Engine at all oil and over revved like mad!!

[nigel1]

No engineer myself, but I believe that low rpm can lead to the bores glazing.
I'm just as guilty for chugging along a low revs, I like the 2 ltrs per hour at 1500rpm as compared to the 6 ltrs at 2500.
Every so often I will give the engine an Italian tune up.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

Im old style myself, I only use single weight oils in my older diesels. They are not to hard to find ya just need to go to a Truck dealer to get it!

Bob! You have forgotten what cruising is like!
Where the hell does someone find a truck dealer?
None in the islands. And on the mainlands they are always way off in the Burbs where you need a car to get to them.

Straight 40W that Yanmar recommends is damn hard to find!

So is Metamucil.


Mark

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by nigel1

No engineer myself, but I believe that low rpm can lead to the bores glazing.
I'm just as guilty for chugging along a low revs, I like the 2 ltrs per hour at 1500rpm as compared to the 6 ltrs at 2500.
Every so often I will give the engine an Italian tune up.

supposedly an "unworked" engine at low rpm could help to glaze the bores. But tell that to the truckers who idle their engines all night sometimes. I liked my Perkins at about 2200-2300 rpm... nice sweet spot right there in both my 4-236 and 4-108. You dont hear about many Perkins or other lower rpm diesels breaking rings/pistons at hours below 5k-8k+, it happens to the Yanmars though... the mechanics recommend more like 3400 rpm for those? Hmmm...

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

Yanmar 4jh3e, switched engine on to charge batteries, engine went apeshit, made strange noise, started hunting for revs, then revved like mad full steam ahead, we tried the cut off, it would not work, cut fuel from tank and crimped fuel line and it eventually stopped, afterwards there was no oil left in the engine, anyone any ideas what caused this?

i think i know , but other opinions would be nice, engine will turn over now, so not siezed but not started it yet, on the other hand 800 nm with no engine, it was quite cool, i surprisingly enjoyed it!

Your engine was dieseling on its own oil. It quit when it ran out. If it happens again, shove a rag with a plastic bag wrapped around it into the air intake. Several things can cause this as noted by the others. Some are easy to fix and some are expensive. If it has never been a problem then I would concentrate on the list of easy stuff & hope for luck. The expensive things are worn rings, leaky valve seals etc.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

The engineers beavered away to design what the marketing department wanted-- "more horsepower and less weight, and it only has to last until the one year warranty expires".

Can you show statistics on how many diesels have died at low speed vs high speed (given that the loads on most moving parts are 4 times as high at 3000 rpm as they are at 1500 rpm)??

Sure why not install a steam engine 150 rpm just for you !!

Dave

[sartorst]

A diesel runs just as good on motor oil as it does diesel fuel sometimes better if you have a worn injection pump.so it would run a long time on 5/6 quarts of oil! as far as killing a runaway I you need something hard to block the air or you may see a ball of towels disappear into the intake and ingested as I have, it was not pretty but it DIED!
As to the weight of the oil I have changed to a straight 40 weight on many older and newer engines and they were much quieter, smoked less ,better fuel consumption, better oil pressure,faster cold starts even though turning over slower and the idle rpm increased to the point it had to be adjusted note also that all THESE diesels are old school or they would be electronically direct injectionetc

[bobconnie]

Mark, I carry enough engine oil and filters to last me at least 2 yrs aboard !In my Colvin I installed an oil tank at the same time as I installed the fuel tanks, and topped this oil tank off when ever the oil was available ! My boat now has room for 50 gal oil barrel, and the stuff to load it in the engine room. When we leave the dock we are ready to go for a while ! I hate to try to find filters and oil in some out of the way place ! so we prepare ! Just sayin im not much to have to look for anything, unless I just have to !

[Charlie]

Ok and now back to our original thread in progress.

I would test the lift pump first. They often develop holes in the rubber diaphragm. There is a test in the manual and/or you can bypass the lift pump by installing an electric pump and plumbing the lift pump so that diesel does not go thru it. I figured out how to do it and thought I made a post on it but I can't find it. I can help you if you need but it isn't that difficult to figure out with the manual.

If you do have to remove the injection pump here is a thread that I did about removing and installing the injection pump on a 4JH4E http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ump-91210.html

[v40163]

I built my own DIY run-away prevention device for my Perkins 4.107. A friend of mine gave me a used throttle body whose ID was very close to the ID of the engine air intake. I machined an adapter that matched the IDs to the ODs and used a piece of silicon hose of the correct ID to mate the throttle body to the engine air intake. I mounted my original air cleaner to the top of the throttle body.

The throttle body valve is spring loaded such that it is "normally closed". I made a piece to hold it open. That piece is connected to a wire that runs outside the engine room. In the case of a run-away, I pull the wire, the piece pops out and the valve closes, shutting down the engine.

I've heard that they use these types of devices on diesels that have to operate around oil wells.

I have pictures if anyone cares.

Ray Russell
40V163
Enshalla

[leftbrainstuff]

Your runaway description is often caused by a diesel getting a sniff of gasoline, aerostart or similar combustible vapour. The consumption of the engine oil is usually an outcome and not the cause.

The traditional response is to block the intake to starve the engine of air. You can't stop a runaway consuming its own sump oil which is oulled past the rings.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[leftbrainstuff]

Leaking lpg, acetylene, etc can also be the cause. Did the OP have any recollection of a porential cause?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[stevensuf]

it was caused by a bad diaphragm in the fuel pump allowing diesel into the sump which overflowed and then was sucked into the air intake via the breather pipe.

[glenn.225]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

it was caused by a bad diaphragm in the fuel pump allowing diesel into the sump which overflowed and then was sucked into the air intake via the breather pipe.

That'll definitely do it. Glad you found the problem.

[Lepke]

Shutting off air in a runaway diesel is the way to go. Usually by throwing rags, clothing, etc., into the air intake. It's common for runaways to suck up crankcase oil even with new, proper oil. Diesels can make strange sounds when some injectors have fuel and others don't. It could be the rattling was compression in some cylinders without fuel, the hunting was fuel supply problems and then at higher speed it can suck crankcase oil past the rings. If the engine had been sitting, it's possible air got into the injector pump or fuel leaked out or back to the filter. Or the fuel tank was shut off. I've seen runaways in big old marine diesels. They don't like air in the fuel lines.

[beetlejuice30]

Just FYI a runaway diesel can be very dangerous
Easily killing someone or destroying your boat

A cat ran away once and shot a piston threw the block and eventually the hull, the engine was entirely shot within 30 seconds, boiled every last drop of coolant, sucked air filter into the engine, the whole thing was foaming, someone tried to block the intake with a board but it just snapped in half.

What I learned
A fire extinguisher in the intake manifold will shut her down in a hurry!!!!