Boat Forum / Cruising / June 2004

Jerry,

I do not know if this may help but there may be a filter on the electric
fuel pump. Mine is a small cylinder on the end of the fuel pump cylinder.

Also I wonder why you would get full revolutions when in neutral and not
when in gear if the transmission is bad.

Sorry I can't help further.

Good Luck

Ansley Sawyer
SV Pacem

Jerry -

Since you have internet access, check here:

http://forums.torresen.com/sailing/

Torresen is the Yanmar distributor in the northeast US.  They are
worth 2 of Mastrys, but Yanmar in their wisdom makes me buy from
Mastry.  The forum at the link above is excellent.

I'm no expert, but if the engine is failing to reach rpm due to load
issues like a foul prop or a binding tranny, I'd expect to see black
smoke at full throttle.  If not, I think it is more likely that you
have a fuel system problem.  My 3GM30 behaved like yours when my
electric lift pump bit the dust, FWIW.
____________________________________________________________
Glen "Wiley" Wilson  <usenet1  SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com>
To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious.

Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and
logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/

The following letter appeared in Latitude 38's June edition. You may find
it very helpful:

THE ENGINE PROBLEM IS FINALLY  SOLVED

We finally have a happy ending to the trials  with our injector pump
which, you may remember, caused us to  be late to the start of last year's
Ha-Ha. Readers might find  it interesting in that it demonstrates how
complicated it can  be to solve some engine problems.

The Problem: In normal conditions our 88-hp  Yanmar diesel would power up
to 3,400 rpm under the load of our  20-inch Max Prop on our Tayana 52. But
we experienced a problem  with the diesel auxiliary not powering over
2,000 rpm under the  same load. The max output without load is 4,200 rpm.

The First Occurrence: We had no problem  motorsailing into heavy weather
coming down from Anacortes, Washington,  to San Francisco at 2200 to 2800
rpm - with 3,400 rpm on demand  when we crossed breaking bars. On the
delivery from San Francisco  to Newport Beach, we ran at 2,600 rpm until
Point Conception,  at which time we slowed to 2,000 rpm for six hours.
When we tried  to speed up again, the diesel would not go over 2,000 rpm,
even under full throttle. And the turbo would not spool up.

The Diagnostic Decision Tree: We quickly  ran through our simple skills
without results. Through the efforts  of a series of professional diesel
mechanics, we created the  following diagnostic flow for debugging this
problem. Some of  this was so simple, yet creative, it was worth taking
notes.

Suspected Problem - Restricted Fuel.

Step #1 - Visual inspection to see that  there was plenty of fuel in both
tanks.

Step #2 - Visual inspection to see that  the fuel filters didn't have air
or contamination.

Step #3 - Replace filters. Still no change  in power.

Step #4 - Run engine off one gallon day  tank connected to hose from the
top of the secondary filter.  Still no change in power.

Step #5 - Replace secondary filter again.  Still no change in power.

New Suspected Problem - Overpitched Prop.

Step #1 - Replace Max Prop with fixed 3-bladed  prop that was originally
shipped with boat. No change in power.

New Suspected Problem - Restricted Air  Flow

Step #1 - Remove exhaust pipe from engine  and run under load. Still no
change in power.

Step #2 - Visually inspect turbine vanes  by removing air breather.
Turbine spooled freely. Still no change  in power.

New Suspected Problem - Lift Pump Failure

Step #1 - Hook up fuel straight to the  injector pump by bypassing all
filters and lift pumps, and using  a small electrical pump. Still no
change in power.

New Suspected Problem - Bad Injector Pump

Step #1 - Remove pump and bench test at  specialty shop. Tested to specs.

Step #2 - Reinstall injector pump. Still  no change in power.

New Suspected Problem - Bad Vacuum to Governor

Step #1 - Visual inspection. Hose all right.

Step #2 - Blow into hose. No air leaks.  Still no change in power.

New Suspected Problem - Bad Injectors

Step #1 - Remove and POP test at mechanic.  Tested all right. Still no
change in power.

New Suspected Problem - Bad Compression

Step #1 - Test each cylinder while injectors  removed. Tested all right @
380 PSI.

New Suspected Problem - Bad Injector Pump

Step #1 - Remove and replace with new pump  from Yanmar. Engine ran at
2,500 rpm and turbo spooled up. But  still cannot achieve full power under
load.

New Suspected Problem - Overpitched Prop

Step #1 - Remove fixed 3-bladed prop and  replace with Max Prop. Full
power at 3,200 rpm. Finally!

The lessons we learned:

1) At each step, the mechanic thought he  had the problem solved. The
injector pump "never fails,"  and it tested OK. A mechanic did say
sometimes they test OK but  don't work under real load conditions - which
are apparently hard to replicate on the bench. In any case, that was our
problem.  We exhausted every other avenue before buying another injector
pump because it cost $1,600 - plus airfreight. We also had to  wait for a
second replacement pump because the first one arrived  with a hard
failure.

2) I always thought that boats that don't  make the Ha-Ha or start late
were guilty of not trying hard enough.  Well, we airfreighted two injector
pumps, and the first replacement  one was bad. We drove to FedEx to pick
it up. We airfreighted  the fixed 3-bladed prop to try it in place of the
Max Prop. We  had two divers replace it while Beach Music was tied to  the
Balboa YC, as there wasn't time to have the boat hauled.  We used four
different mechanics to repair the engine because  we had to move to San
Diego before the problem was fixed in order  to make the start. After all
this effort and expense, we still had to start two days late - but we did
catch the fleet at Turtle  Bay in time to make the beach party. In the
future, I will have  new-found respect for other boats with technical
problems - rather  than assuming they didn't try hard enough to make the
start.

3) Perseverance, time and money ultimately  brings results.

Having been in Mexico for the season, we  agree that cruisers down here
are obsessed with the weather.  Even those who were groomed by the strong
winds on San Francisco  Bay seem pretty timid.

We've been enjoying Profligate's reports  from the Caribbean.

Kirby & Pam Coryell
Beach Music, Tayana 52
Northern California / Mexico