Pi Day (3.1415) and Albert Einstein's Birthday
The final touches to the engine were done and vital fluids were added. I turned the key, pressed the start button and.... VAROOOM! YAHOO! SHE STARTED, SOUNDED GREAT AND SHE RAN SMOOTHLY.
After a few minutes it was time to look for leaks so I pressed the engine kill switch. The engine didn't quit. I thought that was ironic. First it wouldn't run, it was fixed, it ran, but now it wouldn't quit. The mechanic put his hand over the air intake and the engine stopped.
There were no apparent leaks so I turned the key, pressed the button and.... nothing!
I turned the key again and we listened carefully for the starter solenoid to click.... nothing. My starter relay was badly rusted and the mechanic wanted to replace it. As luck would have it, I had a spare on board. He installed the new starter switch, but as he did, sparks flew for an instant. Oops! He finished installing the switch and I turned the key, pressed the button and..... varoooom! She started and ran again.
The final touches to the engine were done and vital fluids were added. I turned the key, pressed the start button and.... VAROOOM! YAHOO! SHE STARTED, SOUNDED GREAT AND SHE RAN SMOOTHLY.
After a few minutes it was time to look for leaks so I pressed the engine kill switch. The engine didn't quit. I thought that was ironic. First it wouldn't run, it was fixed, it ran, but now it wouldn't quit. The mechanic put his hand over the air intake and the engine stopped.
There were no apparent leaks so I turned the key, pressed the button and.... nothing!
I turned the key again and we listened carefully for the starter solenoid to click.... nothing. My starter relay was badly rusted and the mechanic wanted to replace it. As luck would have it, I had a spare on board. He installed the new starter switch, but as he did, sparks flew for an instant. Oops! He finished installing the switch and I turned the key, pressed the button and..... varoooom! She started and ran again.
Not all was perfect, however. The tachometer, hour meter and kill switch didn't work, the alternator did not charge and there seemed to be no life in the regulator. So, projects remained. I could stop the engine by putting my hand over the air intake and the engine choked after a few revolutions.
I ran the engine at the dock, in gear, against the dock lines to put some load and hours on the engine to run it in. The mechanic thought the mechanical tachometer sensor was "killed" by the shop during the clean up of the engine block, so he thought that the sensor needed to be replaced.
He suspected that a relay in the kill switch circuit was bad due to its immersion in sea water in the engine compartment when the oil cooler leaked sea water.
As for the alternator and regulator, that will take some studying. I will be trying to follow the troubleshooting instructions in the manuals tomorrow as well as I am able.
March 15, the ides of March
Being wary, when I put my head down in the engine compartment to find the tachometer sensor, I saw that, what I thought was the sensor, had no wires attached to it. I poured over the manuals and schematics and identified the colors of the wires intended to connect to the sensor, found them hanging loose and connected them. I started the engine and sure enough, the tachometer worked. I ran the engine against the dock lines again for several hours, varying the RPMs every so often, but not exceeding 1500 RPM as I had been instructed. As time went on and I backed the speed down near an idle, the motor stalled. It would only run with the throttle advanced so that's what I did and ran the engine for seven hours. Tomorrow, Monday, the mechanic could deal with the throttle.
March 16
In the morning, I noticed some water and oil in the pan beneath engine. The mechanic did not show up, but the rain did. It rained long and hard. I didn't run the engine today because of the oil and water leak. It hadn't rained since Super Bowl Sunday (and Monday) and for most of the remainder of February it was sunny every day. I had been purchasing water in five gallon jugs for 18 pesos (just over $1 US) and had been adding them to the water tank from time to time, only running dry once. I bought a tarp at Walmart and had shaded the boat against the sun. The exception to the sunny days came along in the middle of the month of February and I noticed then that the tarp allowed water to run off and onto the deck leaving the cockpit dry. Our water fill intake is on the starboard side deck almost where most of the tarp's run off was falling on that side. It was a shame to not use that water. So, the following day, I rigged a water catchment system that I could install beneath the edge of the tarp. Finally, after a month of sun, it began to rain and today I deployed the water catcher. We filled our 160 gallon water tank before the rain ended today!
