Cattleya

Thanks Tony and Tracy.

Can someone please tell me if I need to remove the woodruff key to change the impeller on the Jabsco 4900 200 pump, or can I just pull the old impeller off and replace it without touching the key? Rather strangely whoever changed it last time (not me) put the cover on at weird angle!

Hi Tony, yes I do have a water trap which is another CAV filter between the tank and lift pump. I will see if there is air present in that one, I presume it bleeds the same way as the engine filter by opening the top bleed screw and working the lift pump lever?

I posted yesterday about issues changing my engine fuel filter. Today I took everything apart and fitted another new filter and rubber rings, this time I used a mirror to check the top seal was fitted correctly. I still have a LOT of air coming from somewhere. Another boater came to help, he took off the top banjo bleed screw on the CAV filter and checked the filter was full of fuel, he also checked the filter was fitted correctly. There was still loads of bubbles coming from the top bleed point and we must have pumped at least a pint of diesel through! So I am now thinking the air might be coming in somewhere else. The lift pump maybe? Or the CAV water trap filter, or maybe even a joint on the fuel line. Can air get in the lift pump? Or is it more likely to come from downstream of the lift pump? Would air even get in through a seal on the engine fuel filter? I'm thinking it is more likely for fuel to leak out than air to come in?

I have already taken the old filter and top and bottom O rings off and can't remember which O ring goes at the top, one is a little bigger than the other and one has a red spot on the side. Does anyone know which goes in the top housing and which goes under the filter?

Hi all, I have these ancient metalastik type rear engine mounts on my BMC 1.5 that have given up and need replacing. This one had broken before and was fixed as part of an engine rebuild by Calcutt Boats, it looks like they just filled the centre with a rubber washer. I know these are obsolete, does anyone know of a source to buy some used or a way of changing to a different mount? A search of the forums revealed I'm not the first with this issue but I couldn't see how it was previously resolved.

The leads connecting my glow plugs have fallen apart (engine is a BMC 1.5), does anyone happen to know what size crimp lugs I need to make new ones up, I think they are about 4mm but am not sure on that.

Thank you Tony. I have been looking at how the DPA pump works and from what I can see there is a spring loaded valve connected to the throttle that moves up and down to control the flow of fuel, with the stop lever puling this up to stop the flow of fuel. Is it possible for fuel to leak past this in a worn pump?

Thank you Tony, that doesn't sound too difficult to remove. I'm on a limited budget and I know how the marina engineers like to turn everything into an expensive invoice, so I will remove the pump and take it to be tested. What has fallen off the top is a cover that was over one of the adjustment screws, this also had some sort of attachment that stopped the screw moving. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with my problem.

I have had this issue on and off for a few years now, most of the time my BMC engine runs without any issues but every so often it won't stop when I pull the manual stop lever. The issue isn't anything to do with the cable as I've checked and the lever on the governor turret moves its full travel. Once it starts playing up it will continue to do so until after the engine has been left a few hours to go cold. I'm guessing something has worn in the turret on top of the CAV pump, or maybe there is a problem in the CAV pump itself allowing fuel to leak past. When it plays up the engine will rev to about 1200rpm when the stop lever is pulled, normally tick over is about 600rpm. I'm certain the engine is not running on its oil when it does this as it does not rev uncontrolled, it just picks up to 1200rpm, plus the oil level remains the same. I don't know much about how the CAV injector pump/governor works so am reluctant to take it to bits. How do I remove the pump from the engine so I can take it to a specialist? Does the engine have to be in a certain position to remove it? Will I mess up the timing by removing it? I'm trying to work out if I can DIY or if I need to pay a mechanic to remove and refit the pump.

Thank you Tony. I had the engine rebuilt a few years back (at great expense) by calcutt boats. According to the invoice this included a recon injector pump. The engine has had an easy life since then so hopefully nothing major is wrong.

I had this issue a while back and it went away, from time to time and usually after a good run my BMC 1.5 won't stop. Pulling the stop lever results in the revs going from around 800rpm to about 1500rpm, dropping into gear stalls the engine and that's how I stop it when this happens. I have the CAV fuel injection pump which I believe revs up when starved of fuel as it thinks the revs have dropped so runs faster. This isn't the engine running away as it doesn't ever rev higher than 1500rpm, so I'm guessing something is broken in the injection pump. Pushing the stop lever back in causes the revs to drop back to idle. Has anyone had the same issue and any ideas of where to start looking?

The compression test was done by removing the injectors, not the glow plugs. AFAIK they have not tested fuel at the injectors, all they did was the compression test. Now the injectors are off they will be easy to test.

It won't start at all after bleeding it. Since having this problem I have only managed to get it running on one occasion after using Easystart. It then run fine if switched off for a short while, but became progressively more difficult to start the longer it was left. By the next day it wouldn't start at all (but didn't try Easystart again).

