Help please! Our engine bay is full of smoke and our engine has stalled.

[Tasemu]

Hello! Quite worried as our engine has just stopped running about 40 minutes after we started it to charge up the batteries. When i opened the cruiser stern to take a look, there was a LOT of smoke coming out of the engine bay. I'm going to let it all cool down before I do anything but i'm hoping I can get some advice on what might be going wrong here.

 

Thanks for any and all help, i really hope it will start again.

[mrsmelly]

Could be a mirriad of reasons??? without looking its hard to call. Is it a water cooled or air cooled engine would help re diagnosis?

[Tasemu]

BMC 1.8. Unsure about the cooling system sorry.

Could it have overheated because the oil ran out? Not sure if the oil has run out though, too hot to touch right now.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Tasemu

[Tony Brooks]

Its water cooled and If, big if, its in a narrowboat its probably tank cooled. As a guess based only on the info given I would suspect a loos of cooling water but why I have no idea. Could also be a broken alternator belt so the OP needs to take a look when it cools down. On no account put cold water into a hot engine. If you do there is little chance you wont be faced with a large bill but if you wait there is some chance the engine will be runable.

 

AS the location is given as Bristol it might use raw water as part of the cooling system and that raises a load more possibilities. Photo of ALL of the engine area please.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Tony Brooks

[mrsmelly]

Its water cooled then. Yes would overheat and seize if oil ran out . Could also have blown a water coolant pipe and overheated that way?????? Have a look when it cools a bit and report back. Have you a remote header tank???? Do you know where the oil dip stick is?

ONE IMPORTANT POINT!! DO NOT try to start it until you know what has happened!!!!!!!!

[Tasemu]

Right, still too hot to touch but I have found what looks like a skin tank, no pipes appear to be ruptured at first inspection, but will report back with more when cool. I see the oil dipstick and will take a level inspection shortly. Cheers, calmed down a bit now, just had a bit of a panic when i ran into the smoke cloud.

[system 4-50]

Was it smoke or was it steam?  what colour was it?

[Tasemu]

Just now, system 4-50 said:

Was it smoke or was it steam?  what colour was it?

Dark grey i thought

[Parahandy]

3 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

Dark grey i thought

Perhaps you want to get yourself a Book on simple mechanics because a little knowledge can save you a lot of money and hassle especially when it comes to the basics like oil and water .

Edited May 10, 2020 by Parahandy

[Tony Brooks]

If it has a run out of coolant the smoke was probably a mixture of steam, oil vapour, and smoke from burning pant so I am not sure how much the smoke colour helps at resent.

[Tasemu]

1 minute ago, Parahandy said:

Perhaps you want to get yourself a Book on simple mechanics because a little knowledge can save you a lot of money and hassle especially when it comes to the basics like oil and water .

You're right, up till now I thought i had been maintaining the engine fine, same as my last boat with no issue. guess i've missed something because this happened out of nowhere as far as I could tell at the time. ?

[Parahandy]

3 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

You're right, up till now I thought i had been maintaining the engine fine, same as my last boat with no issue. guess i've missed something because this happened out of nowhere as far as I could tell at the time. ?

Keen to hear what you find when the engine cools down , hopefully easily rectified with the minimum of expense

[Momac]

My first thought is the coolant is not being circulated correctly or not at all. Is the coolant pump belt driven and if so is the belt still in place?

 

 

[Ray T]

9 minutes ago, Parahandy said:

Perhaps you want to get yourself a Book on simple mechanics because a little knowledge can save you a lot of money and hassle especially when it comes to the basics like oil and water .

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marine-Diesel-Engines-Nigel-Calder/dp/0071475354/ref=pd_lpo_14_img_0/257-8568186-3121450?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0071475354&pd_rd_r=8746d8e1-c898-49da-8bf6-c53be8226e06&pd_rd_w=E6g5i&pd_rd_wg=hh3n8&pf_rd_p=7b8e3b03-1439-4489-abd4-4a138cf4eca6&pf_rd_r=NB90JEN9T722C03BGME6&psc=1&refRID=NB90JEN9T722C03BGME6

[Parahandy]

3 minutes ago, Ray T said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marine-Diesel-Engines-Nigel-Calder/dp/0071475354/ref=pd_lpo_14_img_0/257-8568186-3121450?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0071475354&pd_rd_r=8746d8e1-c898-49da-8bf6-c53be8226e06&pd_rd_w=E6g5i&pd_rd_wg=hh3n8&pf_rd_p=7b8e3b03-1439-4489-abd4-4a138cf4eca6&pf_rd_r=NB90JEN9T722C03BGME6&psc=1&refRID=NB90JEN9T722C03BGME6

A great Publication Ray , I lent my last copy and is the way of the cut it wasn't returned . £17 , well worth the money .

[Tasemu]

Alternator belt looks in-tact. smoke has cleared. Still a bit too hot to touch, but i'm going to check the coolant level in a minute after it cools a bit more. Should the coolant header tank on the engine have a decent amount of water in it? Say, half full?

[Parahandy]

Yes , more than half full , I suspect the engine has overheated and used its coolant . Whats that in the Bilge , oil ?  How long has that been there ?

[robtheplod]

What does it all smell of?  rubber/oil etc??

[Slim]

The coolant should be about 1 " below the neck but if it's been running hot you will have lost some coolant. I would be as concerned about the oil level. Also is there any evidence of coolant in the bilge under the engine?

[Tasemu]

1 minute ago, Parahandy said:

Yes , more than half full , I suspect the engine has overheated and used its coolant . Whats that in the Bilge , oil ?  How long has that been there ?

Bilge oil/water has been there for as long as I remember, i pump it out whenever I can but it slowly fills up again, specially when it rains. I've never been able to get it all out unfortunatly.

1 minute ago, robtheplod said:

What does it all smell of?  rubber/oil etc??

I feel like yeah, rubber/oil but not super intense. Only when it was smokey though.

[Graham Davis]

I wouldn't open/remove the water filler cap until the engine has completely cooled down, other wise you risk an eruption of scalding water. (even after a few hours)

[Tasemu]

2 minutes ago, Slim said:

The coolant should be about 1 " below the neck but if it's been running hot you will have lost some coolant. I would be as concerned about the oil level. Also is there any evidence of coolant in the bilge under the engine?

I've had a look at the dipstick, it appears to have oil on it, though there's no bloody markings on the dipstick so i can't know if its enough or not.

[Graham Davis]

2 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

Bilge oil/water has been there for as long as I remember, i pump it out whenever I can but it slowly fills up again, specially when it rains. I've never been able to get it all out unfortunatly.

I feel like yeah, rubber/oil but not super intense. Only when it was smokey though.

If that is oil continually filling it up then it sounds like you have a serious oil leak somewhere.

[Tasemu]

1 minute ago, Graham Davis said:

I wouldn't open/remove the water filler cap until the engine has completely cooled down, other wise you risk an eruption of scalding water. (even after a few hours)

I've give it another hour then, good point.

[Slim]

Before it cools down too much can you feel the skin tank both towards the top and towards the bottom (trying to discern if water was circulating)