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BeckyJC

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Everything posted by BeckyJC

  1. Magnet fishing is great fun - interesting catches to date have included a very rusty tiller arm (I think!), an anchor with additional bricks attached, numerous windlasses and mooring pins, a friend's lump hammer which he had dropped in a year previous, a full-size shovel, a pub gas canister, and an old-style school chair. Oh, and my keys when I dropped them in. One question though - what is the best way to "restore" rusty windlasses etc that have spent the last few years in the bottom of the cut? I was thinking wire brush and rust-killing hammerite, but never actually got round to trying it. Would be nice to actually make use of all the bounty without turning my hands rust-orange Becky
  2. Seconded! When I replaced mine, I was told to go for either a Whale Gulper or the Jabsco equivalent as I have long hair that was causing havoc with the impeller in the old pump. I ended up with the Jabsco one, and it works fine (if a bit on the noisy side). 2 years on, and it still pumps like the day I got it - just be sure that you make decent connections with the water pipes - do those jubilee clips up well
  3. Yup, my new engine has arrived and is due to be fitted over the next few weeks Someone mechanically-minded came and had a look at my old engine; he too thinks that the issue is pistons / rings, and he is buying it from me for a project. Am just pleased now that the whole drama is over with, and I will have my boat back up and running with a shiny new engine and more power which my boat really needed as the engine was on the small side for it anyway. It makes sense, as I plan to be spending time on rivers now, which I wasn't when I bought the boat. Thanks all for your help, but it turned out that this wasn't something I could have realistically fixed myself anyway. Becky
  4. Update: No closure yet, situation is still being monitored though. BW engineers are going to investigate if they can make some kind of temporary fix (don't know too much about it, just passing on what I have been told). Would recommend talking to the lock keepers ASAP if you are planning on using the locks anytime soon. Hope this helps, Becky
  5. Just a quick heads-up in case anyone was thinking of heading through the Tinsley flight in the near future.... There has been a breach in the canal somewhere near Sheffield basin. BW are currently monitoring / assessing the situation, and are to make a decision shortly as to whether the flight will be closed or not. No firm information (or notice on Waterscape) yet, as they do not yet know how much water is being lost, but I would recommend checking with them if you are planning on passing through the flight anytime soon. Will post more as soon as I hear anything. Becky
  6. Depending on how much space you have, I have an Ikea "Beddinge" sofa bed on my boat...not small, but fitted in the doors no problem (the joy of flatpack, and they even give you the box sizes on their website) and opens out the opposite way to most sofa beds so you don't have to turn it around to open out. When opened out on my narrowboat, there is just enough room to squeeze past it. Removable / washable covers too, so very boat friendly if you have the space - I love mine so much that I generally sleep there rather than the proper / fixed double at the other end of the boat. There's nothing quite like being able to see the stove from the bed! Becky
  7. If you have the means to power it, a wet and dry Vax type vacuum cleaner is good for sucking the water out, especially if it's hard to get to. Hope this helps, Becky
  8. Sure others will correct me if I'm wrong here, but I have not heard of using water as ballast on a narrowboat (I assume it's a narrowboat?) before. How deep is the water in there? Normally, water in the cabin bilge is a sign of something leaking! Is there any other ballast in /under this water? Do you also have water in the engine bilge? Becky Have you ever had the boat surveyed? Did the surveyor / survey report say anything about this water?
  9. Are you sure it's ballast and not water that has leaked into the cabin bilge from somewhere? Has there always been water in that space? Becky
  10. Agreed - mine kept turning on / off briefly in the night a couple of months back - traced it back to a small leak from one of the piping joins in the bathroom. Have you checked your cabin bilge recently? That can be a quick/easy way to check if water is leaking out anywhere. Hope this helps, Becky
  11. Friendly mechanic checked the timing, and he thought it was set correctly. Not being a mechanic, I don't know any better, so can't say it is DEFINITELY set correctly. I would love to get the engine running, like nothing else on Earth right now, but am reluctant to spend any more time or money on it. We have already spent 3 months of weekends trying different things, the line has to be drawn somewhere. I could pay someone to come and spend more time on it, but there would be no guarantee that it would work at the end of that. I might just end up spending even more money on a dead engine, and be left with nothing to show for it but a big bill. I have to be off my current mooring by the end of March, so spending even more time trying different things isn't really an option now, I need a solution. Cheers, B
  12. Yes, there is fuel coming out of the injectors. Mechanic friend also turned the engine by hand and checked when the fuel was coming out of the injectors to check the fuel pump timing. We have fuel, have heat (we think), have air.... but still no luck. Will try the tests that have been suggested on here when I get back from work if I can, but other than that it's time to let the professionals take over I think. I need my engine, and have been without it for about 3 months now. B
  13. Exactly! And it's practically impossible to know who is right. Got plenty of people helping (which is really appreciated) but they are all telling me different things, and I have to draw a line somewhere and stop chucking money into a dead engine.
