who cares about spell checking? NOT ME It is better to write than not to write due to fear about format and spelling. Ed
On Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 8:52 PM, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Sorry folks, it's late and I'm tired. I neglected to spellcheck the > previous version of this essay. This is the good one.... > > > > > Capt Norm goes to Diesel School > > > I set out from Jacksonville FL for Gulfport MS to visit Jan who was taking > care of her injured son. Having loaned her my Ford Windstar minivan to > carry her invalid patient around, I had the use of her 1981 Mercedes 240D > (D for diesel), "Baby Car". > > Although I seemed to notice a decrease in acceleration (it is a little > four-cylinder diesel pushing a heavy body) all went well for the first two > hundred miles until I got a cell phone call and was unable to locate my > phone. When I pulled off I-10 into the breakdown lane, my right wheels > hit the grass creating a significant vibration throughout the car. > > Shortly after I got underway again there was a pronounced drop in engine > power. This condition came and went from that time on until I pulled into > a rest area and changed the fuel filters, a quick and easy job on the > 240D. I blessed myself for carrying spare filters and tools. I did > notice the small transparent primary filter seemed quite dirty so when I > put the new ones in (and remembered to fill them fuel oil from the spare > gallon in the trunk) I was confident the problem was dealt with. > > Silly me... > > About an hour later the problem reappeared but I was lucky enough to limp > into another rest stop. Thinking the thirty-year-old rubber hose between > the metal fuel supply pipe (5/16" od tubing) had a crack and was sucking > air I inspected it carefully and cut an inch off each end of this 12" long > hose, reconnected it, and off I went again pleased that I had at last > banished the gremlins. > Silly me... > > It soon became apparent I was not out of the woods yet (both literally and > figuratively). The car gradually slowed down until I was doing 20 mph in > the breakdown lane. This time I'm thinking that since the fuel gauge has > been fluky at 1/4 tank in the past, perhaps this flukiness has advanced to > 1/2 tank, which is what the gauge showed, so I resolved to fill up at my > next opportunity, an exit one mile ahead. But I was soon brought to a > complete stop about 50 yards before the exit where diesel fuel was > promised just around the corner. No sweat I thought, I have AAA. An > simple phone call and I was assured a "service technician" would show up in > less than 45 minutes. I fiddled with the engine and managed to crawl onto > the exit ramp but could go no farther. The engine really tried to start > but I ran out of battery to crank it with. > > I had just had the recently replaced alternator checked that very morning > and it was pronounced working properly but the battery showed "83% > capacity". "83%" capacity", I thought at the time, that must be good for > a few more months. With the words "Waste not, Want not" ringing in my mind > I ignored the auto parts man (of course he wanted to sell me a new battery, > right?) and rolled merrily on my way. > > Silly me... > > So I lifted the hood, rigged the jumper cables, (thank goodness I had > invested in heavy duty jumpers) and stood at the side of the highway like > some bizarre hitch-hiker waving the clamps of my jumper cables at each > passing motorist. After twenty-five or so cars passed me by a young Air > Force man (Eglin AFB was nearby) stopped and gave me a jump. I did get the > engine going again, cancelled the AAA call, and limped into the gas > station. > > After filling up off I went, yet again filled with optimism that I had > "finally" gotten things under control. After all I smiled, didn't I often > brag about building a "bullet proof" fuel system on Bandersnatch? > > Silly me... > > My confidence was short lived but I felt really lucky when I limped into > yet another rest stop. I checked the connections, tighten the hose clamps > and again the engine fired up. This time I didn't even make it back out > onto I-10. Again I called AAA and in due time Bubba showed up and happily > lifted "Baby Car" up onto his flatbed tow truck. I told him all I really > needed was a new battery so he took me to an Auto Zone where I replaced > the battery ($140 - it's a diesel). > > After a lot of cranking and sputtering I got the engine spinning again and > off we went into the night. It didn't seem to have much power but I was > again underway. > > With only 130 miles to go I was rolling, even if doing only 55mph up the > hills and 60mph on the level. But Mobile was ahead with its long bridge > over Mobile Bay, ending with a fearsome tunnel with NO breakdown lanes, > followed by a twisty high-speed urban freeway. I was frightened by the > thought of a dead engine along