Need A Diesel Mechanic !!

[Tortuga331]

I have been watching videos of bleeding the lines and installing the fuel filters.
I ordered the filters and will change them as soon as they arrive.
I will be prepared with spare lines next time! I will have someone follow me on their boat next time as well. I will be studying where everything is. How the heck can you work an an area that is so restricted?
I can lift the stairway up to get access and I can take a panel off the back where the air filter is , but, It is so tight in there!

[Tortuga331]

Regarding the fluid that I got out. It looks like thin oil, It did not separate at all. Is it possible it was diesel fuel that got in and made a watery ( thinned oil)? There is a reddish blackish hue to the liquid I got out of the oil pan. That problem has not happened EVER again. Now it is just the stalling problem. I would like to run it for 20 minutes at the dock in gear but after 5 min. it stalls. Will not do anything else until parts come in.

[GRIT]

Keep watching those videos. That'll help.

Let us know when you get your parts. Working on marine diesels is always a tight fit. That's probably why the mechanics charge so much.

Cheers.
Paul.

[Tortuga331]

Originally Posted by GRIT

Keep watching those videos. That'll help.

Let us know when you get your parts. Working on marine diesels is always a tight fit. That's probably why the mechanics charge so much.

Cheers.
Paul.

I found the oil filter, impeller and 2ndary fuel filter. Can NOT find PRIMARY fuel filter for Yanmar 3GM30f.
thanks Paul!

Bill
Tortuga

[Tortuga331]

Is it possible this engine does not have a primary fuel filter?

[Time2Go]

Definitely not a diesel mechanic
however my suggestion would be to have the fuel
Polished. If you can’t do that I’d suck it all out
and start with fresh fuel. I’d also look at all your fuel
lines for lose lines that can vibrate and cause a
stoppage of flow. This of course would have
not helped your original issue
Cheers
Neil

[GRIT]

Originally Posted by Tortuga331

Is it possible this engine does not have a primary fuel filter?

Yes, it's possible there's no other filter, other than what's on the engine. It's not common, and not suggested, but it happens. It'll usually be mounted on a bulkhead.

Be sure to follow the fuel line from the engine filter, back to the fuel tank. If there's a primary filter hiding somewhere, you really want to find it.

I'd suggest you install a primary filter, if you don't have one already. It's not difficult to do, and I'm happy to walk you through it.

But be sure you don't already have one.

Follow the fuel line coming from the little filter on the engine, not the fuel line coming from the injectors, that's the return line and won't have a filter installed.

Cheers.
Paul.

[GRIT]

Originally Posted by Tortuga331

Regarding the fluid that I got out. It looks like thin oil, It did not separate at all. Is it possible it was diesel fuel that got in and made a watery ( thinned oil)? There is a reddish blackish hue to the liquid I got out of the oil pan. That problem has not happened EVER again. Now it is just the stalling problem. I would like to run it for 20 minutes at the dock in gear but after 5 min. it stalls. Will not do anything else until parts come in.

Yes. Diesel could have gotten in and thinned the oil. Is diesel coloured red/pink where you are? The best way to tell is to smell what you removed from the oil pan.

When you run the boat at the dock, don't be easy on it. It does no good to favour the engine by running it lightly. Run it at 3/4 throttle, in forward gear, then you'll really know if it's up to the job. If you can run it for 30 minutes at 3/4 throttle, then you won't have to have anyone follow you around, waiting for it to break down. You want it to break down at the dock, not later.

If she's smoking black during your test, lighten up on the throttle until she stops, then lighten up just a bit more. it would be kind to let her run 5 minutes just above idle, before testing at the dock.

Cheers.
Paul.

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by Tortuga331

Regarding the fluid that I got out. It looks like thin oil, It did not separate at all. Is it possible it was diesel fuel that got in and made a watery ( thinned oil)? There is a reddish blackish hue to the liquid I got out of the oil pan. That problem has not happened EVER again. Now it is just the stalling problem. I would like to run it for 20 minutes at the dock in gear but after 5 min. it stalls. Will not do anything else until parts come in.

Well if it's thin and smells like diesel, be checking for a fuel pump diaphragm issue.

No coolant then?
Oil wasn't watery?
Oil would be grayish, water on the bottom.
But if there is diesel in it, run again for a longer period of time and inspect the oil.
If it's thinned again, probably the fuel pump diaphragm.
There can be less frequent issues at hand also.

One cannot change the oil in a diesel to much.
Boatyarddog

[bil56]

yes, possible ...
if diesel has passed into engine oil (through the porous or punctured diaphragm), the level should have risen on the dipstick.
if diesel/oil mixture, a few drops on blotting paper, lighter halo around a darker spot

./.

[Tortuga331]

Originally Posted by Boatyarddog

Well if it's thin and smells like diesel, be checking for a fuel pump diaphragm issue.

No coolant then?
Oil wasn't watery?
Oil would be grayish, water on the bottom.
But if there is diesel in it, run again for a longer period of time and inspect the oil.
If it's thinned again, probably the fuel pump diaphragm.
There can be less frequent issues at hand also.