  14. I understand that, but we needed to try EVERYTHING. So many people with specialised knowledge in various areas have told us so many things that they thought were the issue. Everyone who has helped has had different ideas/opinions, and so replacing the glow plugs (£21 for a new set) had to be worth a try, as our friend with experience of industral diesel engines suspected that they were the issue. I still don't understand how the glow plug test was completely meaningless - if we were getting a reading from one, but not the other two, then surely that means that SOMETHING was wrong there. Surely they should all behave in the same way? Anyway, we've now proven that it's not the glow plugs that are the problem....if only we knew where the issue actually was. B
  15. Right, replacement glow plugs arrived, they fitted, but the bu**er still won't start. We've been trying different things for months now, and there are so many variables involved that this mission has become impossible. Even if we did manage to get my engine running again, it would still be on the small side for my boat, and I am pretty sure that it doesn't have the most glowing of maintenance histories so I'm going to cut my losses and try and find a reconditioned engine. Spoke to Lee at Thorne boat services this morning, and he is coming out tomorrow morning to have a look / measure up. It's not going to be cheap, but I think at this point it makes sense. I can continue pouring time and money into it, or I can cut my losses and shell out for a known good engine which I can then maintain properly myself (as I no longer trust ANYONE else with this responsibility). So, if anyone knows of any decent reconditioned engines for sale, please shout! Recomendations of what to go for / avoid also very welcome. Currently thinking Beta Marine maybe? Not sure what else would fit in same space as Isuzu 3kc1 without needing big modifications to my engine bay? Cheers, Becky
  16. Just to add to my earlier post - I've found a DIY-guide to testing glow plugs that describes a similar test to the one we used: http://autorepair.about.com/od/enginerelat...l/aa081404c.htm Extract: "Testing glow plugs is easy and can be done with them still installed in the engine. Just disconnect the wire going to each glow plug. Connect a test light to the POSITIVE (+) battery terminal and touch the point of the test light to each glow plug terminal. If the light lights, it's good. " Hope this help explain, Becky
  17. There is nothing printed on the glow plugs themselves, but we have managed to find some info: The Isuzu part reference number is apparently 9-82511978-0 and Zenith make (or did make) some glow plugs to fit : ZI-42 Other part numbers that I believe to be the same are: HKT PI-42 NGK Y104 However from ringing round some motor factors those models aren't made anymore. Cheers, Becky
  18. Hi all, Just to clarify - ....got a glow plug here in my hand now so hopefully I can explain clearly enough.... friendly engineer was testing each plug individually by putting negative end of multimeter on the engine block (earth) and the positive end on the nut at the top of each glow plug with the ignition key in the "heat" position. On each glow plug, between the bar that connects them all together / supplies power and the part where he was testing is an insulating plate / washer. The theory was that in order for the power to get to the nut where he was testing each plug separately, the power would have had to go through the glowplug element (i.e. heating). This happened on 1 plug, but not the other 2, indicating that they were dead. The connecting bar that supplies power to them all WAS reading 12-ish volts right the way along, so there was current getting TO the glow plugs, just not through them. Does that make sense? As for the knocking, he didn't think it was anything to worry about for the moment and likely caused by the easy start. Been trying to source glow plugs today, but no luck yet - anyone know where I might get hold of some for an Isuzu 3kc1? Seems parts for this engine are pretty hard to come by now! Cheers, Becky
  19. Not sure yet - couldn't take them out, as it was getting too dark so boyfriend's going back tomorrow to take one out and go and find replacements. Would we be able to see a cracked element by looking at them once they are out? Cheers, B
  20. Right, don't think it is the timing now afterall. Just had friendly mechanical engineer over to take a look at my engine - he turned it over by hand and checked the timing marks / chain alignment. Also said it sounded OK turning over... was getting fuel at the injectors...BUT it seems that 2 of the glow plugs are dead (0 voltage on 2 of them and 11.x volts on the other one, tested repeatedly to be sure). My brother had already tested the glow plugs when he had them out (and thought they were OK), but maybe something happened when he was putting them back in. So my darling boyfriend is off to try and get some replacement glow plugs tomorrow. I will be SO SO SO pleased if this actually fixes it now. Fingers crossed, B
  21. Hi All, Right, I *think* we've found the problem. Hopefully. Charged the starter battery up this morning, and also took the alternator belt off to remove it from the equation. As the alternator was where all my trouble began, it made sense to me to eliminate it for now. Tried to start her up, and she is now turning over at what sounds to me like the "normal" rate - definitely much quicker. When she tries to turn over, there is an intermittent "knocking" noise from the engine - definitely not heard this one before. Am I right in thinking that we should now be checking the timing? Think I'm going to leave the alternator disconnected for now and get to the bottom of the engine issue before I put it on - that should be OK, right? It's incredible to think that this all began from a 3-quid alternator bracket snapping!!! Cheers, B (Feeling more optimistic about all this than I have for a while now)
  22. Thanks again for all the suggestions, Which Earth lead? The glow plugs were working when my brother tested them.... My stop cable was damaged during all the other work, but the engine stop is now definitely where it's supposed to be (i.e. not in the "stop" position). Really hoping we can get to the bottom of it soon...surely there can't be MUCH left to go wrong?! Famous last words, eh? List of easy-ish things to check / try now includes: Charge battery Disconnect alternator in case it is faulty - possible, as that's where all this trouble began Disconnect all the other electrics from the starter / starting circuit and redo cabling / clean connections Bleed fuel at fuel pump to be double-sure there's no air (suggested by friendly truck mechanic) Got all my fingers and toes crossed this time, as I need to get to my new mooring and would prefer to cruise there than be towed! B
  23. And....never say that something can't possibly go wrong, or it will. And at the most inconvenient time possible.
  24. hmmm starter motor is going, but doesn't sound as fast as normal trying to start it. What exactly should I be looking at/for? Cheers, B
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