GrahamSop

I thought the diamond shape of Shipton and Aynho weir locks was just to add in more water to the canal each time they are used, since they are both just below river sections/crossings (both the Cherwell). We also got 3 boats up Aynho weir lock, and I never thought to consider the silt build up on the sides, though we were the middle boat. None of us got stuck though. My bigger worry was getting wedged coming out as one of the side boats was long enough to not be able to get fully over..

I finally got a spare key cut at Timpson's. It isn't perfect, as I have to feel around a bit to get it in just the right place before it turns in the barrel, but it will be fine for a spare. For anyone who is in the same situation, the blank they cut is a ERREBI MRT 1R.

I have now got a blank on order from Timpsons, which they think will fit, so we will see and I'll update here. I also got in touch with these people: http://www.keytrader.co.uk/key-identification.html but they couldn't identify my key. So fingers crossed for Timpsons. If it doesn't fit, then a new ignition switch is the plan B. I wonder where Engines Plus get their keys from? If only they sold blanks!

Good idea, I do have a code on my working key. It is '54'. Haha, doesn't help narrow the search very much but I'll keep trying!

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately the man at engines plus said that's the only Isuzu key he'd ever stocked, but maybe I should speak to another person. Am I correct in thinking engines plus is the main/only isuzu 'supplier/dealer' that would know? Are there other places? No luck so far on eBay either, it's a job to filter out all the car type keys which are obviously far more numerous.

I hadn't thought about that! It may not be, the logo/indicator labels are pretty worn off... Any ideas? Photo attached of mine. It looks like (a very worn version of) this one: http://jhalfie.blogspot.com/2012/11/engine-reluctant-to-start-after-few.html

Hi all, We have only one engine key, so I'm trying to get a spare incase we lose it. It's an Isuzu 35, from around 2003/4. I bought a new Isuzu engine key from enginesplus a few weeks ago, only to find it goes in fine but doesn't turn at all. The shape is completely different to our existing one - I've attached a photo. If you have an Isuzu, I'd be curious to know if it matches my shape or the new one which doesn't work. My key is the lower one with the split ring. I can't find anywhere else that sells them, so if you know a seller please let me know. I even tried Timpsons, but the guy looked through their whole catalogue of blanks and nothing really comes close to the right shape, so he wasn't sure he'd be able to make a copy. He did tell me to go to another Timpson down the road where they deal with a lot of boats, so I might try there. Thanks for any help!

We did that trip at the end of last summer, coming back (just) before the rain began at the end of October. We are still on the river in the Oxford area. It has calmed down a bit in between the storms, and during the 1st week of Feb most reaches between Oxford and Reading were either on yellow decreasing, and some on no warnings. But... the channel above Osney lock and under Osney bridge is very shallow and narrow and has been on red since Nov 1st last year. Folly bridge just a bit further south is quite a bottleneck too, as long as Osney has some weir open it really speeds through there. Once the Osney-Godstow section is off red then the rest of the river (at least down to Reading) I should think will be safe. We are hoping the next 2-3 weeks will finally give the land a chance to drain and get the river towards more normal levels! But this winter has certainly taught me not to get my hopes up ? There are still quite a few submerged fields around the city. Keep an eye on gaugemap if you haven't found it already, and use the river levels downstream of the locks. Unfortunately the flow meter at sutton courtenay popped it's clogs in November....

Ok, thanks! I was thinking to put a bleed point at the top just in case.

