Cruising spares list for diesel engine

[paulnorkett]

I have a Ford Lehman diesel engine in my Nauticat 33 and am planning some ambitious cruises.
Any suggestions on what spares I should carry on board.
Do I need any special tools in addition to spanners and screwdrivers for DIY servicing.

[Stu Jackson]

ICW and the Bahamas

Click on ICW & Bahamas, journal, there's a great appendix at the back.

[JPA Cate]

Here's a coupla thoughts:

First off, though I'm sure you know this, a spare water pump impeller and a spare fan belt. A torque wrench. Hard to make tool suggestions when we don't know what you already carry. Molded hoses. fuel lines with banjo fittings. Some people carry a spare injector. Spare gasket for water strainer. Oil absorbent mats that let water through. Spare oil for oil change in the event of blowing off an oil filter. bits of spare hose to fix *stuff*.

Does your catamaran have water proof bulkheads so that a water hole in the engine bays cannot flood the hulls? A friend of ours set his Seawind on a rock in NZ, which pushed up the saildrive and tore the hull. They managed to get off at high water, and pumped their way from Whangaroa to Whangarei for haulout, because he couldn't be hauled in Bay of Islands. A pretty unpleasant experience all 'round. Sorry for the digression.

Ann

[zboss]

Everything. Carry a whole new engine on board minus the block. I'm serious.

Its not necessarily the lack of parts, which I recently found out can be a significant setback for an engine more than 10 years old, but the time and expense of getting them. FOr example:

We have been on the hard now for almost two months waiting on a part for our engine. This part is a special part with a special price to begin with but then you add the cost of being on the hard and all the other opportunities to spend money, this oil seal has ended up costing us over 2K. Maybe 3K.

If we had kept it on the boat we would have spent that money up front but would have saved money on the back end.

Here is my list of spares:

1) complete set of gaskets for the engine
2) starter
3) solenoids
4) alt
5) waterpump
6) hoses
7) shift and throttle cables
8) belts
9) Filters
10) Fuel lift pump (ours is electric)
11) Injector pump rebuild kit
12) Injectors
13) glow plugs

Its doesn't actually take that many tools to take an engine apart. The issue is getting to some of the plugs, screws, and nuts that you need access to. I have found an inspection camera to be extremely useful.

[Kenomac]

We have just about everything except the engine block, lift pump and turbo including an extra starter motor, along with multiples of the common wear items. Since we can't possibly carry all the hoses, we have some of the smaller formed ones and several rolls of that special adhesive tape specific for repairing hose leaks.

[Talbot]

My engines for my cat are new 3YM30.

I have 1 new starter, an alternator, and a sea water pump.

The minor spares list is

Number

Part

Spares Number

4

Oil filter
119305-35150 or 1

2

Fuel filter
104500-55710

2

Fuel filter o-ring
24341-000440

4

Impeller
128990-42200

2

Impeller o-ring
X02173476

6

CAV Filter

6

Additional CAV Filter O Ring

2

Alternator belt
129612-42290

2

Waterpump V Belts

2

Air Filter
128270-12540

2

SEAL, OIL
196313-02590

2

O Ring
24321-000950

4

Autoprop zinc

4

SD20 prop shaft zinc

2

SD20 internal zinc
27210-200550

2

Zinc O Ring
24321-000250

1

Head Gasket set

1

Engine paint

1

Lift pump + Gasket

2

Heat Exchanger Gasket

1

Thermostat and Gasket

2

Water pump seal

2

Fuel Transfer filters (Stbd hull)





In addition I have the engine Service book, the parts catalogue, and the same for the SD20 drives.

[rwidman]

I can't tell you what to carry on board for that particular engine but I will say this: There's little point in carrying parts that you don't know how to install and little point in carrying tools you don't know how to use.

Most people just carry filters, belts, impellers, oil and coolant. A credit card is a good idea as well as membership in a towing service.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by zboss

Everything. Carry a whole new engine on board minus the block. I'm serious.

Its not necessarily the lack of parts, which I recently found out can be a significant setback for an engine more than 10 years old, but the time and expense of getting them. FOr example:

We have been on the hard now for almost two months waiting on a part for our engine. This part is a special part with a special price to begin with but then you add the cost of being on the hard and all the other opportunities to spend money, this oil seal has ended up costing us over 2K. Maybe 3K.

If we had kept it on the boat we would have spent that money up front but would have saved money on the back end.

Here is my list of spares:

1) complete set of gaskets for the engine
2) starter
3) solenoids
4) alt
5) waterpump
6) hoses
7) shift and throttle cables
8) belts
9) Filters
10) Fuel lift pump (ours is electric)
11) Injector pump rebuild kit
12) Injectors
13) glow plugs

Its doesn't actually take that many tools to take an engine apart. The issue is getting to some of the plugs, screws, and nuts that you need access to. I have found an inspection camera to be extremely useful.

That's too much stuff. The gasket set for sure, ( not all gasket sets include seals, like perkins!) You don't need a whole starter just all the small parts. Few people can ovhl a fuel injection pump. Get an ovhl before you go and then you won't need spare injectors either. Same with the salt water pump. It's a lot of money for a spare when you could ovhl before you go and just carry impellers and keys, gaskets.

[Mickeyrouse]

Look at your engine. Have one of everything that you can remove and replace with hand tools, both mechanical and electrical. At some point I have replaced EVERYTHING while cruising. Local availabilty is almost never possible.
Remember, you go cruising to get away from it all...including West Marine.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by paulnorkett

I have a Ford Lehman diesel engine in my Nauticat 33 and am planning some ambitious cruises.
Any suggestions on what spares I should carry on board.
Do I need any special tools in addition to spanners and screwdrivers for DIY servicing.

