p6rob

Hi again, I'm still trying to get the boat to run nicely, apart from the plumes of smoke, which I publicly apologis for, (I'm hoping it's to do with the prolonged bedding in period and that it will settle down to an acceptable level once the boat has a few more miles under it's belt) it still overheats. I think an airlock got purged during this afternoons trip as, initially, the first skin tank was warm, whereas the second tank was stone cold. After this airlock was belched out, the second tank started to warm up, but by then, I'd discovered the Cambrian Wharf visitor moorings were full, so headed back to Sherborne Wharf. Basically, I think the coolant is struggling to travel around the circuit because the engine pump can't push the huge volume of water around the numerous 90 deg bends in the circuit between engine and skin tanks. Does it sound sensible to add another pump between the starboard and port skin tank? I'm thinking of fitting a thermostatically controlled electric one as I think it would be easier to plumb in, but, if a mechanical pulley driven one is more suitable, I'd go with expert opinion. If this is a sensible mod, what pump make/type would get your vote? The external hoses are all 32mm id except for restrictions into and out of the engine and gearbox oil cooler heat exchangers. At the moment, and it was only a very short trip, it seems that running at anything over tickover causes overheating but it was stable cruising at tickover. Failing that, is it possible to convert to raw water cooling or is that just changing one set of problems for another? Thanks in advance Robert

Hi, Some good news... ...I think. The cylinder head has come back from the machine shop. It's fitted, valves adjusted and almost everything has been re-installed. Found a few suspect water pipes and connectors which replacements have arrived for today, so hopefully the engine will be running before Tuesday when I've got someone coming to weld the skin tank. I just hope all this expense and effort cures the running problems so I can get out onto the cut for the next few months.

These sound good enough to eat

Good luck to you both. I've been on my boat for about two months now. Love it all, well, apart from the dawn chorus of rowdy geese. It's a small price to pay though.

It's very brittle and chips easily, but that seems to be true of boat paints too (or is that because of the way I scraped through the locks) IIRC Hammerite starts curing after 4 hours, so, depending on the area you're covering, it might have started curing before you have chance to put on the second coat, in which case you have to wait 6 weeks before over painting.

The head has been dispatched to a machine shop which was recommended to me by someone at Valley Cruisers. If it works out to be scrap, does anyone have a spare BMC 1.5 head for sale please? Robert

I took it from the manual that it was not unusual for the pre combustion chambers to be loose. However the loose chamber is very loose, whereas all the others are a good tight fit and the joins are barely visible. I haven't checked the coolant for combustion gasses, but did do a compression test. All cylinders were between 410 and 420 psi, which I think is well within spec for a healthy engine. This engine had a crank grind, hone and new rings, recon cylinder head, recon injectors and injector pump in February last year but didn't run until March this year. Yes, three small brass plugs which should be press fitted into the head surface. One is loose and actually now floating in the water jacket of the cylinder head. It sounds like getting the head cheaked by a machine shop would be a good idea.

As a novice I had to do a fair bit of solo bow hauling last month. My left leg is broken (held together with lots of metal) It was slow going but not too difficult (I am a stubborn git though). I think the most successful bits were when I used all three lines. once the boat is moving you can set the course reasonably straight. Not sure I could have coped against the flow though. I was lucky in that I didn't pass any moored craft while solo bow hauling and it was reasonably easy to pull the boat closer to the towpath to be passed, just lost a bit of momentum and occasionally got beached.

Congratulations. I also bought my boat from Mercia and changed the name. It was all pretty straightforward, although mine didn't have a current licence at the time.

Hi, Still struggling with the engine. It's been overheating and smokes a lot. I've flushed out loads of rust but it still overheated so, I removed the drain tap from the block and discovered that part of the water jacket was still blocked, so, thinking the water channels were blocked solid I removed the head. While the channels aren't blocked, there are quite a few large rust flakes that show there is still more reverse flushing to do. I also discovered a number of issues with the cylinder head while it was off. 1. Number 2 pre combustion chamber falls out, though I gather this is more an inconvenience than an issue. 2. Through the water jacket opening by number four on the head, there is what looks like a rusty rod. Without pulling it all the way out, it looks plausible that it could be there to hold the pre combustion chambers in place (though I suspect it's not). I couldn't see it mentioned in the workshop manual which makes me suspicious. It feels long enough that it could be broken around number two which could explain why it's chamber is loose. 3. There are three water jacket plugs on the mating face of the cylinder head. The centre one of these has pushed through and is not sealing. I'm not sure how concerned to be about this as the gasket should seal the hole, but as there is a cooling issue, fixing it and ruling it out makes sense. Timing: Is there anyone near Sherborne Wharf who has the timing tool to loan or hire please, or could come and set the pointer position correctly. Also, is there anywhere that sells the bush for the pump drive gear. As it's apart think it ought to get changed.

