Diesel engine/Electric maintenance

[robtheplod]

Hi All

 

Just had an email telling me 'they're back', so assume these have not been available, but just in case anyone is interested!  out of interested anyone done these?

 

Courses - RCR

[Tonka]

Did a course run by @Tony Brooks quite a while ago at Calcutt Boats.

Yes it was good and learnt good things.

[LadyG]

31 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Did a course run by @Tony Brooks quite a while ago at Calcutt Boats.

Yes it was good and learnt good things.

Learning from the master, lol

[Tony Brooks]

1 hour ago, Tonka said:

Did a course run by @Tony Brooks quite a while ago at Calcutt Boats.

Yes it was good and learnt good things.

 

For clarity - not run by me, so I have no idea about delivery and content. I can't recommend them or otherwise. It all depends upon the knowledge and delivery skills of the tutor.

 

45 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Learning from the master, lol

 

There are lots of better and skilled mechanics than me, but I suspect my skills are in explaining and wide basic knowledge and experience, so LOL is about right.

[Tonka]

1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

For clarity - not run by me, so I have no idea about delivery and content. I can't recommend them or otherwise. It all depends upon the knowledge and delivery skills of the tutor.

 

For clarity it was run by you

[Tony Brooks]

2 hours ago, Tonka said:

For clarity it was run by you

 

 

Sorry, not replying to you. If you did it at Calcutt it was almost certainly run by me, but I misquoted. I was trying to reply to this post

 

5 hours ago, robtheplod said:

Hi All

 

Just had an email telling me 'they're back', so assume these have not been available, but just in case anyone is interested!  out of interested anyone done these?

 

Courses - RCR

 

Those are the ones I can't vouch for.

[cuthound]

8 hours ago, robtheplod said:

Hi All

 

Just had an email telling me 'they're back', so assume these have not been available, but just in case anyone is interested!  out of interested anyone done these?

 

Courses - RCR

 

When I first got my boat back in 2014, RCR would do the course on your own boat for a small additional charge, so I took that option as I hadn't done any DIY servicing for over 30 years, due to having company cars.

 

The instructor/mechanic was very good, and led me through servicing my own boat's systems. It was well worth the money, I learnt a lot and have more than recouped the cost by doing my own servicing since.

[ditchcrawler]

Of course Tony's very useful notes are still there to read

[LadyG]

Im thinking about changing the oil, but keep recalling the image of 5l of Duckhams on the driveway the last time I tried, times were hard!

Ive checked out youtube but they are just complete incompetents with regard to oil changing! 

l'llread the notes.

 

 

 

Edited March 29 by LadyG

[Tony Brooks]

4 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Im thinking about changing the oil, but keep recalling the image of 5l of Duckhams on the driveway the last time I tried, times were hard!

Ive checked out youtube but they are just complete incompetents with regard to oil changing! 

l'llread the notes.

 

 

 

 

If you are talking about my notes, then they won't help you, because they are course notes. The practical oil changing was done on the course, with perhaps three students per engine actually doing it.

 

To give specific instructions, we need to know if you have an oil change pump on the engine, some form of vacuum extractor, or if you need to take the sump plug out. On some old engines, you have to take a side cover off to clean out the bottom of the engine.

 

Changing the oil so not normally the difficult bit, it is changing the oil filter on some designs that gets interesting, but far easier now we have spin on filters.

 

 

[Tonka]

53 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Im thinking about changing the oil, but keep recalling the image of 5l of Duckhams on the driveway the last time I tried, times were hard!

Ive checked out youtube but they are just complete incompetents with regard to oil changing! 

l'llread the notes.

 

 

 

Was the boat on a trailer at the time ?

[LadyG]

11 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

If you are talking about my notes, then they won't help you, because they are course notes. The practical oil changing was done on the course, with perhaps three students per engine actually doing it.

 

To give specific instructions, we need to know if you have an oil change pump on the engine, some form of vacuum extractor, or if you need to take the sump plug out. On some old engines, you have to take a side cover off to clean out the bottom of the engine.

 

Changing the oil so not normally the difficult bit, it is changing the oil filter on some designs that gets interesting, but far easier now we have spin on filters.

 

 

Warm up for 5 mins.

Pump is a brass fitment.

Spin off with a patent tool, in to a poly bag.

.......... smear oil round the rim, screw on, turn 3/4 , using hand strength.

I had some idea that one needed to remove the old O ring, but I dont think it is relevant with the spin on Isuzu oil filter.

 

[Tony Brooks]

3 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I had some idea that one needed to remove the old O ring, but I dont think it is relevant with the spin on Isuzu oil filter.

 

 

No, it is not, but it is best to check the O ring is fully in place. They are often only held in place by the little upstands on the filter body, so can, and do, fall off in transit.

 

I know what you mean by the rim, but the important ting is to lubricate the O ring, so it slides on the engine block, rather than stretching. If you do not, the stretched seal can reassert itself and unscrew the filter.