The marina have seen my post on another forum and are annoyed that I don't trust their judgement. I had a bit or an argument with them as I said the gearbox job had ended up costing £1200 more than they quoted. Anyway I found out the injectors are out of the engine, so would be easy to test. Also the cylinder with poor compression is one in which I replaced the glow plug. I couldn't get the glow plug to screw in as far as the old one. So there might be a chance that is causing low compression. But they say the others being at 200 to 240 PSI means the engine is dead. To be honest I'm considering selling the boat, I just don't have much money to spend on it. The marina insist the only way forward is a new engine and still claim Easy Strart did the damage.

Thank you so much for all the advice. How many hours has the engine run and how old is it? teh engine may be getting to the stage when a c/head overhaul is needed, including servicing of the injectors. The engine has done 1500 hours since 1975. As has been said, a good battery is needed, as using the glow plugs takes a lot out of a battery and reduces the cranking power considerably. Would a low battery cause a reduction in the compression readings? Unless the marina charged my battery first (unlikely) it was already down on power from my last attempts at starting the engine. Usually I leave it to charge for a day before making an attempt at starting the engine. The battery seems to be in good order. What cooling system do you have, It's not raw water cooled. The engine has a heat exchanger and is cooled with water from the river which passes through the heat exchanger and cools the captive cooling side.

It sounds like I'm best to do the work myself. Does anyone know the name of the special spanner for the head bolts? I mentioned to the marina that I thought you needed a special spanner and they had told me you don't. I think that shows how little they know about this engine. I think I'll take off the glow plugs and check them out, then take off the rocker cover and measure the valve clearance. Then I guess it's time for taking the head off and dropping it into a specialist for repair. Sounds like my boating is over for the season, but at least with the DIY approach I'll still be able to afford to eat!

Hi Alan, I'm in Buckden marina on the River Great Ouse, Cambridgeshire.

Thank you for all the suggestions so far. I'm on a river, not the canal. The nearest place I could take it for someone else to work on it is a couple of hours up the river. I really don't believe it's as terminal as the marina say. I just get the impression they prefer to replace things than attempt to mend them. They said Easystart is evil but then said they use it to start their tractor. I don't believe that Easystart killed the engine, it didn't run before I used it. I also tend to think that something has broken, as the boat run one week and not the next. That doesn't sound like compression, which I presume would be lost slowly over years with the engine getting progressively worse at starting. I did take a cylinder head off a car once and took it to a specialist for repair. So I guess I could extend my DIY skills to removing the head if necessary.

The only thing they have checked is the compression. I also find it odd that once I got the engine going with Easystart it would start straight away unless left off for a while. I can't get my head around why it would start if it was so bad I had to get a new engine (which is what I'm being made to believe by the marina). Regarding the rocker valves. Can you check those by just removing the rocker cover? And how do you check them?

I have checked the glow plugs. They are getting voltage and I also checked them all with a multimeter. I replaced one (the one on the cylinder they say has low compression). The only thing I did notice was the voltage was around 10 volts and not 12 (tested between the engine earth and the main feed for the glowplugs). The battery had 12.6 volts. I'll try the oil in the air intake next time I'm at the boat (it's a bit of a drive from home). I guess you are talking of putting normal engine oil in the air intake? And this seals the pistons or something? One other thought, the cylinder with low compression is the same one as I changed the glowplug. I'm presuming they put the compression gauge on the glowplug hole? Or is it on the injector hole? I'm just wondering if the glowplug might not be tight enough?

They say it won't start as all 4 are down. They are supposed to be around 400 and 3 are around 200 and the fourth 120. I can't understand how the engine managed to restart last time after using Easystart. If the engine was as bad as they say then why would it start at the first turn of the key while it was hot?

Hi Pete, I am following the advice on here. I am not an expert on mechanics, The limit of my skills stops at the point of basic work like bleeding the fuel system. The marina have an exclusive contract for working on boats (a clause in the mooring contract) which means I'm not allowed to bring in someone else to work on the boat. I asked them to fit the new fuel lift pump as I didn't have the time, they then suggested a compression test and pronounced the engine dead. When I had an oil leak on my working gearbox they sent it to a specialist who pronounced it dead, you get the idea. They seem to prefer the approach of replacing the whole engine to repairing it.

Very bad news from the marina. They say the compression is down and the engine is knackered. They say I killed it using Easystart. The compression is 120, 200, 220, 240. They have given me two options, one they remove the engine and send it to be reconditioned. They estimate the cost to be between £1000 and £2500 plus the cost of removing and refitting, plus VAT. The second option was a new engine at £5500 plus VAt, plus fitting (another £3000 plus). I have already paid £4200 for a new gearbox, prop and various other bits and nearly fell off my chair when I got the bill. I really can't afford to pay another £5k to £10k.

I presume we can rule out the lift pump now as it has been replaced with a new one. I wouldn't have thought they would have touched the top screw. I'm waiting for the results of the compression test and hoping it's nothing serious. The gearbox replacement was very expensive and I'm running short on funds to spend on the boat.