New Diesel Engine owner (sorry, it's a yanmar)

[Gary Marshall]

I just wanted to greet everyone.

I just bought my first Diesel. An Albin 28 2005 model flush deck powered with a 315 yanmar. I wish I could have gotten a cummins B series, but that just isn’t available in the flush deck design I wanted.

That said, I will be reading and researching as much as possible to keep this engine working well for as long as possible. It is the original engine, and had about 900 hours on it. It was in fresh water most of its life, and then it moved to Florida for a couple of years where it was flushed with fresh water after use.

Now….it is working commercially as a fishing boat, 10 – 12 hours per day, 6 – 7 days per week, going between idle and 7 knots, 98% of the time.

There are any boat projects on the go, as I learn the vessel, but one of the first is to reduce the pitch of the prop as I am just getting about 3600 rpm at WOT. I did get 3700 rpms measured on the tach when I sea trialed the boat, and the engine survey done the year in front showed the true rpms seemed about 150 more than the boat tach. Either way, the boat needs to be propped for its current sea conditions and additional weight with coolers and ice, etc.. I think a 2″ pitch drop should do it.

Additionally, looking at changing from the Racor 900 series fuel filter to one of the recommended multi filtrations setup from SBMAR. I don’t have any issues now, but want to prevent them down the road as will probably do 2500+ hours per year.

Topic

[Gary Marshall]

The main job yesterday was really removing the exhaust. The hardest part was getting the exhaust hose off of the mixing elbow. Used about 6 flat bit screwdrivers to pry up the hose slightly and spray some corrosion block (just what I had handy) to lube it a bit, then it twisted off.

I have absolutely no experience in viewing the turbine, but it didn’t look too bad to me. Is there any basic cleaning I should do here before re-assembly with the new exhaust?

[Gary Marshall]

I also transformed into a monkey, and managed to get the water pump assembly off the engine. There are two studs in the engine, and it is mounted on with nuts. I have read other forums where many remove the studs/nuts, and use bolts instead. My studs actually came off quite easily as the end of the stud had a bit of rust, so the nuts stuck there, and the stud then undid off the engine.

Good thing I removed it, as two vanes were torn….and this is much easier done on land for the first time. One of the studs/nuts is a real bitch to get to.

[Gary Marshall]

In relation to the blisters, they were pretty heavy just above and below the dark blue strip. Hardly any on the bottom paint area. Debated whether we should just grind off the gelcoat on the whole length, but I think for now we will just sand the individual blisters and fill with an epoxy resin mix. We can always do the whole strip next season if it calls for it. The fibreglass underneith looked fine. Many of the blisters contained a bit of water and wept a bit until they were sanded off. I counted 120+ on the side of the boat with the least!

[Gary Marshall]

Rob Schepis wrote:

Gary Marshall wrote:

…
I have a number of maintenance issues to do, as well as some upgrades (Simrad autopilot, new transducer, etc..) . Will post the engine related stuff here.

Post your electronics upgrade here too – start a new topic.

So that everyone can laugh at my novice skills? 🙂

I am taking a fair bit of pics (learning from you!) so will try to do just that.

[Rob Schepis]

Gary Marshall wrote:

…
I have a number of maintenance issues to do, as well as some upgrades (Simrad autopilot, new transducer, etc..) . Will post the engine related stuff here.

Post your electronics upgrade here too – start a new topic.

[Gary Marshall]

Just a quick note to say that the haul out was a success, and was able to get the boat up the slight hill to my folks house, which makes for security, and easy water and electricity.

I have attached a pic of the boat on the stands I had made, as well as a close up of the blisters above the waterline. I have to raise the bottom paint line to just above the through hulls, and I will sand/grind out the blisters and fill with epoxy. A few of them cracked open just from pressure washing. Happy to hear any tips.

I have a number of maintenance issues to do, as well as some upgrades (Simrad autopilot, new transducer, etc..) . Will post the engine related stuff here.

[Gary Marshall]

All set to haul the boat on Thursday. Other obligations kept me from boat work over the last 2 weekends, but I’m taking 2 weeks or so off when the boat is hauled, so will post some pics as I do the work.