Sorry for the lack of context. Everything is working fine, I'm not replacing them, just thinking about shortening them, as I'm possibly moving the calorifier back by about 1.5m. If it's fiddly and not worth breaking the circuit, bleeding etc. then I won't bother, but I'd like to know more about the circuit...: Yes, this is what I want to know. I should have said "the only coolant header tank". It's at the top of the engine, above the exhaust manifold. Good to know that you think the coolant in the calorifier will have come from the engine header tank. Tonight I can check exactly where the hose connections are on the engine, but they are in the vicinity of the water pump. Unfortunately there aren't isolation valves where the calorifier hoses come off the engine, so I'm not 100% sure what will happen if I open the circuit. I imagine any coolant higher than wherever I make the break will drain out, but maybe the pump when not running will prevent it from draining? But if it's all one system, and if it is fed from the header tank, will it self-bleed any air that gets trapped when putting everything back together? Thanks for all the help so far

Hi, On an Isuzu 35, does the calorifier circuit take coolant from the main engine header tank, or is it a separate circuit? I need to replace the hoses going to my calorifier. Thanks for any info

Hi all, Over the weekend I installed an R&D type flexible coupling, and to do it I had to remove the split half-coupling from my propshaft anyway, in order to get the old bolts off it. After installing the new R&D flex and reclamping the half-coupling onto the shaft, doing the pinch bolts alternately, I'm happy to say my alignment is now much better ? I think the reclamping of the half-coupling was what made the biggest difference, as now there is <0.05mm movement on the shaft, but there is also barely any angular misalignment, judging from the red bolt system on the R&D coupling with feeler gauges. But I'm happy to have the flexi coupling installed now as well - all runs much more smoothly and no engine oscillating around in the mounts any more. Thanks for all the helpful replies!

In an ideal world that would be nice. But this would definitely need a shorter propshaft and the boat out of the water. Maybe one day. There are plenty of boats without a thrust block, and my mounts are in pretty good condition so I think for now I'll make do with how it is. Interesting suggestion, I might try loosening and re-tightening to check this, thanks!

Thanks Mike, glad to have a second person suggesting either the shaft is bent or the coupling is not running true. Thanks Tony, it is a split half coupling with the clamp bolts either side of the shaft. I will have a look more closely, I am not sure if it has a key or not. I don't have a torque wrench but I do have large socket set with breaker bars etc. I'll try again putting the shaft in the V block and try to determine if it is the shaft that is bent or the coupling. Regardless, I think I will get a flexible coupling for now, as I'd be happier taking some of the vibrations out of the gearbox flange. It seems a sensible addition to have in the drivechain anyway. I have plenty of room between rudder and prop to push back the 3cm or so to get the flexi coupling in. But is it a bad idea to have this length of shaft sticking out the other end of my cutlass bearing, between the end of the bearing and the prop? I have no plans to take the boat out of the water until next year, so shortening the shaft/getting a shorter one is not going to happen at the moment.

Thanks Tony, Yesterday I spent a few hours trying to get the alignment as perfect as possible using feeler gauges between the two flanges (gearbox flange and my split half-coupling on the propshaft). Unfortunately after bolting everything back up it is only very slightly improved, and the shaft still moves about 0.3mm when it is turned. However, I think I discovered a bigger problem: After aligning as best as I could, I mounted the base of the dial indicator to the engine itself, not the hull. First I measured the radial displacement of gearbox flange. this was zero. Then the flange on the half-coupling, this was also fine, <0.05mm. Then I measured the propshaft to have a significant displacement. The further I measured from the coupling, the bigger the displacement. So it seems my propshaft is clamped at a slight angle in the half-coupling, or it is bent. I think this is the main cause of my vibrations and it explains why I can't align the engine better. I am pretty reluctant to loosen the half coupling as I think it'll be the start of other problems like not getting it tight enough again, or making the alignment even worse! I could possibly fit a flexible coupling between the flanges but I feel it's really covering over the problem rather than sorting it out. What are your thoughts?

Do you often take pictures of someone else's boat then upload them to discuss the problems on here? Wow.

