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Hi I know nothing about engines, engineering, gearboxes and the like. My sincere apologies. I have a narrowboat with, I'm told, a Lister LH150 Hydraulic Reverse gearbox. Having made it through the Standedge Tunnel, it started to cut out when I put it into reverse. Initially it would restart and move into reverse okay, but it became progressively worse on the downhill stretch to Huddersfield, and since getting to Mirfield I was unable to get it into Reverse at all, it's permanently stuck in forward gear. I've got it down to a wharf in Wakefield and they've checked it over, but it's nothing particularly obvious (adjustment etc) so I need advice from an expert - is it fixable? Am I looking at getting it taken off and sent away somewhere? New gearbox time? Help! Thanks Rob

Hellooo all, Quick introduction as this is my first post (although I've marked where my question starts if you want to skip ), about a year ago me and my partner started looking for a narrow boat to call our own after enjoying many holidays previously on the canals. Fast forward a year of intense research and lots of boat viewing, to a couple of weeks ago and we can now call ourselves proud owners of our first narrowboat There’s number of issues to sort out, it’s defiantly a project boat that’s going to take some time, but by the end we will have put our own stamp on it A lot of our research has been done on this forum, and I’ve never posted before because as is often said, search the forum and it’s bound to have come up before. However I’ve run into an issue I could really do with a definitive answer for (if possible, many opinions might be about to follow ) Question I’m servicing our engine (I’ve always serviced my own cars so this isn’t too out of my depth). We’ve got a Lister ST3 air cooled, with a LH150 gearbox and reduction box. The oil needs changing, especially in the gearboxes as it’s emulsified. So to the point now, what oil do I need, as far as I can tell... Engine: 20w50 API SF/CC and 7.5 litres of it (preferably mineral not semi-synthetic) Gearboxes: (both the main and reduction box) EP 80w90 GL4 and 1.2 litres in each box. My worry is, should i be strict with the SF/CC, some people seem to suggest don’t stray from that grade at all? Same with the gear oil, can you use GL5 on these boxes, or must it be GL4? As far as I can tell GL5 would be okay if certain parts aren’t brass, however I don’t know if they are or not. Also do those amounts sound right? I aware too much oil can be as bad as too little. You’re help will be greatly appreciated, and chances are I’ll be around on here asking a lot more questions, and hopefully in time being able to give my knowledge back to someone else in my position now Cheers, J

Hi, Hope someone can help. I have an old Narrowboat fitted with a Lister LPW3 27hp engine. After over 100 virtually trouble hours since March this year, it has started completely cutting out. It has just had a full service and is still doing it. After about 20 mins running this weekend it died again. Having drifted to the side of the river, it restarted with a bit of a struggle and we continued for another 10 mins before it went again. This time when it started and I attempted to move off, it died as soon as I engaged the gears and opened the throttle. Got it going again and cruised slowly for another 10 mins, tried to open the throttle a bit further and it went again. This time I was able to reatart it, turn the boat around and limp back to the marina at 1200rpm. The engine sounds fine on tickover and was no problem at 1200 rpm. Any ideas?

Hi, I have a recently rebuilt Lister HW2M in my boat and I am looking to do my first oil change. My manual recommends an engine oil grade of 20/20W. However the oil for sale in Morris Lubricants for that SAE has an API grade of CF. In one of the other posts on appropriate oils for Listers someone spoke of not exceeding an API grade of CC as it can cause problems for the engine. I have found a company that does SAE 20W in a API CD grade: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Marine-Oil-SAE20-monograde-25-litres-detergent-free-boat-barge-ship-/261911911986?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cfb2a9e32 So I have a couple of questions I hope you all could answer for me: Can anyone explain the effect of the different API gradings on my engine, why CF is bad for them, and what they would recommend. And secondly, I have seen other Lister engines be recommended SAE 30 which has a API grade of CC, would this be better than the appropriate 20W which I can source with a API grade of CD/CF? Also, does anyone have any experience with the company in the link I have posted. Extremely grateful for any and all help. Best wishes Strummerjoe

Hello hello lovely people, and a happy bonfire night to all! == As is often the case I have spent many an hour scouring the internet and googling like mad over these past few weeks, and I've found some conflicting information, and wondered if any of you kind folks could shed a little light on the matter. I'm trying to get the Lister SR3 going on my 70s Narrowboat, with the assistance of my dad (who is much more au-fait with engine things than me, though his experience is with motorbike and car engines). He's established that the starter motor is knackered, but we're having trouble identifying it. We've taken it to a Lucas-recommended servicing and parts place (SAS motorfactors, Bradford) and they couldn't identify it or get parts to fix it, and we've taken it to Puffer Parts too, with no luck. Collecting it tomorrow. The number on the starter motor is rubbed off at the end so that's no help, but it looks a bit like the Lucas LRS555. So when I finally get round to it...my questions are; is there more than one kind of lister sr3? I have seen some information that suggests LRS555 is suitable for Lister SR3, and some that suggest not. Does anyone have any advice on figuring out what my compatible starter motor options are here, and whether it's anticlock or clockwise? (Ps. Does anyone know where I can find a service manual as all I have is an operation manual? ) Many thanks for bearing with my rambly ill-informed queries. ==