Hi Mango, It's 5/8 UNF. http://www.holden.co.uk/displayproduct.asp?sg=2&pgCode=070&sgName=Hardware&pgName=Gauges&agCode=0611&agName=Smiths+Classic+Gauge+Fittings&pCode=070.047

With a little help from my friends the boat has now arrived in Birmingham. Saturday morning I'll have a look at the breathers and re-torque the head nuts before carrying on through the next flight of locks. Thanks again for all the advice. Rob

Thanks for the tips. I had been planning on taking the water pump off to check the state of the water jacket, head off and replace the timing chain. Then thought, if I'm going that far, it'd be easier if the engine was out with some decent access available. I can't understand the cooling system at all. I haven't installed a thermostat yet and the skin tanks peak temperature is about 78 deg c whereas the engine temperature will basically keep climbing. We've been checking it with an infra red thermometer and stopping for a rest when the space between injector and glow plug reaches 90ish. The suspicion is that the coolant flow isn't as good as it should be.

The trip from Mercia Marina down to Birmingham has been progressing slowly. The engine still isn't happy, it overheats, blows various shades of black and blue smoke, breathes smoke out of every orifice and isn't keen on starting. The conclusion is to take it out, strip it down and build it back up properly and add useful things like a rear mount for the alternator to stop it vibrating loose. One of the biggest concerns is, or rather was, an oil leak from the back of the block. (Picture with the leak smothered in chemical metal attached hopefully) Link to pic There was a fine spray of oil coming from the join between engine and bellhousing just above where a clutch slave cylinder would mount. This leak was playing havoc with oil consumption and since filling the area with epoxy putty oil loss has been almost nil. I can't understand why there would be a pressurised leak there, unless the block is cracked maybe. Does anyone by any chance have a picture of the rear of the block to help fathom it out. Thanks in advance Rob

Hi Really struggling trying to work out how to effectively quote passages from this thread. This is in reply to #3: A missing thermostat is often indicative of someone having thought (usually incorrectly!) that it will deal with some kind of overheating problem that has been encountered. I would suggest it is not good practice to leave it out, as it may stop the engine reaching a sensible operating temperature. Agreed, ultimately it will get sorted properly I would have thought it also ha the potential to make heating the calorifier a lot less effective than it could be. This is one of the issues that needs looking at. At the moment, if you drive the boat for about an hour, the cabin radiators are getting nicely warm. However, once the engine is stopped, within about 40 minutes the cabin radiators are cold. I think the calorifier is only about 25litres and I think it's not a pumped circuit. Normal values are usually 74 degrees or 82 degrees. Thank you, that's useful to know. Presumably the hotter one is better once the cooling system is running properly. Skin tanks as much as 3" thick are not really ideal, as extra water doesn't actually increase the area that is being cooled by the canal, but the amount of expansion that will result in such a large volume of water will often overwhelm a standard Bowman or Polar header tank. There are lots of things on this boat that are less than ideal, but, as long as you guys are so helpful, we will get it there Thanks again for all the advice

I'm guessing using a milk bottle is equivelant to a catch tank without the expense or installation complexity, or boy racer connotations. Hmmm, remember that for next time

Hi Springy, I think the calorifier is heated by the engine and the rads are heated by the calorifier. It doesn't seem terribly effective, would adding thermostatic valves between engine and calorifier help keep the heat in the cabin? As for the screws, unfortunately not. I saw a thread about these somewhere else and bought one of each. One is right for the lower bleed screw on the DPA but not the broken idle governor one. You're right Tony, it's the latter. I've learned my lesson and will never use that bleedin screw again. What is the procedure for adjusting it? I found, when warm and in neutral, the idle is raised, in gear it drops to a more normal level. I'm assuming it's something to do with the amount of spring tension on the damper needle. The bolt I've used is a little longer than it should be. I thought the BMC required more like 11 ftsq of cooling. I could well have the circuit wrong. My brain struggles working things out while peering over the top of the engine and now I'm nowhere near the boat and haven't any pictures which show it in enough detail. All I know is there is a pipe from the engine (or bowman), on the left hand side with gearbox oil pipes, that then goes into the bottom of the port skin tank. The top pipe from this goes across the engine bay to the bottom of the starboard skin tank and the top pipe from this goes to the engine, or bowman.

Having recently re-commissioned a BMC 1.5 I've noticed there are a few re-occurring threads (which my boat is also affected with) and was wondering if anyone has tried the following cures, if so did they work? Breathing - currently my boat has a pipe running from the rocker cover breather pipe which leads down to the drip tray in the bilge and produces an oil slick. There is also a vent on one of the tappet chest covers which has no pipework or filter. No air filter at the moment either. I'm thinking of adding a boy racer style oil catch tank which will take the oily fumes from both engine outlets and have a, hopefully clean, return to the stub on the air filter I'm going to buy. Cooling - As far as I can tell there is no thermostat in the cooling system, well definitely not in the engine thermostat housing anyway. The engine has a bowman heat exchanger and two keel cooling tanks. The tanks are: 26" * 20" * 2" and 28" * 19" * 3" as measured inside the engine 'ole. The bottom of the first tank is fed from the bottom of the water pump and the bottom of the second tank is fed from the top of the first tank. The top of the second tank returns coolant to the bowman. There's a calorifier which heats two cabin radiators fed from what would be the heater connections on a car. Short term I'm thinking of adding a heater matrix in series after the calorifier and either sticking it on the roof with fans blowing through it, or suspending it in the canal somehow. Long term, I'd like to add some extra heat exchangers somewhere in the main circuit. Any other ideas gratefully received. Also, having snapped the bleed screw on the idle governor and replaced it with a std screw, I need to adjust the idle operation, what is the procedure? or is there anywhere that sells the right screw? Thanks in advance Robert