It will be hauled for 3 weeks is now the plan, as the travel lift/tami-lift operator is on vacation for 3 weeks. I can’t complain though. It’s a government facility, and only costs me USD $7.50 for the haul out!!!

G.

[Gary Marshall]

Rob Schepis wrote:

The red dye here represents non-taxed (no highway tax) diesel for off-road use, etc..

The elbow comes off very easy from the Yanmar turbo – just a V-clamp…..not the “4 stuck bolts” like the Cummings..

ok – good to know. I did buy a new v-clamp as well, and I suppose I am replacing both elbows so separating them from each other wouldn’t matter too much anyway.

[Gary Marshall]

Rob Schepis wrote:

I consider a Rydlyme flush synonymous with a race car pulling into the pit for a quick fix and then back to the race he goes. The flush is good mid-season if you start to notice a temperature or hose pressure issue. Give her a flush and avoid the mid-season downtime (especially important in short seasons like up North). Then when the race is over the real work is done – pulling the coolers for proper cleaning and servicing..

Here’s some Rydlyme pics when I flushed a 6LP.

The “pisser capped” pic is showing that the small seawater hose going to a dripless shaft seal needs to be disconnected and capped off. You can see the short pc of hose with the bolt plugging it.

nice pics!

I actually did plan to do a seawater system flush using sulphonic acid (I think it is called). The Rydlyme/barnacle buster are not available locally, and I did quite a bit of net research and it seemed like sulphonic acid which is commonly used to clean boilers and heat exchangers would be effective, but safe on seals.
I bought some hoses, and was just going to use a Rule bilge pump in a bucket.

I didn’t think about blocking the hose going to the shaft seal, so thanks for that info.

Were you able to remove all of your heat exchangers in the Albin? Did you always have to replace the seals in the end-caps?

[Rob Schepis]

The red dye here represents non-taxed (no highway tax) diesel for off-road use, etc..

The elbow comes off very easy from the Yanmar turbo – just a V-clamp…..not the “4 stuck bolts” like the Cummins..

[Gary Marshall]

Tony Athens wrote:

Gary,

Listen to both Mike & Rob– A good test ( not the fix for seawater restriction) is to run the engine at the dock at idle to 1000 RPM and squeeze all the hoses ( get a good feel for them)……………Bring the engine up to 2700-3200 RPM and squeeze again.. You’ll “see” what they are talking about as with this very complex seawater circuit, inner clogging of the seawater side components is very real on this engine. Bursting a “hose” is usually the sign.

Sometimes a fix like described on the RYDLYME web site will buy some time, but nothing replaces R&R-ing the components and doing them on the bench.

Tony

Thanks Tony! I will have to become a bit more familiar with the seawater cooling side. I haven’t even had to change the impeller as yet, as access is pretty tight. Will be doing that too when the boat is hauled.

Removing all the coolers/heat exchangers on this engine….would be quite a challenge. I’m not even sure if it is possible without removing the engine.
The other thing with removing them is that I think I would have to ensure I have any O-rings or seals that would need replacing after removing the end caps.

G.

[Gary Marshall]

Rob Schepis wrote:

Gary, good to see you back, hopefully “good things” getting in the way.

As Mike noted, be sure to address the “cause”, not just the “result”, of the blown hose.

SMX Filtration w/squeeze bulb looks great. No red dye in the off road diesel down there?

That water heater looks like it would be fun to replace!

So you are only dropping pitch 1″, correct? If I read and understand your earlier posts you’re currently at ~3,750. A full 2″ reduction is probably what you need but you’ll find out soon enough and can adjust further from there..

When you pull the exhaust be sure to get high quality pics of the turbo outlet.

Yup – my son is coming up on 2, so I’m enjoying spending some time with him while my wife is working on a Masters in Family Medicine. Only so much time to go around.

