Dutchie

Use for years this one : http://www.mpmoil.nl/products/index.php?id=1&product=01000B&language=en less oil use and not really expensive , i,m not sure this oil is availeble in the UK.

Ps.before you replace the alternator PS. measure the voltage direct at the batteries ,and measure the voltage direct at the alternator , if there is an big difference , its posseble the resistance in the wires is too high , maybe , i have the same thornycroft control panel my alternator is replaced a year ago for a Bosch 55 A from a Ford Orion diesel (20 Euro) by full charging it gave 55 amp , the needle off the Original thornycroft charging meter is in the right corner ....

I think your alternator is a the original A127 , 35/40 amps in normal use (Max) , max voltage depends off length of wires but never exceed 13,8 volt , but a picture says more . a question : when switching on a few domestic users : did the amps grow up to maximum ? Voltage drop ? you wrote the batteries are a few weeks old , did you charge them full before replacing the old batteries ?

Here Using , Fram , Coopers , Crosland , Mann , UFI and champion with normal running intervals never got problems with these oil and fuel filters Also on bigger engines on gen. cargoships and trawlers we use filters from these manufacturers without any problems.

Tony , i have an injector tester of my own , just a classic one with gauge and pump , and for timing : some equipment i can use some equipment from a another boater which profession is bosch specialist , its not of my own . Oh yes an little tip for those who has an injector tester and didnt want to remove the injectors, but want see what the oping pressure is : , it is possible to connect them with the injector tester only remove the high pressure pipe for the DPA pump and connect the test pump and see the opening pressure and if needed adjust them . i know with this method you cant see and clean the injector tip , but you dont need new rings etc. , the test pump i connect to the floor frame near bij the injectors and the line on the test pump was of soft copper . The waters i,m sailing its is very diffirent , from small waters, lakes and canals (yes we have also in holland! ) and also waters like markermeer/IJsselmeer and zeeland and also the big rivers like the waal , the waal is one of the most riskful rivers in nl. it means its Always very busy with big ships and heavy downstream , on this waters it is very dangerous to had a failure , engine must be in good condition otherwise it dont have a good feeling for me . enough spare parts is a must , the T90 never disappoint me , the only failures i had in 15 years , a clogged fuel filter (remove on the river in a few minutes ) and an broken built in waterpump also on the river , the pump was completely stocked and the V belt was nearly burning , to save myself to a save plave , i cut the V belt with a knife and run the boat downstream deadslow running without cooling circulation to a safe place and remove the pump for a spare one . the broken pump was a new one , i asked the importer how this was possible , they told me that is was chinese made and many customer came back with the same problems , i got my money back , since that time i order my parts in the UK. , found the adresses on this fantastic forum . ​

I had the same sort of same problem a few years ago only different was the interval from this fault , with mine T90 it came sometimes after an hour , solved the problem with removing the banjo bolt from the fuel filter return line , in the banjo is a very small whole which was blocked with some dirt , clean it with some petrol and blew the dirt out with some air. Problem was over and never came back .

Yes Tony, Indeed i have the equipment for Testing the injectors and my profession was engineer on gen. cargoships and trawlers , but still i learn a lot on this fantastic forum , The maintenance from the engine is my hobby , i think more than painting etc.

Here normally , once in a year , running hours mostly+/- 250 /year Changing oil and fliter and fuel filter , Checking valve clearance , removing glowplugs en clean the wholes and test the glowplugs . looking for extreme leakages , cleaning fuel filter on top of fuel lifting pump every two years : changing ATF from velvet drive checking timing , remove injectors and test them and adjust them at right opening pressure changing antifreeze .

Thanks all for the good info , mine T 90 has a three hole starter , and the starter i found on internet is also a three hole starter, , only the housing looks diffirent , i,m thinking to buy it .

Hello All Can somebody tell me if the starter from a BMC 1500 the same is as a starter from a Thornycroft T90 why this question ? i want a starter for spare and found on the internet a starter for a BMC 1500.

You can try also a direct current from the battery , together with AMp. meter it will be +/_ 8 Amps for 1 heater , it is possible that there is a bad connection (resistance) in the normal circuit , bad connection , wires and contact switch.

Ok, Theo Its good to know that this type of pump is working well on the BMC without overheating .

Thanks for the good advice , i,m leave it alone , and use my ears in the upcoming time , i,m getting a new chain, spanner and oil seal in spare for sure i,m also thinking to made an inspection cover in the front off the engine for servicing and check the timing .

