Matt, With all due respect, I think this is one of those times a haul by Towboat US may save some money, and in the worst case, an engine.
This is a job I would like to do at a dock, rather than away from one, and with the consultation of an experienced mechanic on scene. The costs of replacing an engine if stuff goes bad is too great, and if you have to try and get advice off of a list serve, you are at a handicap. This will not be that simple and you need to know what the problem is for sure before you start start solving it or running the engine if all is not right and risking it's destruction. Ed on Angel Louise from USSV Angel Louise (typos may be from 1-finger typing!) On Dec 2, 2010, at 11:43 PM, Ben Okopnik <[email protected]> wrote: > On Thu, Dec 02, 2010 at 09:35:47PM -0600, Kaleo wrote: >> Hello fellow liveaboards, > > Hi, Matt! I was following you folks on Twitter a while back, and found > it rather amusing to see you pop up here on the list. Welcome! > >> This evening the bilge pump seemed to be running more than usual which >> led me to discover that one of the thumb screws on the speed seal for >> the raw water impeller was loose. I tightened it and while back behind >> the engine decided to check the oil, upon pulling the dipstick water >> came gushing out, under pressure and continued to do so for quite some >> time. It cycled the bilge pump about 4 times. > > Wow. Even given a really small bilge and a pump that dewaters it down to > almost nothing, that sounds like a *lot* of water. How much water would > you say came out, roughly? Some number of gallons? Also, just to confirm > - the motor _wasn't_ running when this was happening, right? > >> While it was coming out >> I popped the radiator cap to check fresh water coolant level. It was >> fine and it did not seem to be draining. > > There's no oil in it, correct? > >> I tasted the water and it seemed quite salty but I can't imagine that >> salt water got into the crankcase. > > I gather you're cruising in fresh water, then? > >> Obviously, cooling water is getting in somewhere. Any thoughts on >> where to start trouble shooting? > > Depends on your engine configuration, but the most likely place for a > raw water to oil connection would be your water pump - i.e., in certain > (poorly designed) pumps, a rear seal failure would allow the water to be > pumped into your oil system. There are other possibilities, but most of > them involve water from your cooling system. Actually, if you have a > heat exchanger and the oil line in it develops a hole, then > theoretically, water _could_ get forced into the system. If that's the > case, don't buy a new exchanger (they're very expensive); getting one > repaired is fairly cheap by comparison. > > Last option in that regard: if you have an essentially flat (no water > trap) exhaust line, and you get water into it - e.g., stern seas while > you're sailing with the engine off - then the water could flood up into > your exhaust manifold, at which point things get rather sticky. The > right answer there - after flushing the engine as below - is to redesign > and rebuild that exhaust system. > > Something I find very confusing in your description is, why would the > water *keep* spouting as you described? I can certainly picture a short > spurt, but... the only explanation I can come up with is 1) a completely > gone rear seal - i.e., free communication between your oil and water > systems - and 2) a water reservoir, such as a waterpot in your exhaust > line that's significantly higher than your oil sump. > > Hopefully, you carry a spare water pump aboard Kaleo (if you don't, you > should - along with perhaps a spare alternator and a spare starter, > something I consider a part of even a minimal cruiser kit). > > If I was in your situation, I'd pop off the water pump and take a good > look at it. Assuming that it was indeed at fault, I'd replace it. Then, > I'd drain all the oil, fill the crankcase with diesel (right up to the > 'full' mark and even a little above), and slowly turn the engine over a > couple of dozen times while keeping the kill switch down (you don't > really want it to start at this point.) Drain the diesel, refill with > oil up to the right level, and crank it up. After a minute of two, stop > and check the oil - i.e., make sure your diagnosis was correct, and > water is not still coming in. Watch it carefully over the next few hours > of running time, too; if there's some deeper cause that created the seal > failure in the first place, the problem will come back (yes, I'm a > suspicious untrusting engineer type. Anybody got problems wid dat? :) > I'd also check it pretty promptly after the next incident where you get > stern seas. > >> Now I'm at anchor and unsure what to do next. Do I dare drain the oil, >> change it and try to motor into the nearest port (about 10 miles)? Or >> call the tow boat? > > Based on what I can figure out, I'd say that you're most likely OK to > run once you've flushed the system; it doesn't sound like a cracked > block or blown head gasket (that would result in your cooling system > fluid mixing with the oil.) If it's the result of a badly-designed > exhaust system, then don't move on a day when you're going to have stern > seas - at least not without the engine running. If it proves to be the > pump, then you're good all around: replace it, flush well, and keep on > cruising. > > > -- > OKOPNIK CONSULTING > Custom Computing Solutions For Your Business > Expert-led Training | Dynamic, vital websites | Custom programming > 443-250-7895 http://okopnik.com http://twitter.com/okopnik > _______________________________________________ > 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 _______________________________________________ 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