No red dye in the diesel…. I’m not sure if that is done in the US to distinguish between diesel and gas? or between duty free diesel and regular diesel? Here the commercial boats get duty free, but that means that there is of course some other folks who get the duty free stuff for on road use illegally.

re: the pitch. I would have liked to have gone down 2″. However, I had a spare prop which was a 19″ pitch, and it was significantly cheaper to rework that the max of 2″, compared to buying a new one. I figure I can always get the current 18″ prop dropped by 2″ if I am not getting the revs.

Will definitely take pics of the turbo exhaust when I pull the elbow. Not sure how easy it will be to take off with all the corrosion, but we will see.

[Gary Marshall]

Mike Mason wrote:

Need to see why the hose burst. My guess is sea water side needs service. Once the coolers are blocked hoses bulge and burst. Let us know. Thanks.

Thanks Mike. I just assumed it was due to age of the hose, as this hose is likely 10 years old or so. Thanks for the heads up.

[Rob Schepis]

Rydlyme Flush

I consider a Rydlyme flush synonymous with a race car pulling into the pit for a quick fix and then back to the race he goes. The flush is good mid-season if you start to notice a temperature or hose pressure issue. Give her a flush and avoid the mid-season downtime (especially important in short seasons like up North). Then when the race is over the real work is done – pulling the coolers for proper cleaning and servicing..

Here’s some Rydlyme pics when I flushed a 6LP.

The “pisser capped” pic is showing that the small seawater hose going to a dripless shaft seal needs to be disconnected and capped off. You can see the short pc of hose with the bolt plugging it.

[Tony Athens]

Gary,

Listen to both Mike & Rob– A good test ( not the fix for seawater restriction) is to run the engine at the dock at idle to 1000 RPM and squeeze all the hoses ( get a good feel for them)……………Bring the engine up to 2700-3200 RPM and squeeze again.. You’ll “see” what they are talking about as with this very complex seawater circuit, inner clogging of the seawater side components is very real on this engine. Bursting a “hose” is usually the sign.

Sometimes a fix like described on the RYDLYME web site will buy some time, but nothing replaces R&R-ing the components and doing them on the bench.

Tony

[Rob Schepis]

Gary, good to see you back, hopefully “good things” getting in the way.

As Mike noted, be sure to address the “cause”, not just the “result”, of the blown hose.

SMX Filtration w/squeeze bulb looks great. No red dye in the off road diesel down there?

That water heater looks like it would be fun to replace!

So you are only dropping pitch 1″, correct? If I read and understand your earlier posts you’re currently at ~3,750. A full 2″ reduction is probably what you need but you’ll find out soon enough and can adjust further from there..

When you pull the exhaust be sure to get high quality pics of the turbo outlet.

[Mike Mason]

Need to see why the hose burst. My guess is sea water side needs service. Once the coolers are blocked hoses bulge and burst. Let us know. Thanks.

[Gary Marshall]

Hi guys – it’s been a little while since I updated this thread. Life has just been getting in the way a bit.

The engine has been working well. I had a seawater hose burst on the engine, which have temporarily replaced with a stainless steel corrugated radiator hose. This replacement radiator hose has worked well, and it is the right size for emergency repairs on the engine. The engine had briefly overheated at the time. I have the yanmar replacement hose now to put back on.

I have added the seaboard fuel filtration system (see pic). My boat captain swears the engine is starting and operating even better and quieter than before. I replaced the yanmar on engine filter at the same time.

I am hauling the boat in about 2 weeks. Will change the propeller then (I had a spare prop re-worked by Frank & Jimmies down 2″ in pitch, so I will be switch from an 18″ x 18″ to 18″ x 17″ (both nibral props). Hopefully that will edge me closer to 4000 rpms or so.

Also have the exhaust elbows to change at that time to stainless steel replacements.

[Gary Marshall]

Tony Athens wrote:

Nice follow-up and nice work from both of you sorting thru this……….This is far from easy to do over the web!…………………………………………….. Very impressed..

Tony

Thanks Tony, but all credit to Rob. I feel blessed to have discovered such great teachers as yourselves, who are willing to spend time to share their knowledge with others such as myself who are now learning.

[Tony Athens]

Nice follow-up and nice work from both of you sorting thru this……….This is far from easy to do over the web!…………………………………………….. Very impressed..

Tony

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