Boatdiesel ?

[krush]

If one goes way, way, way back....to like dialup days, some posts of complete n00b questions can be found from none other than the HOF diesel god himself--back before he memorized and started regurgitating the Detroit diesel manual.

 

[drewread]

Does anyone have any suggestions on an alternate forum to ask marine Detroit Diesel questions on? boatdiesel.com looks to be well and truly gone at this point.

Thanks!

 

[cww]

Does anyone have any suggestions on an alternate forum to ask marine Detroit Diesel questions on? boatdiesel.com looks to be well and truly gone at this point.

Thanks!

This place has usually solid advice. There is one member who posts a lot about detroits saying stuff like how smoke on startup isn't normal and indicates worn engines that need to be rebuilt, stuff like that. Most of the people here seem to really look up to him so I've never said anything, but I always kinda scratched my head at some of that stuff. Out of dozens of boats with detroits at my marina I don't think a single one including mine (with 50 hours on complete overhauls) would meet his standards. But for the most part I've gotten a lot of good advice when I've asked any questions.

 

[rsmith]

You get what you pay for.

 

[Avenger]

You get what you pay for.

And sometimes, you pay for what you get.

On another front, at BD I always felt like I was just paying.

 

[sparky66]

And sometimes, you pay for what you get.

On another front, at BD I always felt like I was just paying.

Right? All that guy had to do was maintain an ancient website with a sucky search engine, and he could make decent money. Is he issuing refunds? I doubt it....

 

[rsmith]

And sometimes, you pay for what you get.

On another front, at BD I always felt like I was just paying.

I never was on it didn’t know it was a pay site.

 

[Boatsb]

It wasn't a big cost but it seemed to never get new information.

 

[Avenger]

I never was on it didn’t know it was a pay site.

Some of it was accessible, but a lot of it was behind a paywall.

I really never paid much attention to it, but at one point I was trying to help a customer unload a couple of unusual turbochargers that he had as spares for a boat that sank. I thought it would be a better way to target the unique customer that would buy them so I joined for a year. I got zero pings on the turbos, but once I had access to their manuals library I discovered there was really nothing there that you couldn't find with Google or at the manufacturer's sites.

The forums weren't any different that any other. There were some people who knew what they were talking about and others repeating hearsay and "plausible bull$#it." I can tell the difference because I was in the business, but unfortunately most people seeking help can't and they often weren't getting the answers they needed.

I couldn't justify paying fees for the same useless cr@p you can get for free all over the internet.

 

[SeaEric]

The Detroit Diesel group on FB can be helpful until the "Moonbats" wake up and add their ::nothing:: to the conversation.
The Wolf full moon this past week woke a few. YMMV.

 

[cww]

The Detroit Diesel group on FB can be helpful until the "Moonbats" wake up and add their ::nothing:: to the conversation.
The Wolf full moon this past week woke a few. YMMV.

I've had mixed results on that FB page. Back during/around COVID all the local marinas were going through a period where they couldn't keep staff and most of them lost their diesel mechanics to other jobs, usually in trucking. The shipping industry was booming back then. I posted on there asking for recommendations on a good diesel mechanic and a bunch of them recommended this guy named Sean Silverman. Something was always off with him, he would repeatedly blow off appointments and then show up unexpectedly at midnight and work until 4am, stuff like that. I should have just canceled and called it a day, the red flags were all there.

He ended up setting the timing on my engines way, way, off when replacing some injectors and I got cracked rings in a couple cylinders in both engines and had to do overhauls. I ended up paying the guy who worked on my last boat to travel up here and do it, he did an excellent job and they run fine now. That's what I should have done to begin with. The situation seems to have returned to normal these days, the marina has a diesel mechanic on staff again so when stuff breaks it's not an issue anymore. But during COVID it was slim pickin's and I got burned bad.

 

[Briankinley2004]

That guy still posts on the FB forum and I have seen him called out on there before by people that had issues with his work.

 

[Eddieclemons]

There was a retired Cat Marine tech on BD in the 3406e/C15 forum that was worth every penny of the fees. I have not found him anywhere else. I would pay to just get the content back up with a search engine.

 

[SeaEric]

There was a retired Cat Marine tech on BD in the 3406e/C15 forum that was worth every penny of the fees. I have not found him anywhere else. I would pay to just get the content back up with a search engine.

If he was Tim Caruso, he has since passed away. He was an amazing source. I learned a lot from him by
attending his pre-purchase engine surveys.

 

[Eddieclemons]

If he was Tim Caruso, he has since passed away. He was an amazing source. I learned a lot from him by
attending his pre-purchase engine surveys.

This Gentlemans name was, Dave. There was also a lot of Caruso's knowledge on BD from his clients alone. I was aware of his passing. Thanks

 

[steve c]

I'm a Detroit Diesel owner and found Boat Diesel to be a very valuable tool in maintaining and understanding my machinery. The archives and pdf library have given me information and direction that was difficult to find elswhere. Users groups such as some available on Facebook foster way to much bad advice. Typical responses such as " repower" tendered by the trollers are not the answers we are looking for. For sure the Boat Diesel site was awkward and confusing to use but when you have folks lie Ron Sparks to offer his advice...well 25 bucks a year is a pretty cheap levy. Maybe we can inspie the people at Boat Diesel to give it another go.

 

[Eddieclemons]

When I was hunting for my Hatteras, I ran into Ron over on BD when I was trying to decide between two 52 convertibles. He sent me lengthy email about buying a Detroit boat. Great resource.