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Overheating and other problems

floating bee

By floating bee
in Boat Building & Maintenance

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floating bee Contributor

floating bee

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi everyone

Having a few problems-I am not that knowledgeable with boat engines so please bare with me. I have tried to look up information about my BMC 2.2 but cant find anything. The problems: steam started coming out of the Header tank cap(I think thats what it is called)Then I noticed the temperature gauge go from 40 to 95-It was obviously hot and then the engine cut out-I pulled over and cooled down and added water which was a bit low-I have never had a overheating problems before (it did this 2-3 weeks before so not a one off and the tank/radiator very empty), so I dont know really what it could be.I am stuck outside a marina at Yardley Gobion. The other problem is starting-I have been told I have a flat starter battery and I haven't cruised long enough to charge-I have brought the starter home to fully charge it-hopefully it will start.

Also the oil light just came on and then went off and on again-Any ideas? I have read up a bit but I am concerned about the overheating problem especially. Thanks for any advice.

FB

Edited by floating bee
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Rebotco Rising Star

Rebotco

Posted
Posted

Hi everyone

Having a few problems-I am not that knowledgeable with boat engines so please bare with me. I have tried to look up information about my BMC 2.2 but cant find anything. The problems: steam started coming out of the Header tank cap(I think thats what it is called)Then I noticed the temperature gauge go from 40 to 95-It was obviously hot and then the engine cut out-I pulled over and cooled down and added water which was a bit low-I have never had a overheating problems before (it did this 2-3 weeks before so not a one off and the tank/radiator very empty)but the engine has been recently rebuilt, so I dont know really what it could be.I am stuck outside a marina at Yardley Gobion. The other problem is starting-I have been told I have a flat starter battery and I haven't cruised long enough to charge-I have brought the starter home to fully charge it-hopefully it will start.

Also the oil light just came on and then went off and on again-Any ideas? I have read up a bit but I am concerned about the overheating problem especially. Thanks for any advice.

FB

 

Possibly the thermostat is stuck closed - if you're lucky! Relatively cheap and easy to replace. Other causes may not be.

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Speedwell Community Regular

Speedwell

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If I were you I would not do anything too it and would get the people who have just worked on it to come and have a look.

Fully agree with that. Problem could be anything in the cooling system or the cylinder head. You could easily invalidate any warranty you may have from the rebuilders if you try anything yourself.

Arthur

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Naughty Cal Veteran II

Naughty Cal

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Its been a while and I am now too far away-I just wish I could find information on the specs for a BMC 2.2-

 

What do you call a while?

 

You are never too far away. A warranty is a warranty regardless of where you are now. They will be able to travel to find out what the problem is.

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Tony Brooks Veteran II

Tony BrooksDonate to Canal World

Posted
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Its been a while and I am now too far away-I just wish I could find information on the specs for a BMC 2.2-

 

 

First of all I do not like the sound of the oil light coming on plus the engine just stopping with overheating so I agree that you need to get whoever did the work back. It could just be a loose connection (probably on the switch) but might indicate something worse.

 

If you look at the belt end of the rocker cover toy will see a housing bolted to the top of the cylinder head by I think 3 bolts or nuts. It should have a length of larger hose on it that runs to the header tank/exhaust manifold. The thermostat is under that but I doubt its the problem.

 

If you have been only doing short runs and then did a longer one it could be the system was never properly bled of air.

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bizzard Veteran II

bizzard

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You can do a rough thermostat and head gasket check without tampering with anything.

To check thermostat is opening start up your engine and keep feeling the rubber outlet hose which is normally attached to the thermostat housing ''A bit bolted down with 3 nuts on the top front of the cylinder head''. The hose should remain cool until the normal engine running temperature is reached and should then suddenly heat up as the thermostat opens if the thermostat is ok. If the hose remains cool and the engine gets hotter and hotter and overheats the thermostats failed closed.

Try that first.

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floating bee Contributor

floating bee

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You can do a rough thermostat and head gasket check without tampering with anything.

