start like it used to, for her comfort.

1) replaced all fuel lines
2) new filters
3) drained old fuel, made me cry at the price of it but thought it might be the issue, so new fuel in tank, old fuel had no smell! thought that was a little weird.
4) new exhaust elbow and hose
5) rebuilt injector, third party so I know it's correct. Even had them check it again, proper yanmar setting, torqued the injector to 15 ft/lbs. new crush washer when installing.
6) blew out all fuel lines, including tank vent to ensure no blockages
7) rechecked valve lash, it's correct
8) checked the ball valve in racor filter, its clean and working, prime pump works as well
9) checked fuel pickup in tank, clear and working
10) turned on elec fuel pump, fuel at hp pump, no bubbles
11) no leaks in hp line

I have an elec fuel pump that filled filters and lines no issue.
When it starts, it runs smooth like it never has before, no smoke ( nothing out of the usual for a diesel), however the slow starting is making me crazy. A fwllow club member jsut rebuilt/calibrated his hp pump on a 2gm. Waiting for him to install so maybe thats my issue? grasping at straws here.

Any idea would be helpful

One of our cruisers in Antigua experienced hard starting with a list like yours. Turned out to be the two-stage main high pressure pump had an air ingress leak. Removal and professional rebuild fixed it.

[Seadaddler]

I had slow start and was starter bad and or you have bad battery

[Compass790]

HS I see in yr after cleaning pics the head has some water damage from either leaking head gasket or mixing elbow. Not unusual & less bad than ours but its likely that liner may have some water damage too. However dont panic about that as if you want to get going for season just install new rings along with your head gasket if its possible in situ & you could replace liner if necessary when you haulout. If you have managed to measure liner i.d. you can refer to specs in manual. New rings can make a big difference on their own but its possible its all down to the head gasket anyway. Just that IMO you may as well put new rings in if you have the head off even if you cant hone it. As long as you can poke the piston up far enough above the bore after removing big end cap to expose the rings you should be able to get them off & replace them.
Warning: I certainly would not put an ounce of oil in it to enable it to start. That would almost certainly result in a bent pushrod or worse a bent conrod. Ask me how I know The idea is right, we used to use that trick with a way too wide liner but the quantity is way too much. Maybe 5ml would be ok.
Hope it all works out for ya.

[Halifax Sailor]

IT"S ALIVE AND KICKING!!

Counldn'tsleep at all last night so read all the posts from this thread. Went to the boat at 7 am and started the rebuild. Checked the top of the piston and there is no cracks, no carbon, very clean. Used permex on all the gaskets (thx compass), rebuild went smoothly. Torqued it all down, thats the hardest part as there is very limited space in my engine room. Used the permex on the injector as well. Stood back when I thought I had installed everything back and checked, rechecked. Even checked for fuel at hp pump and the injector. THEN CAME THE MOMENT.........................turned the key and............I am not even sure it was 2 secs and at half throttle. It started so easy and fast, had to jump on the throttle, pull back to maybe 1/4, 1000 rpms. Engine runs like a top. Shut it down, checked for leaks, none seeen. Restarted, same 2 sec start at 1/4 throttle. No smoke, instant power at throttle up, quiet as quier can be for a single yanmar. It has never worked this good even when I purchased 8 years ago.

At long last, this engine is now a "new" rebuild and the admiral was there for the test start so she is very happy and should build her confidence back. I want to thank all those who have replied with all the advice, suggestions, experiences and questions over the last two years while I have persisted with this engine issue. Really want to especially thank Wotname and Compass for their encouragement and their pm's, you guys kept me going when I was discouraged. And to all in this forum, there are a lot of knowledgable, experienced people who are very willing to dive into your issues, give advice and point in the right direction, for all those people, I thank you all. Launch tomorrow!! Happy Sailing!!:Thanx :

[Wotname]

Fantastic news, great outcome and thanks for the update.

[Compass790]

Yee Ha! glad you got there in the end.
Admiral should be a lot more relaxed now.

[Halifax Sailor]

So, just an update. Engine is running well, changed the oil, black, black, black. New oil is that lovely brown, caramel color even after two days running. Going to change it again after another week. Just in case there are any carbon deposits breaking loose. I had read in another post (either wotname or compass) that a another poster had purchased a nozzle from the same ebay as I did. They had mentioned it (the engine) was a little louder? but works well. I haven't heard my engine run so smooth in quite a while, don't know if I am being picky, but it does seem louder. No other unusual noises, but it could be because I haven't heard it run consistantly in two years. Lots of power, still easy start, don't even get the key turned all the way and engine starts!! The admiral is very happy!! No smoke so I get to scrub off the deposits around the exhaust pipe (it was so clean before I started the testing), 3 coats of wax, should come off pretty easy. No leaks, oil or otherwise, so looks like all the gaskets are holding, so just going to expect easy starts and go sailing for the season.

Just as an fyi, calculated out of pockets costs were less than $500 cdn, and $1.2 million advice from this forum.

[Compass790]

It could well be louder as you are burning more of the injected fuel now that you have proper compression. More fuel burn = bigger explosion= more noise, well thats my guess anyway. Yes agree you should expect easy starts for 100's of hrs & keep sailing.
Good to hear of a successful outcome.

[Halifax Sailor]

makes perfect sense, just a little wary of all things new and improved. Thx