Steve56

Many years ago I had a similar issue on a Gardner engine. There was always a very noticeable clunk as it went into gear. To rectify I fitted the engine with a Centa Transmissions R type drive plate. This worked wonders and really smoothed out and quietened down the gear selection. I have used this plate on numerous engine installations with great success. I think the reason that the engine manufacturers don't use it as standard is as always down to costs.

It will be because the engine was built as an insulated earth system. This system allows for the battery negative to connect during starting, and removes once engine is running.

Give Lancing Marine a call. They are still in business and usually very helpful, especially as it appears to be one of there marinisations.

Means I can have it out on the back deck when I want to sit outside.

This was how I did mine. Solid wood glued down. Lift up inspection panels. Been fine for a good few years now.

Yes that's right. The unused one is 1/8. For the supply to the calorifier the larger 3/8 outlet was the one used by Lister when calorifier fittings were added.

For the flow to the calorifier you would remove the temperature switch/sender which can be seen in the first photo. Put a t price in its place. You can then put the switch/sender back into one side of the t peice, and the spare outlet becomes the flow to calorifier. The return from calorifier would then be teed into the suction side of pump. Probably best to go into the smaller pipe which runs below the manifold. If I remember correctly the temperature switch/sender unit is 3/8 BSP.

Here is a much better way to carry out your spill timing. By using one of these tools it saves having to take the delivery valve out, of having to rig up a gravity feed to the pump. So much cleaner and easier way to do it. I don't know what the cost of the tool would be.

The licence fee just allows you to have your boat on the water. There is no guarantee or any right to cruise. If there are any problems or closures, then hard luck. CRT cannot be held responsible and there is no possibility of any refunds. Where as a CRT mooring just let's you have your boat on the water. But without being chased by CRT.

That is what you would expect. When the cap is on it creates a vacuum so the water will not run out easily. When the cap is removed it allows air into the system so the water will flow out. As the pump is not a positive displacement pump it will not pump at any great pressure.I don't know where the figure of 40 psi comes from but the pump certainly will not give those sort of pressures.

Just a few comments that may or may not help. The engine is not a Canal Star it is heat exchanger model which is why it may look a little different. The T-piece is not a swept T but just a standard T. Oneside is the calorifier feed the other is the temperature sender. The thermostat shown in an earlier post is the one that should be fitted to the later engines as the one in the photo. It is important as it shuts the pump bypass off as the engine warms up.

That is correct. The handle shown is the correct one for the engine. As it operates on the camshaft, turning the handle anti clockwise will also turn the engine anti clockwise. When Lister give an engine rotation it is always as looking at flywheel from behind. Also the engine must be anticlockwise as To my knowledge the T range were never built as a clockwise rotation.

Maybe coming across from Cardiff. A few people do it.

Beta certainly did a mod on the Ford engine. They altered the injector pressures to achieve a lower idle speed. I think the John Deere engine was left as standard. Not sure of the original idle speed of the Ford engine but would expect it to be around 800 rpm.

They were never the smoothest of engines. I've had experience of both the Lister and Beta versions. Both companies tried various things to try to improve the situation but never that successfully. Normally the best way of mounting was solidly on timber. Mount the engine to the timber, then the timber to the boat but do not use the same bolts. This was about the best way for a steel boat. Can't really comment on other materials. As you say I think the FSD is a much smoother engine.

From memory I think that this engine has a temperature switch which operates the warning light and alarm. Then a separate sender for the guage. Both are by the thermostat housing. When the alarm goes off you could try pulling the wire off the switch to see if it stops. If it does you then have to decide if the engine is really overheating or if there is a fault with the switch or wiring.

The reason for the water jacket is probably to stop the engine overheating. As you say it is a cocooned set so you need to get that heat away. Without the water jacket that exhaust will give off a lot of heat. If you decide to bypass this water jacket then at a minimum you could lag the exhaust with a good few layers of lagging to try and keep the heat level down.

As far as I'm aware they finished doing anything some time ago.

At the time I was working as a self employed marine engineer and covering warranty work for Isuzu Marine as well as a few other major engine companies. Isuzu Marine have now become Engines Plus. Therefore all parts would have been supplied by them, and all genuine Isuzu parts. I don't really know what the parts availability is, but if stuck you could call Engines Plus and they may be able to advise.

You are quite correct. The early Isuzu 55's did have an issue with head gaskets blowing. This was only an issue on the 55's and did not affect any of the other models. At the time the fix was to repair using a modified head gasket as supplied by Isuzu. I have done a number of these in the past and once fitted with a modified gasket there were no further problems. It was also recommended by Isuzu to replace the stretch head bolts at the same time.

I've spent my whole life as a marine engineer. I certainly wouldn't claim to know it all. You can always learn something new, or a different way to go about things. If someone claims to know it all there probably best avoided.

Should definitely slope uphill or have a Swan neck. Over the years I have had a number of boats with wrecked engines due to water down the exhaust. Just poor workmanship by the builder/engine installer.

Definitely imperial as indicated with the shoulder at the top. Metric fittings have the shoulder at the bottom. On odd occasions some of the manufacturers nowadays don't seem to bother with this. The pipe in the photo is probably 5/16. Don't mix and match metric and imperial fittings, it's just a bodge and is asking for problems further down the line. I would say the problem you have is that the pipe coming from the tank has a tapered thread and your fitting has a parallel thread. Obviously been forced on and caused the split. As someone else has already mentioned you should really have a ball valve fitted in the return line.

Here is the relevant page from the parts manual. You can see the o-ring under the coupling. The only thing I did get wrong is the fact that the coupling securing nut is castellated and held in place with a split pin. It must just be the smaller boxes that have a nylon.

It sounds as if the oil is leaking along the output shaft and through the inside of the output coupling. Therefore not the output oil seal leaking. If I remember correcty when the output coupling is removed there is an o-ring on the shaft which stops the oil. Also when fitting the coupling it pays to put a little flange sealant on the flat washer that fits below the retaining nut. It may also pay to check that this coupling nut has not worked loose. I have come across this a number of times. It doesn't take much for an oil leak to start. If you take this apart it will pay to fit a replacement lock nut and ensure the correct torque setting.