I have tried to locate this exact subject, but there are so many
engine threads I have not been able to zero in on and aswer to my question. So, I'm starting another thread. Sorry.
My 3GM30F has run flawlessly for 15 years with embarassingly little
maintenance. I have changed the
single Raycor Filter and the
engine fuel filter on occasions. But I have relied on the good running experience to do little else. Changed the
oil. Kept the
fuel tank full.
Yesterday the engine started up immediately as it always does. It ran for 5 minutes then stopped and nothing I could do for the next 8 hours of concentratioin would get it going. Not even a cough. It turns over just fine. But will not start.
I reasearched as best as I could from a hotspot on the
boat and came to the conclusion it is likely the
fuel feed
pump. I ordered one. But now after reaching a bit more on CF, I am not so sure. The
pump arries Saturday. It is now Thursday night. My wife and I have been planning a
cruise (Cape Cod) for months and the engine stopped dead, just as I was about to slip the
mooring line in Boston Harbor. Five seconds from a real problem as the
wind was howling Wednesday morning. So I sat at the
mooring for the next 8 hours doing nothing except trying to diagnose the problem.
Finally, I decided it must be the
fuel lift pump. This was based on reading something on line that said if the fuel
lift pump fails to operate properly the engine will stop and will nto be able to be re-started.
That symptom matches my situation exactly.
After trying to start the engine, I removed the
fuel filter which is just after the fuel lift pump and just before the
injector pump. The bowl was mostly empty and only filled partially after 30 seconds of cranking. Thirty second is a long time and I didn't dare do longer. I bled the three injectors ... nuts on top ... no air exited, no fuel. Even after 30 second the fuel filter bowl was only 1/3 filled at most. I ordered the fuel lift and I am waiting for Saturday, two days from now.
However, in the mean time I am OCD and something on CF has made me waiver in my hope that it is the fuel lifter.
CF participats seems to suggest that the fuel lift device is critical, more so, when it is necessary to bring the fuel up from below the engine. That makes sense, but the implication is that it might not be so important when the conditions are as they are on my P36-1, that is, the
Diesel fuel tank is above the engine. The suggestion is that gravity will allow fuel from the main tank to fill the fuel filter bow and from there the rest of the fuel supply trajectory. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but part of my skepticism may be due to the fact that down deep I want it to be the fuel lift pump, because I know where it is an have the skill to remove it and replace it.
Now having read Cruiser's Forum, I am not so sure. This is the source of the no start condition. No Start!. Good crank, but not so much as a hearty cough.
What else could it be.
I've tried bleading the injectors (am I doint that correctly), but if there is little or no fuel in the bowl where the engine filter is located, how is bleeding like that going to have any positive effect.
When I removed the fuel lift pump and gave the linkage a good push up and down, I do get a stong diagram response, with a very little, but still noticeable, suction on one side.
I am a little desperate. My marriage depends on my being able to fix this problem.