My boat has a Lister SR2 engine which is great, my problem is the throttle control which keeps slipping back to tickover. There doesn't seem to be any form of adjustment so I think replacement is the way to go. Sadly I don't seem to be able to find a suitable Lister replacement. Is there something else out there that will do the trick? They all seem to be gear change and throttle combined - not much use for the Lister! Alternatively, is there some form of adjustment? Thanks all, Mike

Sorry title of this thread should be 'What would you do...?' If you had a Lister HRW 4 59 HP engine on your 70ft narrowboat and were cruising canals and rivers how would you go about it... considering the engine has a considerable excess of power, particularly for canal cruising? I'm going to be in this situation hopefully soon and any advice and tips from you seasoned boaters would be very much appreciated :-)

Hi all, I recently looked at a boat with a Lister HRW 4 onboard. The exhaust was pretty smoky especially when put under load and the gentleman that owned the boat kept the oil level way below the recommend minimum suggested on the dipstick. I didn't really understand why he did that but he did give a reason - something to do with the engine starting more easily in the cold...?? I know nothing at all about engines, as you can probably tell, so any help with this would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Another gearbox in the Lister family, sharing features with the LH150 or LM100 but with more sophistication in the details At the heart is a reverse cluster made from straight cut gears: The main input shaft engages with the first set of planet gears in the centre. You can see the main shaft on the end of the crankshaft here: The other gears are the 2:1 drive to the camshaft on the left, and the governor gear and bob weights (top). Notice also that the lower half of the gearbox remains bolted to the engine while all the gearbox parts are removed. Also notice the oil in the bottom of the gear case which is shared with the engine sump. This is a Lister HB2 The gear cluster has two clutches, a band brake running on the outside for reverse, and a plate clutch in the centre locked by over centre levers: The centre shaft in the cluster passes through the drum to this spider assembly: The two keys in the centre and the teeth around the outside drive the boat when the forward clutch is locked. In detail, we have the spider: which drives the output shaft by the key in the bore. Onto that goes the driving plates: The teeth engage in the inside of the reverse drum. There are two of these plates, and they are made of some kind of phenolyic material. If you have a Lister Blackstone gearbox that drags in neutral, or stalls going into reverse, it may well be these plates being distorted. They can become conical and drag all the time Next, a cast iron plate keyed to the spider: Then another phenolyic plate, and the end plate: To illustrate how the clutch locks, here is the locking gear unlocked: and locked: On the outside of the mechanism are two levers with an adjuster on the outside. These are linked to pairs of links pointing to the centre hub. In the top view, the clutch is unlocked with the hub out and the pairs of links pulling the levers in. In the lower view, the clutch is locked. as the hub moves towards the clutch, the links push the levers out and the adjusters push down against the clutch pack, locking the clutch. Eventually, the hub moves so far forwards that the links over centre and start to push the hub towards the clutch instead of away from it. At this point, the clutch is engaged and the mechanism locked. It is this that holds the box in gear, not the external gear lever. Building this up in the drum: Spider: Phenolyic plate: Complete pack: Locking mechanism and retaining nut: Richard MORE: I can't add any more images to this post, could someone post something so I can start a new post?

I have been googling Marine Air Cooled Diesels and come across these : http://www.hatz-diesel.com/fileadmin/user_upload/hatz-diesel.com/brochueren/Hatz_Systems_EN_13.pdf I am thinking of the 1D81/1D81C as a replacement for my Lister LR2 ? Has anyone any experience of these engines ? Thanks

Hi, The fuel in my SR2 is leaking into the lubricating oil. It's not too bad but I'm having a go at finding the leak. Whilst I'm at it, I'm going to give it a thorough service and maybe a decoke, depending on how things look. I've got a couple of questions though - I haven't worked on diesel engines before. I've got Marine Engine Services document from http://www.marineengine.co.uk/LubricatingOilDilution.pdf but have got stuck. This is the engine I took off the air ducting and cylinder head covers and found out I have an HSR2. (which is nice!) I ran it briefly but could see no obvious leaks. Video here (but not very good quality) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12O7N44sJbE I took off the fuel pump housing door There's no chafing or anything obvious. I haven't disconnected the oil feed to the rocker arms yet because I can't find any suitable tube. Then it says to operate the fuel pump by hand to check for leaks. How do I do that? Is it by turning the engine manually, and if so, how do I deal with the compression? It will only be a small leak so it'll have to be turned over quite a few times, I think. Do I just have to man up or is there a way to decompress the cylinders without the cylinder head covers on? Or shall I just run the engine as it is? Cheers, Joe

I'm attempting to clean the cooling fins on my SR2. I've taken off the exhaust, the air filter and the cooling air cowling. I'm now a bit unsure what I should be doing, whether I've found the fins or not. I've got a photo but there seems to be no way of uploading it to this post. Do I need the tool as suggested in the manual? I can't find that to buy online. Any help welcome.