To be a wise ass a set of sails. I would have to agree with someone that said look at what you can replace and get at. Filters, some oil, belts are a given. Diesels are pretty forgiving. water pump impellers, fuel pump. A starter would be nice. A roll of cork gasket material and a small ball peen hammer to peen a gasket for what ever could be handy. You can overdo it.

[sanibel sailor]

Really depends upon your personal definition of "ambitious cruises". Does that mean a trip on the ICW, a jaunt to the Bahamas or are we talking Patagonia by way of Pitcairn? What are your skills? If you are not going too far from "civilization", a credit card and tow insurance works. Farther afield, those are worthless and you need more skills, tools and parts. Can you provide more info on where you are thinking of heading?

I rather suspect if you are asking what to bring, you have not yet made good enough friends with your engine. Get in there and snuggle a bit on occasion.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by Guy

That's too much stuff. The gasket set for sure, ( not all gasket sets include seals, like perkins!) You don't need a whole starter just all the small parts. Few people can ovhl a fuel injection pump. Get an ovhl before you go and then you won't need spare injectors either. Same with the salt water pump. It's a lot of money for a spare when you could ovhl before you go and just carry impellers and keys, gaskets.

I humbly disagree. This is sound advice given to me by many much more experienced sailors/circumnavigators on boats similar to ours and recent experience has shown how good that advice is.

Most of the parts for older engines can take many weeks to arrive (for example, our injector rebuild kit took 8 weeks to arrive, same to find an oil seal) and this was on the east coast of the US! Imagine if we had been outside the US with exotic prices and timeframes for shipping and delivery.

Some pieces are not even made anymore and the aftermarket for some of these parts does not exist either. Don't assume your rebranded common make engine will have an abundant supply of parts available. Manufacturers update their engine designs many times over their lifecycle. Our engine is a rebranded mitsubishi. There are literally tens-of-thousands of these used in forklifts and light duty vehicles around the world. Guess what - not all those parts are compatible because the engine was marinized. For example, our lift pump. Some of them are critical parts!

IMO - its better to try and source all your parts now rather than find out, like we did, that you are going to lose months of sailing because of a piece of rubber.

In regards to the guy that said that unless you know how to put it in that you should not keep it on the boat. I also disagree with this. I would rather keep 3K in spare parts in the boat (which really don't take up much room) so a qualified mechanic can have us on our way within a day or two, rather than waiting weeks for parts to come in. Its also a lot less stressful and probably cheaper because you can shop around.

This is also a critical safety factor as well. What happens if you find yourself weeks away from a critical engine piece and a hurricane is coming your way and there is no Boat US out there to save you? Maybe an extreme example but I have heard enough stories of that nature to know that its not uncommon to find yourself in potentially life threatening situations because some critcal part was not onboard.

I do agree with the ICW comment. If you are just motoring up and down the ditch then my list is perhaps overkill if you can accept that you may have to sit for a while. Interestingly, I tried to get a mechanic to come out to our boat while we were on a mooring here in St. AUgustine. In fact, THE mechanic service in the area. It was interesting to hear that many mechanics won't come out to your boat if its on a mooring or on the hook - I had to go into a slip.

[paulnorkett]

Thanks for all the responses and very useful feedback. Here are my updated notes on work done/to be done.
My Ford Lehman runs well and starts first time but it is circa 40 yrs old with no service history. So cannot work on principle “if it aint broke don't fix it”.


Work done so far
As a start on the work I have fitted two new h/d batteries, a new shore charger, a solar panel and an 800w generator. Replaced all the fuel pipes, fitted new fuel pipes, fuel filters and water separator. Done an oil change and fitted new oil filter. Running and starting great but still more preparation needed for extended cruising away from the Med.


Preparatory work to be done
Overhaul starter motor, generator, water pump, fuel injector


Engine spares list & prep for cruising
Workshop manual
Parts catalogue with reference numbers & diagrams
Suction pump for oil changes
Fuses, wire, terminal blocks, insulating tape.
Fan belt & water pump belt
Fuel additive & WD40
Hoses & pipes
Hose repair adhesive tape
Gasket sets
Throttle cable
Oil and fuel filters

Still thinking about a suitable storage area for all the spares when I get them.

[Boracay]

Been there, done that.

In my opinion a fourty year old engine is a failure waiting to happen.

And when it does my opinion is that repairs are going to be very very time consuming, expensive, generally ineffective and unbelievably stressfull.

Would it not be easier, cheaper and way less stressfull to replace the entire engine/gearbox and all associated items with new?

A few filters, some oil and an impeller should then be all that is necessary.

[sanibel sailor]

Originally Posted by Boracay

Been there, done that.

In my opinion a fourty year old engine is a failure waiting to happen.

.

At what age does it get unreliable? Forty is not much more than thirty. Maybe it should have been replaced ten years ago? Or maybe it will be good for another ten. It is a lot of money to fix a problem that you may never have.

I would be reluctant to pitch a diesel just due to age if it starts easily, runs well, and has good power. I have been gradually accumulating spares for my old Westerbeke, and plan on carrying one of everything that attaches to the engine, short of a cylinder head.

Many "new" diesels have issues as well, frequently due to problems unforeseen during the installation. Unless you are replacing it with an identical engine, there will be modifications to the install that may have an impact.