March 17, Happy St. Patrick's Day indeed
March 15, the ides of March
Being wary, when I put my head down in the engine compartment to find the tachometer sensor, I saw that, what I thought was the sensor, had no wires attached to it. I poured over the manuals and schematics and identified the colors of the wires intended to connect to the sensor, found them hanging loose and connected them. I started the engine and sure enough, the tachometer worked. I ran the engine against the dock lines again for several hours, varying the RPMs every so often, but not exceeding 1500 RPM as I had been instructed. As time went on and I backed the speed down near an idle, the motor stalled. It would only run with the throttle advanced so that's what I did and ran the engine for seven hours. Tomorrow, Monday, the mechanic could deal with the throttle.
March 16
In the morning, I noticed some water and oil in the pan beneath engine. The mechanic did not show up, but the rain did. It rained long and hard. I didn't run the engine today because of the oil and water leak. It hadn't rained since Super Bowl Sunday (and Monday) and for most of the remainder of February it was sunny every day. I had been purchasing water in five gallon jugs for 18 pesos (just over $1 US) and had been adding them to the water tank from time to time, only running dry once. I bought a tarp at Walmart and had shaded the boat against the sun. The exception to the sunny days came along in the middle of the month of February and I noticed then that the tarp allowed water to run off and onto the deck leaving the cockpit dry. Our water fill intake is on the starboard side deck almost where most of the tarp's run off was falling on that side. It was a shame to not use that water. So, the following day, I rigged a water catchment system that I could install beneath the edge of the tarp. Finally, after a month of sun, it began to rain and today I deployed the water catcher. We filled our 160 gallon water tank before the rain ended today!
During the rain, I had a chance to get to know my alternator and regulator. I tested all the connecting wires between the alternator and regulator and found one that did not conduct. I could not find the actual fault, but at least I identified the source of a problem, maybe.
March 17, Happy St. Patrick's Day indeed
When the mechanic came aboard he talked about the rain the day before and that the big bridge between Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta, on the state line, was closed due to flooding! He also noticed the oil and water leak. I mentioned my trouble shooting of the alternator/regulator. While groping around under and in the recesses of the engine he found that the wire that would not conduct had an in-line fuse connected in the wire. This wire connects the oil pressure switch on the other side of the engine to the regulator. When the switch detects oil pressure (and it does that almost the instant the engine starts), current goes to the regulator which energizes the alternator so that the alternator starts producing a large, regulated charging current. The fuse in that oil pressure switch/regulator circuit had blown (remember the sparks three days ago?) and when I replaced the fuse and started the engine the regulator lit up and the alternator began to produce current to the battery. The mechanic installed a new stop switch relay, adjusted the throttle, tightened some bolts in the oil pan and left us to run the engine some more. With an engine that would run and one that I could control, I took the opportunity to move the boat to another slip a little further away from the marijuana smokers and some of the loud music and to face the boat bow-in instead of stern-in for some more privacy finally, after two months. We moved to a slip with a little more room, width wise, so that we could more safely exit, but more importantly, return. Because the engine ran, we planned to run the boat in Banderas Bay under real life conditions, tomorrow(?). We intended to do some more daytime Bay excursions to run-in the engine and seat the valves before having the mechanic give the engine a once over look, change the oil and adjust the valves before we headed to San Carlos. PROGRESS! Is that a little oil and water I see in the pan below the engine?
March 18, My half year birthday
Yes, there is some oil and water in the pan this morning, but I cleaned it up and checked the fluid levels. The fluid levels were okay -- WE'RE TAKING THIS VESSEL OUT IN THE BAY!!! Remember that it rained hard on the sixteenth? The run off from that rain had washed; trees, logs, brush, coconuts, plastic chairs, large "rafts" of assorted debris and other flotsam into the bay, so we had to play dodge'm often until we got farther away from shore. When we returned to the dock from a good run out on the water, it was dark. We were delayed entering the channel because a cruise ship was leaving the harbor and we had to wait, but we now had a total of 25.5 hours on the rebuilt engine (by my stopwatch, since the hour meter still doesn't operate). We missed our land shower at the marina, because the bathrooms are locked at 6pm and there was more oil and water in the pan. There was more water than oil and the water did not taste salty. Lots of yuck, but no salt.