I can disconnect the propshaft. But even without disconnecting it, as Tony says you can put a dial indicator with the base fixed to the hull and the needle on the propshaft. Turning it by hand will still show if the propshaft is oscillating in an ellipse or not. I initially attached the indicator base to the engine block and registered no misalignment...only to realise this was because the whole engine was moving ? (although this is a nice check to see if the shaft is bent or not)

Hi, I know this is a fairly well-covered topic on here, but I'm after tips in aligning my engine better. It's an Isuzu 35, with a solid coupling between the flange of my PRM120 gearbox to the propshaft, and the shaft goes through a Vetus cutlass bearing stern gland. With a dial gauge and turning the shaft by hand I have around 0.4-0.5mm radial misalignment. The whole engine moves in a small ellipse when in gear, and starts to vibrate quite badly above 1000rpm. I've read lots about doing the alignment: http://www.canaline-engines.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Canaline-Operators-Handbook-CE-Version-3870T.pdf https://www.yachtsurvey.com/Alignment2.htm But with a cutlass bearing, when you disconnect the prop shaft it just sags down, so you can't align the engine to it. When connecting the two flanges together, they seem to fit very nicely with no obvious angular mismatch. I admit I haven't actually checked this with feeler gauges, but I don't see the point if the propshaft is free to flop around anyway? I've tried one thing by keeping the propshaft connected, and making small adjustments to the engine mounts, re checking the eccentricity, re-adjust, and so on. After an hour I had improved it slightly to about 0.3mm, but surely it can be better? I've also heard the propshaft can be supported in place when disconnected with a bit of wood with a V notch, or similar. But in this case how do you know the shaft is in the correct place? What do you have other than 'feeling' when it's in the centre of the cutlass bearing, and how to you know it's sitting at the right angle? Any tips greatly appreciated!

Hi Mike, Apologies for the lack of conclusion to my thread! Nice to hear (or not nice actually) somebody with very similar issues. I removed my gearbox back then for a separate reason (I was replacing my driveplate), it just happened to coincide with me investigating the knocking noise, so it was handy being able to rule out the gearbox/driveplate from the knocking problem. I know the first thing you did was adjust the valve clearances, but I checked mine as thoroughly as possible last night and I can definitely say it reduced my engine knocking noise a lot. It is still there slightly, but for sure it has made a big difference. Graham

Apologies for never following up this thread...? Back in April I tried the injector cleaner which seemed to improve the knocking after I put a slosh in the fuel filter itself, but it came back a few minutes later. After a fresh tank of diesel, there was no difference here either. The knocking remained the same until yesterday when I rechecked the valve clearances after being advised on Isuzu engines they can easily create a knock even if one is slightly mis-adjusted. Last night I took my time setting the clearances as accurately as I possibly could. When I started up the knocking was reduced significantly. It is still there slightly, but it is definitely not as bad. I guess a perfect valve adjustment would have the knocking all but gone.

I added some injector cleaner at the weekend, including a slosh in the fuel filter, and for about 20mins after starting it sounded better. But the knock returned soon after. This makes me think maybe it is just stale/funny diesel, and it was happier running on the cleaner-diesel mix for a bit? I'll fill up soon with new diesel and see if this helps. At least based on this hopefully it is fuel related and not mechanical.

Thanks catweasel, I guess it's possible it is related to my current diesel. It's also quite old now as I haven't been cruising much since christmas. I'll fill up with new diesel soon anyway so it'll be interesting to see if this changes anything. At the moment the gearbox and also driveplate aren't even mounted on the engine so alignment can be ruled out.

For what it's worth, the oil light goes out about 2.5 seconds after pressing the stop button. Maybe the recording doesn't capture it very well above the normal running noise, but 100% it is there and it never used to be. I can try to get a better recording over the weekend. Is it worth trying a bit of injector cleaning additive in the diesel, if only to see if it changes the knock? Or would I be better going straight to taking them out and having them overhauled? My engine is currently my only source of hot water (other than the kettle!) so I don't really want to have to send the injectors off for a few days, at least not if I don't have to.

Thanks bizzard, I have a warning light. Not sure if I understand you correctly: Run engine up to temp Stop engine time how long it takes for the oil light to come back on If it's faster than 3 seconds, is this good or bad?

I don't think so - it was my first time doing them, but if anything they are all set slightly loose, I made sure none were too tight. Supposed to be 0.4mm so I used a 0.43mm feeler just to be on the safe side. But I will check them now in case.