Comments on: Hanging Out in Anacortes

By: Laura Domela

Laura Domela — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 23:08:00 +0000

In reply to GMertl. Definitely!! :)

By: GMertl

GMertl — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 23:05:00 +0000

I think that’s why I love boats. There’s always a new challenge and always something to do ;). Gotta admit it’s a good feeling to find an fix those little problems.

By: Laura Domela

Laura Domela — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 19:33:00 +0000

In reply to Glen. There's no way that eel grass could make its way through our sea strainer. That's amazing...glad you found it!!

By: Laura Domela

Laura Domela — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 19:32:00 +0000

Hi all: I updated this post yesterday with our temperature issue cause…in case you’re interested. It was a nice, easy fix! Woohoo!

By: Kevin McLaughlin

Kevin McLaughlin — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 08:11:00 +0000

Those minor fluctuations in coolant temp! For some unknown reason my yanmar 3gm30f stays at a cool 160, but every once in a while goes to 170. Maybe the temp sender is wonky?

By: Casey Adams

Casey Adams — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 18:54:00 +0000

In reply to Laura Domela. Oh btw, I just remembered the only possible explanation I've heard for the fuel cooler imploding. It was speculated that at some time the return fuel valves at the tanks were closed, or partially closed creating back pressure that stressed the sleeve inside the cooler. In any case, i've had other problems from valves getting bumped and partially closed. For example, one time the autopilot stopped working and I discovered that I had bumped one of the valves on the hydraulic lines to the pump. So, now I use releasable zip ties on all valves in engine room so they are basically locked open and it's easy to remove the releasable zip tie if I intentionally want to close it.

By: Laura Domela

Laura Domela — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 18:27:00 +0000

In reply to Casey Adams.

Re: the oil changes and time factor, don’t worry…we’re not THAT new (and we have owned airplanes, which require much stricter adherence to maintenance schedules…so we come from a very good background of responsible maintenance schedules). We adhere to the recommended timeline for oil changes and also do oil analysis with Blackstone Labs after every change. (I meant more overall doing maintenance projects not always right before leaving on a big trip, not specifically oil changes….since we do those even DURING our summer trips).

Thanks for the tips though.

By: Casey Adams

Casey Adams — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 18:15:00 +0000

A few tips for you on the engine temp problem. Unfortunately, I’ve had a lot of experience with this issue garnered the hard and expensive way.

Once you’ve eliminated the more likely problems such as impeller, sea strainer etc here are other things you can do. Inspect the entire raw water path including at high rpm. If you see any of the hoses bulging that indicates a blockage downstream. One time I had the return fuel cooler implode on itself (for reasons no one has ever been able to explain) which then severely restricted the water path causing a partial blockage. The hose directly upstream would bulge out under higher rpms.

Also, if you’ve ever had an impeller break up then pieces of the impeller will flow downstream and can lodge someplace where it will restrict flow. Also, pieces of the zincs can break off and flow downstream causing blockage. And, there are lots of other reasons you can have blockage somewhere along the path. On my genset they originally used cast iron exhaust elbows which of course eventually corroded out. The corrosion would partially block the water flow causing overheating.

It may also be either the engine temp sending unit, or the gauge itself. I’ve experienced both. Also, it’s possible that you’ve sucked something like a plastic bag into your raw water grate intake.

After the relatively easy steps above If you can’t identify the problem then unfortunately the next step is disassembling the components along the path of flow inspecting and cleaning them while looking for a blockage. Unfortunately this is a very big job and takes several days for my main engine. It is actually part of the normal scheduled maintenance procedures on most engines for the biggest scheduled service which is at 4000hrs on my engine although I’ve had to do it more frequently than that and it’s amazing the stuff you can find in there!

Finally, If your engine doesn’t already have an exhaust temperature sensor alarm I highly recommend installing one. Many of the newer engines come with them, but mine didn’t. The problem is that by time you realize that an engine has overheated by the normal coolant temp gauge and/or alarm the engine is likely damaged since it takes a little while for the coolant temp to raise. However, the exhaust temperature will rise instantaneously and allow you to shut down the engine before it gets damaged. Also, you can simply aim an infrared heat sensor at the exhaust elbow and read the temperature directly which allows you to easily determine if the sensor or gauge is malfunctioning.

Also, one comment about your comment about doing oil changes early before the cruising season. I totally get your point about trying to avoid changes near or during the cruising season as I’ve had what should have been very simple repairs escalate into major issues if something goes wrong. I steadfastly avoid even the simplest repairs while cruising if I can live with it until I get home.

However, on oil changes there is an important time factor involved. All the manuals say change oil after XXX hours or 3 months whichever comes first. I never really understood the 3 month thing and wondered if it was truly necessary. So, I thoroughly researched this issue. The fundamental problem is that you have condensation inside engines just as you do inside your fuel tanks for exactly the same reasons. This condensation finds it’s way to the oil pan where it mixes with the oil effectively diluting the oil, and therefore reducing lubricity. So, it’s important to change every 3 months regardless of engine hours.

I change oil on all engine shortly before leaving for Alaska allowing enough time for a couple of small shake down cruises in the San Juans before leaving. I also collect an oil sample from each engine which I send in for analysis and takes about a week to get the results. This can give you an early warning if something is going wrong inside the engine.

By: Glen

Glen — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 17:31:00 +0000

Regarding the engine temp issue, I had a similar issue with my Volvo, turns out that I had a wad of eel grass (it managed to get through the strainer) plugging the first heat exchanger in the cooling system, which on my engine was the transmission heat exchanger. It was an easy fix, simply removed the raw water coolant hoses from the exchanger and back flushed it with fresh water.

By: Laura Domela

Laura Domela — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 04:43:00 +0000

In reply to rodburkert. It's SUCH good home/boat base!! Hope you guys are having fun travels!