To check thermostat is opening start up your engine and keep feeling the rubber outlet hose which is normally attached to the thermostat housing ''A bit bolted down with 3 nuts on the top front of the cylinder head''. The hose should remain cool until the normal engine running temperature is reached and should then suddenly heat up as the thermostat opens if the thermostat is ok. If the hose remains cool and the engine gets hotter and hotter and overheats the thermostats failed closed.

Try that first.

OK- I wish I had a diagram where everything is on the engine! Does anyone have this engine? I am not on board so cant photo-If it is the thermostat and closed I presume would need a new one.I have to get the engine started by recharging starter-good advice, thank you

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bizzard Veteran II

bizzard

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Posted (edited)

OK- I wish I had a diagram where everything is on the engine! Does anyone have this engine? I am not on board so cant photo-If it is the thermostat and closed I presume would need a new one.I have to get the engine started by recharging starter-good advice, thank you

The thermostat housing with 3 nuts holding it down on top of the engine will be quite obvious when you look.

It goes without saying to check and top up water and oil before carrying out the check.

 

And keep your eye on that oil pressure warning light.

Edited by bizzard
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floating bee Contributor

floating bee

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Just as an aside why did your starter battery go flat?

 

If it isn't holding charge you will need a new one. A starter battery not powering anything should not go flat of its own accord, do you have something wired up to it?

I had someone look at yesterday and everything is charging but I left the boat for 3 weeks and said it can discharge in this weather-I haven't had the engine on enough as I dont live on it anymore-I have doing 4 hour trips but the guy said it needs 6-8 hours if flat so I can recharge at home-the starter is new and the guy said it was Ok-just not enough in it-I do have a float bilge pump which could drain it a bit-

 

The thermostat housing with 3 nuts holding it down on top of the engine will be quite obvious when you look.

It goes without saying to check and top up water and oil before carrying out the check.

 

And keep your eye on that oil pressure warning light.

I will do all checks-oil could be a bit low.

Edited by floating bee
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Naughty Cal Veteran II

Naughty Cal

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A new starter battery should not go flat left alone in three weeks.

 

How did the chap know it was fine if it was flat?

 

If you are lucky it will recharge and be fine but you need to find out why it went flat or that is your next problem.

 

As for your engine, there is no harm in trying what bizzard suggests. Check your oil and water levels before starting the engine though. If this test proves inconclusive then your next move really should be contacting who ever did the rebuild.

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Iain_S Influencer

Iain_S

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(snip of good stuff)

If you have been only doing short runs and then did a longer one it could be the system was never properly bled of air.

 

When topping up the water, was the skin tank bled? (Assuming this is not raw water cooled engine)

 

Iain

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system 4-50 Veteran II

system 4-50Donate to Canal World

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Nobody has said anything about fan belts. Have I missed something posted that makes it not a suspect or is it not relevant for this type of engine? Tony B is the guru so it can't be an issue but I am curious as to why not. (My engine skills are not great.)

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floating bee Contributor

floating bee

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Nobody has said anything about fan belts. Have I missed something posted that makes it not a suspect or is it not relevant for this type of engine? Tony B is the guru so it can't be an issue but I am curious as to why not. (My engine skills are not great.)

Yes-very relevant! I have been informed that the alternator belt or fan belt could be the problem-

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Tony Brooks Veteran II

Tony BrooksDonate to Canal World

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Nobody has said anything about fan belts. Have I missed something posted that makes it not a suspect or is it not relevant for this type of engine? Tony B is the guru so it can't be an issue but I am curious as to why not. (My engine skills are not great.)

 

Could well be but as it was recently rebuilt which should have included a new belt I set that one as less likley, even if had slackened a bit since fitting. That comment about the oil light made me promote other possibilities because , again during a rebuild/reinstalling the engine loose terminals should have been fixed.

 

I am also a little concerned that the OP seems not to be very knowledgeable and would rather he got expert advice rather than bankside "help". A decent engineer - be them professional or armature - would rule all such things out in seconds rather than all of us trying to guess.

 

The 2.2 is more or less like a big 1.8 but with a different injector pump and I think the 2.5 is the same.

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