Lorien

Hi guys, Troll? I've been called many things but I don't recall that one? Today we moved, finally I can now confirm that the oil pressure at at idle by the guage was 18psi once the engine was warm. It has a comfortable zone when cruising, it's difficult to describe but it seems very happy going along and oil pressure sat at 38-40 psi. Dead stops and hard moves raised it to 60 psi and then back to a constant 38-40psi in it's comfy zone. The boat was built by Hancock and Lane, it didn't have a Rev counter so I can't confirm that properly. Tickover definately isn't what it was, I checked the stop cable just in case it was affecting things at idle but it seems set perfectly. It has run well all afternoon, I just don't think it's fuel per say - it was fine so far. I'm not looking for magic switches - when I had a problem with my leaking water pump this forum was very helpful. I did let you know the outcome of this. I will check the fuel pump as soon as I can and let you know. Cruising rules have come under great scrutiny, yes I agree we may break down but should this happen we can inform CRT and a genuine stoppage will have to take place. We are not newcomers to the canal, if a breakdown looks ominous we shall indeed have to stop and repair at a suitable location. At least for now the idle issue has not prevented us from moving. I'm not sure how the idle speed is set? Or why it would suddenly become incorrect. If I can figure out how to check the idle speed I will try. Thanks, Jim

Hi, Quick update. Today no tapping... but it didn't sound right after starting up and stalled out after 20 mins. Started up again straight away this seems pretty consistent. Other half ran it at a faster than tickover and it seems to have run ok from then on. I will check out pressures over the weekend as we are moving. Hopefully I can shed more light on things, I hope...... Cheers, Jim

Hi, Mike, thanks for that. I get the general idea but please bear in mind that I run a business as well as being a liveaboard. Time is not always on my side. I also have a family which makes a situation I'm trying to resolve before it starts to have an impact on them if things get worse. Everbody has been very helpful, thank you I'm trying to eliminate things as I go and as time allows. I have an oil pressure guage tapped in, the only problem I have here is that by the time I leg it as the boat falters, it stops. It reads zero by the time I get there. However, every time this happens - it restarts. Today the engine was left for approx 2hrs before restarting. Again the annoyance is it seemed to run ok. Temperature is normal, it runs at around 60-70 even on a hot day, same as when on the move. At first I thought it was knocking but I'd describe it more as tapping. The revs did raise a little but then it died down and stopped. Cheers, Jim

Hi, Things are getting real wierd! Ran boat, had loads to do so was on for 2.5 hrs. Then it started tapping quite loudly, then cut out. I figured there wasn't too much to lose now so I started it later on. It seemed ok?? Is it me or this is definately a fuel issue? This has worsened over the week. Quite quick really. Cheers, Jim

Hi, Thanks for the help. No revving to a stop definately. The note of the engine in the boat goes a bit slower, you know then it's not happy. Not long after it'll slow down and stop, it happens quite quickly. Air would bring a none start, no bleeding is required it'll start up straight away. It must be fuel issue of some sort. I've ruled out filter and sediment pot, maybe it's the fuel pump as mentioned. I'd say also it's becoming more frequent, it all started as a one off, now it's every time or every other. Thanks again, Jim

How very strange, Just posted this problem and it cut out again! Cheers, Jim

Hi, Our 1.5 BMC has always ran ok. To be fair despite the famous poor starting and smoke at a first dead stop it's always been reliable. A couple of weeks ago the engine note changed slightly and very gracefully (at idle)all went quiet. Hmmm.....strange. Wierd but it restarted and was fine for a week or so. Cruised through locks and pounds for a good few hours last weekend no problem. Stopped for water and after 10 minutes and very gently it stopped again at idle. Restarted ok and strange a few minutes it did it again. Holding the revs up very slightly all was ok. After mooring up I changed the fuel filter although it was nice and clean. I bled the sediment pot and again loads of clean fuel ran out. Two years ago it had the injection pump reconditioned. Yesterday it ran charging batteries for two hours as it has again today. Now and again though we get a slight change in pitch and wonder if it's going to stop but so far it's kept going? Anybody else had this problem, or symptoms? Cheers, Jim

Hi, Sorry to drag up a post. I just wanted to say thanks for the help people gave me. I found that our pump was already a jabsco 2001, great I thought. Asap supplies we great and a few spares later I had the pump in bits, oh dear. The spindle was quite worn around where the seals are, the front bearing was worn and the impeller etc etc So I've replaced the complete pump, strengthened the bracket and fixings that were fairly poor. We are back on track again! So, thanks again. Jim

Wow, How has it worked for so long. I'm not sure what we have tbh. We've got a large, tall box with a lid on top held by two fixings very much like the weed hatch. It's quite tall, I've been trying to figure out how (if it needed cleaning) I'd get to the bottom!! On the bottom is a pipe approx 2-3 inches maybe, this rises upwards. Just off the rise is the stop valve. The pipe rises I'd say just above the box and here is the strainer type looking pot. Hope my description is ok?

Hi, Thank you for the help. I'm quite shocked as we've not taken care of something we should have !! I take it the mud box is the large compartment with a lid on it like the rear weed hatch? What's the best way to clean it out? Thanks, Jim

Hi, I've never really got my hands to grips with our BMC apart from a little basic maintainence. In the absence of a manual, I just wanted to check something on the raw water side. I have a stop valve on the pipe coming up from what I assume is the 'mud box'. Above this the pipe raises to what looks like a large pot with a butterfly fastener. Is this where the filter/strainer is? In two years we've never had a problem but only recently I've noticed the water emitted with the exhaust doesn't quite seem as powerful as before. If I have to shut off and replace the pump, should I clean out any other items at the same time? Thanks, Jim

Hello, Thanks. It's dripping nicely from where the shaft comes out at the front, to the rear of the pulley. I'm not afraid to repair but we are live aboards so I may follow the advice and replace for reliability. Are original replacements still available? Thanks, Jim

Hi, On the last day of the Xmas holiday (surprise) I discovered the raw water pump leaking at the front. I'm presuming it's a jabsco as fitted to the 1.5 BMC It's managed to fill the under engine tray so far so I thought I'd better get it fixed!! Is this something that can be overhauled or repaired? Regards, Jim

Hi, I know the Bmc is notorious etc but are the injectors susceptible to failing or giving problems? We had to replace our starter battery as cooler weather killed it. I''m about to replace the glow plugs for some good ones. Sometimes it'll start after a short cranking session but other times it takes ages and while cranking it smokes white/grey and when it fires my word we vanish from sight. Tonight it wouldn't have it, a whiff of easy start and it fired almost immediately. So I guess glow plugs first? Thanks, Jim

Hi, I'll try and change the valves when I can, it'll take some adjustments as the valves will take up more room. I'd like to make as tidy job as poss, so I like the screw in fittings and could solder some tidy pipe work, it'll be tight though and I could do with minimal downtime. I'm really hoping the valves work, it'll warm the place up a treat if successful. Thanks, Jim