#%&@ Starboard engine again

[bobk]

Will it never end? I found some rust on the starboard engine dip stick over the weekend and some sludge on the oil fill plug. Decided to take a short run anyway because my daughter and son-in-law came to visit. This morning I have a few drops of water concensate on the oil fill plug.

This is the same engine that is putting a lot of oil into the drap can and was blowing out coolant until I changed the pressure cap. Well, the water useage has begun again, but just a little.

I called my mechanic to try to get this resolved quickly (Chesapeake HOF rendezvous is this weekend), but if I can't get it fixed, I'd like to hear some thoughts on what the problem could be now, and what would be the consequences of doing a 140 mile slow trip in this condition. Would I be jeopardizing the engine?

Bob Kassal
Chateau de Mer
1981 48MY

[REBrueckner]

Would I be jeopardizing the engine?

of course...you may also be jeopardizing it by letting it sit without an oil change too...... crankshaft bearings and other internals do NOT like moisture...

[Genesis]

Moisture in the oil = you got trouble. 6v92s, right? Possible liner seal leak - did you overheat at any point?

(Also possible cracked head - neither is good. The "best" outcome is a compromised head seal or injector tube, but in any event it's significant work to fix. The final place where this can/does happen is in the oil cooler.)

FIND THAT. Coolant, especially if you're running glycol plays hell with main bearings and that can turn into something VERY expensive very fast.

Get the contaminated oil out of there NOW and don't run it until you figure out what's up.

[bobk]

Thanks. Yep, 6V92TI's @ 425 HP. They have not been overheated during my omnership (4 years). Full rebuilds two years before I bought her. Boy would I love to have QSM's in there.

I removed the glycol last winter and just have the corosion inhibitor (Dexcool?) in the block. Will do an oil change as soon as I can get some and filters.

Bob
Chateau de Mer
1981 48MY

[REBrueckner]

bobk...
don't necessarily disparage the 6V92's at 425 HP...I am NOT a huge fan of the 92 series in general, but at moderate HP like yours, when run at reasonable RPM, they are solid reliable engine packages.....

the most important thing in making repairs is to find the right person to do the work....having the engines "rebuilt" means nothing in itself...it could even do more harm than good....

If you can spare the time, even stay with the mechanic during the repair work....you will positively learn a lot, the mechanic will do his best and explain what he finds because you are interested, and who knows, maybe you can even help.

I still recall the two weeks in Feb 1999 in freezing conditions in NY when I had both my 1972 8V71TI's broken down(disassembled) after I had just bought the boat. I supplied heat and coffee and snacks for the two mechanics; they were thankful to be in a heated work area in twenty degree weather (and some snow) even though cramped (48 ft YF). Both engines surveyed ok at purchase, the port engine had signs of past issues....and I was planning on six mos full time summer use annually between Maine and NY....I thought I'd rack up a lot more hours than I actually did....anyway, along the disassembly, parts replacements and reassembly, the lead mechanic explained pros and cons at a number of steps.....I was really glad I did not try the repairs myself because there are a lot of "tricks of the trade" that come from experience...and both mechanics had worked DD for about 15 years...

After all that time together, those guys were "friends" for the next ten years and answered a lot of informal questions from me.....just because they knew I respected their work....

[67hat34c]

Is there a way to drain coolant then pressurize system with compressed air and try to verify leak? Is there a way to isolate various components on this engine,

[captddis]

Thanks. Yep, 6V92TI's @ 425 HP. They have not been overheated during my omnership (4 years). Full rebuilds two years before I bought her. Boy would I love to have QSM's in there.

I removed the glycol last winter and just have the corosion inhibitor (Dexcool?) in the block. Will do an oil change as soon as I can get some and filters.

Bob
Chateau de Mer
1981 48MY

Nalcool? Nalcool and distilled water is Ok as long as the concentration is correct. Too much Nalcool and it eats seals.

[REBrueckner]

"Is there a way to drain coolant then pressurize system with compressed air and try to verify leak? "

No need to drain any coolant; just get a pressure pump and pressurize the cooling system to maybe 20 lbs...and see if it holds overnight.....

There is no way I can think of that raw water would get into the engine as long as the engines have dry (heat wrapped) risers.....if there is moisture, it's coolant and an oil analysis would confirm exactly what is there....

[Kiwipushrod]

So, how hard do You think He would have to run that 425 HP, 6V92TI to get the oil up to waters boiling point?

Kiwi

[Walter P]

Bob,

Just got back to the house from taking my daughter and grandkids to the airport to get back home to San Diego. I stayed on board the Guppy for the last two weeks and am very news deficient... In any event, we will talk in the AM about the trip, but don't stress about it. If necessary we can do an overnighter by car to Solomens. As stated by Robby (REB) it may totally destroy the engine and you would be forced to replace them with a pair of small Cummins...not QSM's.

Walt