One cannot change the oil in a diesel to much.
Boatyarddog

If it is the diaphram, that would explain all the extra fluid I drained out when I first launched the boat. But, I have not had the problem since that first episode at launch. I can not run the engine for longer because it stalls out after 5 minutes in gear, but can run long for an hour if in neutral and not stressed.
as far as NO COOLANT: The reddish tint could be from the color of the diesel fuel.
I really never checked for color in fuel. I should syphon some out to see what tint it has (if any).
as far as OIL WASNT WATERY: It seemed watery or diluted to me, I suppose diesel could make it thinner.

[Wolfe10]

Originally Posted by Tortuga331

I
I really never checked for color in fuel. I should syphon some out to see what tint it has (if any).

If you know where the fuel was purchased, you can ask them if they sell the red= off-road diesel. It is the same as #2 diesel, but with red dye to indicate that there has been no road tax collected.


I know this is true in Texas, and suspect in all other states as well.

[OneBoatman]

Do not panick. As far as the runs for a bit and then stops you could have a leak in your fuel line or injector manifold, but this doesn't suddenly happen from sitting over the winter. If it sucking in air and this were the case the engine usually won't restart without bleeding the lines and identifying why it is fuel starved or sucking air. When you bleed the lines you do it sequentially and at each bleed point up to including each injector. The injectors (3) I believe on your engine correspond to the number of cylinders are located on the top of the engine or slightly to the side away from the exhaust manifold and have skinny metal fuel lines connected to them. When the nut securing the fuel line is "cracked loose, typically about 3/4 of turn counterclockwise you should may initially see spurts of air and fuel if the engine is fuel starved and there is air in the lines. Bleeding is easiest with two people: one to activate the starter to turnover the engine and the other to bleed the system. You should close your seawater intake during bleeding to avoid drawing in water not able to be expelled by exhaust pressure through your water lift. Don't forget to re-open it immediately when the engine starts or you may end up burning up your seawater impeller. After locating and bleeding each point sequentially as you work toward the high pressure fuel pump, and bleed the fuel pump discharge point, you should then bleed the injector closest to the high pressure fuel pump, then the other two closest one first. Expect that the engine may start by the time you bleed the middle injector. Use the proper size wrench the shorter the better and it will help to have slender hands and forearms as the access is frequently not so easy and worse on "freshwater cooled" engines because of the presense of the heat exchanger. One post mentioned you were searching for an air filter. BTW most diesels do not have and air cleaner some have course bronze mesh but these engines are not like what's in gasoline engine in a car that sees road debris and dust, they are drawing air only from your nearly enclosed engine room. Black algae is notorious for clogging your fuel pick up and then miraculously passing enough fuel to permit restarting if the boat is allowed to sit and bob at a dock or at sea, but it will ultimately starve the engine for fuel if you are not keeping up. Make sure you are using algaecide, if you don't know when it was last treated and not treating it religiously, it won't hurt to add 2-3 teaspoons to your fuel. Keep in mind that the other thin redish liquid in your engine compartment is typically the transmisson oil. Do not confuse yourself by draining the transmission oil and then blindly filling your engine oil, (grossly overfilling your crankcase will cause you other problems). Both must be in their proper operating range. The former is ATF and the latter of course is usually straight 30 wt engine oil or other multi-wt oils rated for diesel service such as 20W50. Does your crankcase actually have a drain plug? or Do you have to pump your engine oil out the dipstick? or Do you have a hand pump to change your crankcase oil.

[flyingfin]

Originally Posted by GRIT

HURRAY! Well done Bill!!!.

You've really done a great job. Pat yourself on the back.

I still wonder where all that liquid came from, and you may one day find out, but until then...

Paul.

There is a chance that the hull filled with water and got into the engine via the rear main seal. The main seal is designed to keep oil IN the engine. In some engines, submerging that seal will allow bilge water to enter the oil pan. This is usually identified quickly when your oil dipstick looks like you put in into a glass of chocolate milk. Same problem we see with a boat that has sunk but re-floated quickly

[OneBoatman]

In the States along the East Coast. Marine diesel has a red dye in it indicating it hass "lower Sulphur content" supposedly better for the environment. All other regular diesel at the pumps for road vehicles is rather yellow, so not pink. In the 90's I saw plenty of boats commisioned on the cheap without fuel water separators. I believe the correct term for the fuel filter on the engine is the primary filter even though it comes after a fuel water separator. Fuel polishing might be money well spent, if you decide to have it done, I suggest you do it before your you change your primary filter. Do not install anything less a 10 micron on the engine or you will find the life pretty short and I've seen instances where the owner puts in 2 micron primary thinking their doing themselves a favor and the result was it loaded up in less 50 hrs and fuel starved their engine. All filters increase in filtering efficiency as the media gets loaded up with debris. So they do a better job filtering until there is no flow at all. As I know it these filters are not like most automotive oil filters, which allows by pass when the back pressure exceeds a specified level.