 

On filters with a separate canister, like unmodified BMCs, you are supposed to change the seal, but if you have never done it before I think it is advisable to leave it for the next oil change and concentrate on getting the canister properly fitted back onto the old seal.

[LadyG]

OK, so got the oil changed, two problems.

1) nearly six litres out, when I only supplied 5l  last time. I ve now added 5litres Morris , I think its showing full. But I've not run the engine......

2) unable to remove the filter with the crab type  patent device. I intend to ask neighbours for a grab belt  thing, unwilling to screwdriver it off.

The guy who quoted £50 has not been in touch.......

Edited March 30 by LadyG

[Crewcut]

3 hours ago, LadyG said:

OK, so got the oil changed, two problems.

1) nearly six litres out, when I only supplied 5l  last time. I ve now added 5litres Morris , I think its showing full. But I've not run the engine......

2) unable to remove the filter with the crab type  patent device. I intend to ask neighbours for a grab belt  thing, unwilling to screwdriver it off.

The guy who quoted £50 has not been in touch.......

 

Forgive me but just to check because on my Isuzu the oil filter is upside down, you are undoing it the right way? When the filter has been replaced run the engine & recheck, you'll find the level has gone down some. And when it's all finished you can treat yourself with the £50 you saved...

[jonathanA]

Just buy one of these 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235782566930?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=40-spqRVRwi&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=7VsQHjvdQA-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

And trouser the 45 quid saved... 

[PeterF]

I have one of these, works well

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176545520879

[LadyG]

56 minutes ago, Crewcut said:

 

Forgive me but just to check because on my Isuzu the oil filter is upside down, you are undoing it the right way? When the filter has been replaced run the engine & recheck, you'll find the level has gone down some. And when it's all finished you can treat yourself with the £50 you saved...

Ty,

Some oil will still be in the existing filter, its pretty small, and its mounted quite high, but the problem is not that I am turning it the wrong way, it's that I can't get a good grip on it due to access, that's why I bought the gadget.

Its not upside down (open top is up), I,m trying to turn anticlockwise, with respect to the engine, which seems to be the only way the crab like gadget would work. Is this correct? [Righty tighty lefty loosey]

At the moment I think the dipstick level is 2/3. It previously was full, before i emptied it. I can only imagine the previous fitter who claimed to be marine qualified etc etc did not empty the oil properly, so there was a litre of old left in, its a very slow process pumping it out and the oil should be warm.

I'm might have to send for a clamp as illustrated, I can send it back via Amazon.

I dont think its the end of the world if I have to run the fresh oil thru the old filter, not ideal of course.

The oil only comes in 5l containers and ive always managed in the past with one container full. But for various reasons I've not changed the oil and filter myself for several years. 

Edited March 30 by LadyG

[David Mack]

31 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Its not upside down (open top is up), I,m trying to turn anticlockwise, with respect to the engine, which seems to be the only way the crab like gadget would work. Is this correct? [Righty tighty lefty loosey]

To unscrew the filter you would turn it lefty loose if you were lying in the bilges beneath it, looking up. But if you are doing the job from above, looking down, you need to turn the filter clockwise to unscrew it.

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, LadyG said:

OK, so got the oil changed, two problems.

1) nearly six litres out, when I only supplied 5l  last time. I ve now added 5litres Morris , I think its showing full. But I've not run the engine......

2) unable to remove the filter with the crab type  patent device. I intend to ask neighbours for a grab belt  thing, unwilling to screwdriver it off.

The guy who quoted £50 has not been in touch.......

Something like this? 

[LadyG]

37 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Something like this? 

Thats the thing, needs two hands to hold it in place plus a spanner arm.

[bizzard]

If the filter is very close to the engine block like on some cars the clamps on Ditchcrawlers post might not clear the block in which case the fabric belt type is needed.

[LadyG]

Aha, just discovered the oil filter is mounted out of sight, so it's too late to change it, what worries me is that I'm not sure the last guy changed it, because there should never have been  6l of oil in the engine if he'd removed the filter.

Next time I pay someone to change the oil, I'll be wanting to see the old oil and the old filter. It's like going back to the 1970's when finding a little garage to reliably service your secondhand. car was difficult enough. How can they build a business when they just take the money and run. 

 

Edited March 31 by LadyG

[ditchcrawler]

32 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Aha, just discovered the oil filter is mounted out of sight, so it's too late to change it, what worries me is that I'm not sure the last guy changed it, because there should never have been  6l of oil in the engine if he'd removed the filter.

Next time I pay someone to change the oil, I'll be wanting to see the old oil and the old filter. It's like going back to the 1970's when finding a little garage to reliably service your secondhand. car was difficult enough. How can they build a business when they just take the money and run. 

 

So what have you been trying to change with the claw wrench 

[Alan de Enfield]

13 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

So what have you been trying to change with the claw wrench 

 

Distributor ?