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Richard rebuilt our engine and I want to say that it is a fantastic job, we are very pleased!! Kevin

Hello everyone, we are new to this forum and are hoping that someone out there with knowledge of Lister engines will be able to assist us. We have a Twin cylinder air cooled diesel 17.5HP engine in our 50 foot narrowboat, which I am told it is an ST2? At one time, in the engine compartment it had some sort of canvas tube attached to a frame which linked the air intakes to the engine to assist in cooling it. This frame isn't there any more and so the engine runs hot all the time. We have taken to lifting the engine cover to allow more air in whilst we are travelling but this is far from ideal due to the smoke and noise from the engine. The engine runs ok but does tend to cut out at really unfortunate times, like as you enter locks etc. we are told this is because of her running hot? Anyone out there with a knowledge of this air cooling system that could point us in the direction of plans, photo's of someone who could help us make one? In addition, I'm told my prop isn't suitable and is a sea going prop with much smaller blades than a still water prop? Is there a prop that matches my engine? Someone mentioned a company called Crowthers, anyone know them and what they do? Thank you. Pete

I have a Lister Canalstar fitted, last time I did a reasonable trip was in August last year, when it preformed as expected. The cooling system is an odd one, with a water cooled engine, and a car radiator with an electric fan blowing air through it. It all seems to be intact, and the fan is making the right noises when it's working. I have run the engine from time to time on the moorings over the Winter without any problems, but not in gear. The boat was bought mainly to use as a houseboat, and time and weather have combined against me until now. I started it to go for a trip a couple of days ago, and there was a lot of vibration and it sounded as though it was labouring, the vibration has stopped as the weed growth cleared itself off the prop in the first half hour or so. The engine managed to boil the coolant during this period because the idiot steerer had forgotten to turn on the cooling fan. I stopped for an hour or so, then refilled the cooling system using a couple of litres of water, but noticed that while it now stayed at 70C on tickover, in or out of gear, as the engine revs rose, so did the temperature, until at 1100rpm, it stabilised at about 95C. The coolant level has stayed constant since then. The exhaust sounds to me as if the engine is labouring when it gets over 1000rpm on the dial, although I may be deceiving myself here. The question is what is the most likely cause of the overheating? From memories of a good cruise down to the moorings when I first bought the boat, the prop is unlikely to be the wrong size, and I don't want to start stripping too much down to work out what the problem is. Radiator core blocked? Water pump impeller partially failed? Fan not blowing hard enough? Thermostat partially blocked? Something else entirely? There is no visible smoke from the exhaust, and no 'orrible noises from the gearbox. I should have mentioned, the engine was fitted sometime after 2009, but may not be new.