Hey there, Every now and then I have a root around the engine to try solve the problem of low power at high revs. Along the way I cleaned out the fuel pump housing and noticed that there are 2 un-bunged holes at no.3 fuel pump. Are they supposed to open? Yes - its for fuel/oil to drain down into the crankcase No - which explains why oil leaked from the fuel pump house under higher revs Here's a pic - black circles show grommeted holes, blue circles show un-grommeted holes Any ideas? A.

A few questions for the group as I am new reasonably new to the Canal. Brian is 33ft built in 1990 , owned by me for 6 months and lived in during the week - brought as a neglected shell and I am sorting the inside - Water , 12V/240V , Gas and fit out etc ,hull and paintwork booked in for March. My attention is now on the engine. It starts from cold very well (except the day after a long run - took all 3 new batteries to get going yesterday) - it seems to run hot but maybe I'm not used to aircooling - I put a bilge blower in the 4" outlet duct but it melted !. The main issue is ( I thought that this was initally due to overheating) is that it runs fine , if a bit noisy with some black exaust , for 20-30 mins then seems to lose power , we struggle on for 30mins or so trashing the engine , the exaust getting more and more smokey speed down to 1 mph (we actually went backwards in a strong gust of wing over the weekend) until we stop for a cool down and a fiddle - usually involving bad language and cut hands on that bloody aluminium ducting. 30 mins later start up and off we go - engine sounds fine, speed 3.5 mph maybe for another 30 - 40mins untill the same again - must be overheating ?? however we noticed a couple of things: Runs fine between locks - no matter how many locks so long as they are close together and engine used back and forward in lock. Seems to be rejuvinated after a very short stop - no time to cool down Seems to find lots of power if revved hard in reverse then "slamed" into forward -if you keep doing this every 15mins you can go all day (still gets hot and difficult to start the next day) Does anyone have any suggestions ? - I have very limited access as it is crammed into a small space ( can post pics) - the only engineer I have had look very soon after I brought it said he could not get at anything unless I cut out access panels in the deck and sides. I think that it has been neglected since 2006.

Hi, Please review my engine water cooling diagram and advise what is wrong. It overheats and boils. I suspect thermostat (unlikely, previously tested OK) and the one way valve may not be allowing throughput - perhaps the return from the keel cooler is not strong enough to open the valve? If I can avoid using the one way valve then that would be ideal. It's there to prevent hot water pumping into the gearbox cooler. Points to consider: 1. The plumbing is new; 2. The one way valve is new; 3. Previous plumbing did not allow water to circulate around engine; 4. Thermostat has 4.5mm 'bypass' hole in rim; 5. Diagram closely matches actual plumbing work, and is plumbed in such a way to accommodate engine ancillary items; 6. Water circulation pump is original Lister JP3 stationary water pump - not a modern Jabsco. Thanks for your reviews.

Recently hired "Willow" from Chuggy at Middlewich Narrowboats for the experience of a speedwheel, Lister engine and trad stern with boatman's cabin and stove. I made a short video of our trip which Chuggy has linked to his updated web site: http://www.middlewic....uk/videos.html Older posts tended to suggest we might expect a rather "tired" boat. However a lot of work has clearly been done recently and overall we were very impressed and had a superb trip to just south of Market Drayton. She has a nice sheer-line and tumblehome, so looks elegant, especially viewed from the stern. Her paint scheme is a nicely understated and some sign writing has been added in the last few days. She handles beautifully, probably due to long swims. The Lister started easily even on frosty mornings as long as the throttle was cracked open and provided a relaxed rhythm missing from modern engines. The speedwheel throttle and separate gear change rod required a little anticipation but were somehow very satisfying to use. All soft furnishings were fresh and clean. The boatman's cabin is really special, with some excellent traditional painting - very cosy with it's stove which kept the helmsman toasty if the rear doors were closed.The supplied sack of coal lasted the whole week with some to spare. The gas heater for radiators and hot water worked as advertised. Chuggy has clearly worked hard to bring Willow up to standard whilst keeping her character and he is very open that there is still work to do. For example, he is considering separating the combined wet room style shower and loo. A second stove for the saloon is also a possibility. So if you fancy hiring a boat with a speedwheel and vintage engine that handles very well and is full of character, do consider "Willow". (I was tempted to make an offer for her! )