Tony do you mean with this, that the moment for renewal the timing chain is wait for rattling ?, correct me if i,m wrong , my engine in my boat has a very bad access on the front , the chain of my T90 isn't rattling and the engine runs very nice ..

I use this : http://www.mpmoil.nl/products/index.php?product=01000B in my opinion good product : Motor Oil 20W-50 Multi Grade Classic , MPM oil is an dutch company , i,m not sure they have sales in UK.

glowplugs in good condition ? check also voltage

Can somebody tell me after how many running hours the timing chain and spanner has to be removed ?

I did this job of checking the valves with unleaded fuel , and found 7 leak valves . this point give me the reason to bring the head to a local engine revise workshop i know that i can made this job by myself too use grinding pasta , but i take the safe way, its a lot off work too do this job rebuilding etc.it must be good for years after ! , see this topic http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=72338

The cover is Chromed from factory in these days by Thornycroft , its was really in excellent condition after cleaning

Replacing cil head thornycroft T90 Why , last year the engine had bad cold starts , i found that 2 glowplugtips had broken tips and 1 a broken heater element , time for replacement.! thornycroft ID plate rockerarms and pushrods ready for lift off head removed , a test of the valves with petrol after cleaning says that 7 valves where leaking one broken tip off the glowplugs removed with this 4 mm diam. tool , i tick it 10 mm. into the burning chamber then give a few ticks with a hammer to put the tip down via the fuelinjector hole (i think the length off the broken tip was too long for the burning chamber) there he is ... A local revise workshop did the job, valves where ok,. and valve guide where in good condition they told me new headgasket after cleaning the top off the block repainted in thornycroft blue , also after testing the fuel injectors there opening pressure was stil 135 bar after 10 years , in 2004 i changed the nozzles for new bosch ones . back on the engine , got some unf nuts from a local motorbikedealer , the nuts off the exhaust manifold where not so good anymore , its really difficiult to find nuts and bolts with this thread,here in Nl .also the exhaust manifold was repainted , new gaskets for the pipe from the exhaust cooler too the cil.head are made by myself from oldseacharttpaper, rockersarms back on the head but before i got also the 3 headnut problem , i had no crowfoot i did it on an alternative way i turn the rockerarms and shaft 180deg, and mount it only with the 4 headnuts (the exhaust cooler was not mounted ) , on this way it was possible too torque all the nuts on the right way after torque it at 10 kgf. , after this i remove the 4 nuts off the rockerarms and shaft and remove it and put it back, turn this one 180 deg. and mount and torque again the 4 headnuts . check and made the right valve clearences , fill up antifreeze and water and check all hoses for leakages then bleeding the DPA fuel pump and injectors . and give it a try too start with a full big battery after 30 seconds glowing ,it came back to live , after a minute it was really running as a young lady a testtrip was good for bleeding the coolwatersystem and i found two little leakages one at a coolwater hose and a fuelinjector pipe nut , after retorque this the problem was over . i start the engine after a week after a very cold night it starts after 10 sec. glowing real quickly and is running very nice without any smoke , i,m happy all the best and Merry X mas too all from Vincent from the netherlands PS. after how many hours i need retorque the headnuts ? (the local workshop told me that i can pick up a crowfoot for the famous three nuts under the rockershaft)

With bleeding maybe broke the feed line or connection off the glowplugs ? second maybe the little hole in the fuel filter is blocked with some dirt , Its in side the connection from the return pipe from the DPA pump on the fuel filter.

I got the the same problem a few years ago , but it was the gauge which was broken and not the oil sender transmitter, ,bad wiring could also give faulthy measurement , measure the wiring with an good ohm/multimeter , also a bad massa cable on your engine can give troubles . also agree with Mike that measure for sure the oil pressure with an analog gauge .

Do you mean the ID number on the block ? its 15P/785A/D 1044 4 , it means that manufacturing date is 1-5 - 1978 ? correct me if i,m wrong .

Hello all I ,m trying to find out how old my engine is , its a Thornycroft T90 , the former owner told me that this engine was built in the boat at 1981 the engine was new . but i,m personally thinking that the engine was a few years old in 1981 , but i,m not sure . the engine number on the Cast/iron block is : 15P/785A/D 1044 4 the thornycroft number on the cil.head cover is : 2812 Can somebody help me .