March 19
Today we had a mission on the water, in spite of the leaks. We would put some more hours on the motor and bid adieu to friends on a sister ship, another Island Packet 370, Kookaburra, out of Bellingham, Washington, owned by Mac and Wendy with their friend Churro on board as they set out on "The Puddle Jump" (crossing the Pacific to the Marquesas Islands)! They were docked in Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta and we thought we would send them off with a wave and a conch horn salute, meeting them on the water on their way out of the Bay, around noon. By 3:30 they had not come out of the Nuevo Vallarta inlet and we needed to get back to our dock in Marina Vallarta by 5pm to not miss our land shower again. As we turned to leave, I spotted them, so we turned back again, motored along side, waved and I blew the conch, wishing them well.
We got back to our slip at 5:15 and got our land showers as well.
March 20
Our new family members, the mechanics, came aboard and tried again to staunch the leaks. An oil leak was located at the engine connection for the dip stick tube. All the oil was extracted and the dip stick tube was removed. The mechanic, cleaned the surfaces, changed the washers, added more sealant, reinstalled the dip stick and added new oil and oil filter with thirty-nine hours now on the engine. There is more to Friday's story, but that is a different topic.
March 21
There was about a cup of oil floating on more water in the pan this morning, so the mechanics returned. A water leak was located at a fresh water hose whose clamp was not tightened enough and more tweaking of bolts was performed. I ran the engine at the dock.
March 22
This morning there was no water, but maybe three tablespoons of oil in the pan. None the less, I wanted to take the boat out for a run today. When I started the engine, I saw that the regulator display was dark. I shut the engine off to begin the search for the problem. Again, all but one wire had continuity and this time I knew where that pesky fuse was located. Yes it had blown. The mechanic had shorted the circuit as he rooted about looking for the oil leak yesterday. I installed a new fuse and was out of the slip at 10:30.
March 23
By morning, more oil (no water - little victories!) was in the pan so when the mechanic arrived he decided that he would employ drastic measures. He took off the exhaust water mixing elbow and hose to the muffler, removed the transmission, removed the bell housing and the flywheel and found an oil leak at the crankshaft seal. We need to replace that seal. I await word about that and therefore the new timeline. I feel confident about this being the final solution, but only time - yet more time - will tell. Meanwhile the engine parts languish in the aft stateroom.
We got back to our slip at 5:15 and got our land showers as well.
March 20
Our new family members, the mechanics, came aboard and tried again to staunch the leaks. An oil leak was located at the engine connection for the dip stick tube. All the oil was extracted and the dip stick tube was removed. The mechanic, cleaned the surfaces, changed the washers, added more sealant, reinstalled the dip stick and added new oil and oil filter with thirty-nine hours now on the engine. There is more to Friday's story, but that is a different topic.
March 21
There was about a cup of oil floating on more water in the pan this morning, so the mechanics returned. A water leak was located at a fresh water hose whose clamp was not tightened enough and more tweaking of bolts was performed. I ran the engine at the dock.
March 22
This morning there was no water, but maybe three tablespoons of oil in the pan. None the less, I wanted to take the boat out for a run today. When I started the engine, I saw that the regulator display was dark. I shut the engine off to begin the search for the problem. Again, all but one wire had continuity and this time I knew where that pesky fuse was located. Yes it had blown. The mechanic had shorted the circuit as he rooted about looking for the oil leak yesterday. I installed a new fuse and was out of the slip at 10:30.
March 23
By morning, more oil (no water - little victories!) was in the pan so when the mechanic arrived he decided that he would employ drastic measures. He took off the exhaust water mixing elbow and hose to the muffler, removed the transmission, removed the bell housing and the flywheel and found an oil leak at the crankshaft seal. We need to replace that seal. I await word about that and therefore the new timeline. I feel confident about this being the final solution, but only time - yet more time - will tell. Meanwhile the engine parts languish in the aft stateroom.
1 comment:
OMG. I am just catching up on this engine saga. What a nightmare! ALl this trouble and far far from home cannot be easy. I feel your pain as we repowered this past summer at our home dock. I cannot imagine the frustration you both are dealing with. Hang in there and keep updating.
Hayden in Abacos
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