Mark & Michelle Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Having bought our first boat 2 months ago and spending time with internal cabin work we moved it for loading purposes and then back to our mooring. A neighbour popped aboard and looked in the engine compartment and said he suspects we have a diesel leak as there was a strong smell of it. As we've not done any cruising as yet we are not certain of the levels of smell as to what is normal and what is a problem. Does anyone else's engine compartment smell of diesel after cruising or should I look more in depth at a potenetial problem. Also, a quarter of an inch of water under the stern gland, one again, is this an issue or does it need re packing in other boaters opinion? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John V Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) with the stern gland....do you grease it at the end of the day or at the start? (when cruising of course) Edited October 30, 2014 by John V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark & Michelle Posted October 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 with the stern gland....do you grease it at the end of the day or at the start? (when cruising of course) At the end, but in this case we moved it first thing this morning and had the engine running for no more than 15 mins. I had a check in the compartment and saw water for the first time. the nieghbour popped aboard, had a look and then said about the diesel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 It should not smell of diesel, you have a leak somewhere, get some kitchen roll, dry off any pipe union, around the filter(s) and everywhere else that could leak and then look again, any fresh diesel anywhere = leak. Stern gland, may need tightening a bit, possibly even a bit more packing, perhaps a couple of turns on the greaser, a few drips is not a problem, is it conventional stern gear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark & Michelle Posted October 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 It should not smell of diesel, you have a leak somewhere, get some kitchen roll, dry off any pipe union, around the filter(s) and everywhere else that could leak and then look again, any fresh diesel anywhere = leak. Stern gland, may need tightening a bit, possibly even a bit more packing, perhaps a couple of turns on the greaser, a few drips is not a problem, is it conventional stern gear? Thanks. will have a look. yes as far as I know it's a conventional set up. will give a couple of turns on the greaser. What grease do you recommend for re filling the tube? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Thanks. will have a look. yes as far as I know it's a conventional set up. will give a couple of turns on the greaser. What grease do you recommend for re filling the tube? Waterproof, but Morris on ebay seems as cheap as any Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileypete Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) Try cleaning all oil off then dusting with something like talcum, cornflour: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=talcum+for+diesel+leak cheers, Pete. ~smpt~ Edited October 30, 2014 by smileypete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter-Bullfinch Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Cheap Aldi and Lidl baby nappies are very good for mopping up any small amounts of water and diesel in the bilge. As winter progresses condensation on cold inner steelwork can be mopped up by these cheap nappies too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHS Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 I used Morrisons own cheap nappies. If you buy the biggest size, they will each hold about 1 pint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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