this stretch and tried desperately to > imagine what more I could do but could only come up with a blockage at the > fuel tank end of the fuel supply line, a problem I could not see myself > fixing in the breakdown lane. > > But this time the Gods smiled and I sailed across the long bridge, through > the fearsome tunnel and through the heart of the city as well. I was > grateful for this incredible luck, and actually still felt that way when > red lights appeared on the instrument panel signaling a stopped engine yet > again. > > I was DOA in the breakdown lane, this time with three roaring lanes of > 75mph heavy traffic two feet away on my left, a high curb on my right and > another lane of traffic just beyond that. I waited a full minute, then > started cranking again. After desperate full-on cranking with starter > whirring and the engine struggling feebly to run it finally sputtered to a > sort of half-life. With a break in the traffic I managed to slide back > into the stream at 55mph with my right foot hard on the floor. My luck > held for the next thirty miles and I eventually made it to my destination, > with pedal to the metal and fear in my heart almost all the time. > > With Baby Car safely parked in the driveway I could exhale. I managed > through stubbornness, a little forethought and more than a little luck to > muck on through. I felt VERY lucky. > > After a day's rest, I bought some new fuel line and clamps, a new set of > fuel filters, and a outboard motor bulb-style fuel pump. Installing the > bulb pump on the fuel suction line showed unequivocally a blockage in the > fuel supply when the bulb VERY slowly expanded to it's normal shape after > each squeeze. > > Consulting the Haynes manual, and Goggling "Mercedes 240D fuel problem", it > was obvious that the root problem was a plugged supply fuel strainer in > the bottom of the fuel tank. > > A simple cure, at least in Australia, is to fill the tank with B100 (100% > bio-diesel) which they claim will clean all the glop out of tank and > strainer. One could also drain the tank, remove the strainer (with a 1 > 3/4", 3/4" drive socket), then clean and replace it. But it turns out the > return line terminus is at the bottom of the tank near the suction strainer > but has no strainer on it so the quick fix is to simply switch the suction > and return hoses under the hood and let the primary filter, the little > plastic one, easily changed, handle the trash that was blocking the tank > strainer as the return flow flushes the glop back into the tank and into > the unscreened return line. > > I chose the latter route and will purchase several new primary filters (at > about $6 each) to carry with me while I ride merrily along basking in the > glow of Jan's admiration; "My Hero", swoon, swoon.... > > > Some Mistakes: > > Since my own fuel system on Bandersnatch has the return lines dump into the > tank near the tank tops, I had wrongly imagined the car's tank was the > same. I had the Haynes book in the trunk with a drawing of the tank > showing the fuel line details but never looked at it. > > The 240D's lift pump actually can be manually operated. I could have > loosened a supply banjo bolt at the top of the secondary filter and primed > the system manually, possibly revealing the plugged suction strainer in > the tank by the resistance on the pull stroke. I knew there was a white > plastic knob on the lift pump that did look like a knob to operate the > pump. I had tried moving it. It didn't pull. It was stiff to turn and I > didn't push the issue, afraid to break the thirty-year-old plastic. Later > I read of the "manual priming pump" on line and emboldened by that, I did > unscrew it and discovered it worked just fine by pulling and pushing the > knob. > > > It seems that no matter how much experience we get, we still have > challenging lessons to enjoy! > > I hope the above experience may be useful to someone... > > > Regards, > Norm > S/V Bandersnatch > Lying Julington Creek FL > N30 07.68 W081 38.47 > > > _______________________________________________ > Liveaboard mailing list > [email protected] > To adjust your membership settings over the web > http://liveaboardonline.com/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard > To subscribe send an email to [email protected] > > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > The archives are at http://www.liveaboardonline.com/pipermail/liveaboard/ > > To search the archives > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > The Mailman Users Guide can be found here > http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html > -- Ed Kelly sailing vessel ANGEL LOUISE - Catalac 12m Skype Cell telephone: 202-657-6357 [email protected] _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://liveaboardonline.com/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardonline.com/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