After finally managing to get the engine running reasonably reliably (it gets hot but that is because the cooling is currently under specified) I'll be moving the boat out from Mercia Marina on Saturday and heading towards the towpaths of Birmingham, possibly via Calcutt boats. Can't wait and really looking forward to making the journey but will miss the easy access to spares, gas, electric and helpful, friendly people at Mercia, if it was more useful for work I'd probably stay there. I've got a couple of questions before we go unintentionally upsetting fellow boaters: How can you tell if you're travelling too fast past moored boats? So far, trial runs have been sedate affairs, I haven't noticed any glares as we've passed by but did wonder if we were going too fast. At the moment tickover is a bit higher than it should be when the engine is warm. The engine still produces a bit of smoke. I'm not sure whether it's blue or black at the moment. If it's blue, I'm assuming it's because the engine hasn't been run in yet. The timing still isn't 100%, hence the possible trip to Calcutt. How do you adjust the morse control? I've noticed that at full revs, the throw is too long and consequently bends the lever on the injector pump. I know it won't ever run at full tilt but would like to have more accurate control if possible. Is it obvious where you can and can't moor up? If there's no signs to say you can't, does that automatically mean you can? A friend suggested getting L plates, is that a good idea? Apart from what's on the licence disks, I've noticed there is only one number plate on the boat and no name. Do I need to do anything about that? Before we set off are there any pearls of wisdom that will help? Before this trip, I've only ever opened and closed a pair of locks about three years ago. I don't remember it being particularly difficult but this journey involves swing bridges and locks requiring keys apparently. Thanks in advance. Rob

Hi Harbourmaster, I'm looking to do a helmsmans course in the next couple of weeks in the same area too if you want to buddy up. Rob

Thanks for the course details. I'll be phoning around today. We managed to get the boat running slightly better yesterday, the tank return pipe had a leak and needed replacing so, with that fixed, we went for a trip down to the winding hole at Willington. All was going well until we reached the first bridge, it became clear, as we approached, that the TV aerial wasn't going to survive, so I put the throttle to the idle position, whereupon the engine stalled again and wouldn't restart. A couple of dog walkers helped pull the boat over to the tow path and offered to tow us back to the marina if we were still stuck when they got their boat out later in the afternoon. We lifted the engine covers, tightened a leaking water pipe joint and eventually got the engine to run again. I suspect the timing is still not 100% right and the mixture of old fuel needs more dilution with good quality fresh diesel before it'll run better. We carried on down to the winding hole and after about 5 attempts and a few engine stalls later, eventually managed to turn around and get back to the marina. If we manage to get the slow running problems sorted in time I'm hoping we can head off from Mercia Marina down towards Brum next weekend. Does diesel go off in the same way petrol does? I added some marine 16 to the tank a couple of weeks ago and drew off a jam jar full of diesel. It looks clear and water free but somewhere between 4 and 6 gallons is presumably at least 10 months old. I've added a further 6 gallons of fresh white diesel to the tank. Good luck with moving to a wide beam Louise and hopefully you get you get the gearbox sorted, I've seen a few really nice ones dotted about the marina, there's a really sexy looking Dutch barge berthed near us on pontoon A that sounds like a jet engine.

At long last the BMC 1.5 sprang into life today. It needs some fettling, it won't idle and I think the injector pump timing is still a bit off but to hear the engine running after the last four weekends work is pure music. The epic failure came on the maiden voyage around the marina. We'd basically cast off, turned, and then discovered the idling issue meant the boat couldn't go from forward to reverse without stalling. so it had to be started with drive engaged. Suddenly the marina seemed to get really busy (well at least one boat (potential crash victim) while we were floundering out of control. My apologies to 'Vulcan', your crew are very patient, and thank you for the advice. Hopefully tomorrow the idling and timing will be improved and the next attempt around Mercia Marina for a shakedown run will be less traumatic. Can anyone recomend a Helmsman course around the Midlands area. I'm hoping to move the boat closer to Brum in the next week or two and it's clear some tuition is required first. Rob

Try cleaning the engine earth connection.

Thanks for all the help and advice. I've only just noticed there had been some replies! The flue has been swept and the boatman stove was put to good use again over the weekend. I can make it stay in for hours but not sure how to control the heat level. This last weekend wasn't the best for attempting to get a BMC diesel to run, however, there were some encouraging noises from the engine 'ole, and it ran for a few seconds unaided. Hopefully the weather will be warmer for the next attempt and it'll splutter into life!

Justa quick thank you. This weekend we tried using the OP method of getting the boatman stove to light, it worked almost perfectly. Still working out how to fine tune the damper setting but we had decent heat overnight. Rob