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I recently acquired a fantastic boat. Sadly she has been un-attended for the past 3-4 years, as such hasn't been ran or maintained.
The hull was build in 1998 and the boat was registered in 05 so presumably its somewhere from a 1998-2005. It is a yanmar, and it has less than 20hrs on the clock.
What should be done service wise before attempting to fire her up aside from the obvious, drain and flush oil, coolant etc. replace with new.
Should injectors be pulled, maybe some sort of lubrication in the cylinders to prevent any damage on the first crank over?
Presumably a good idea to check / change raw water impeller to see if its brittle and no good.
I will post the exact model of the engine tomorrow after I get down to the boat.
"Any" internal combustion engine that has 'sat' for several years and that wasnt 'prepared' for long term storage, should be verified that the piston rings have not become frozen / stuck / rusted BEFORE attempting to start such an engine.
Simple procedure: remove injectors / spark plugs (or open the compression release on a diesel if it has one) and attempt to HAND TURN the engine ..... with large 'breaker bar' and socket attached to the crankshaft nose bolt. Gently, attempt to rotate the crankshaft; if it turns 'easily' then good, start the engine. If there is a lot of resistance to hand turning, then spritz in penetrating oil into the combustion chamber to free-up the piston rings in their grooves, let soak; then try to wiggle (do not use force) the rings loose. Keep soaking, etc. until you can 'wiggle' the rings free and ultimately be able to easily hand turn the engine over. For severely rusted/frozen piston rings, sometimes it can take a week or more of 'soaking', rocking/wiggling to free up frozen/rusted piston rings.
If you dont do this check, etc. or FORCE the engine to turn over with the starter, etc. you are at risk for breaking the piston rings.
I would be more concerned about condensation that has formed in the engine as there may be a rust spec on the fuel injection pump rack. I suggest that after you have replaced the impeller and fluids, that you crank the engine over with the stop control activated to get the oil around the engine for about 10 or 15 seconds. Then start the engine with the air filter off the engine. Make sure that you have a piece of plywood that you can hold over the intake in case the rack is stuck. This will be the only way to stop the engine in a run away situation. If you are lucky, the engine will be just fine and you can control the RPM with the throttle lever (governor control) and all will be right with the world.
However, if the rack does stick and the engine wants to overrev, block the intake with the plywood, NOT you hand as you hand can get sucked in. After the engine has stopped, remove the injection pump and have it serviced at a fuel injection shop.
3-4 years? dont worry about it.
Fire it up. If the starter does not turn it, then you have an issue.
No damage can result from trying, and what can happen (valves sticking) would already have happened.
As I have been rebuilding mine the past year I have not started it.
Thanks, thats exactly what I did, changed the oil, rolled it over by hand while decompressed.. no bad noises etc, had someone on standby in case she ran away, and then fired her up.. couple min of rough idle and she smoothed right out.. going to have a mech go over it with me so that I know what to check and maintain regularly.
Which engine is it? You can go on youtube and find audio of any of them.
My 1 cylinder 1GM10 makes a hell of a sound. I wasn't 100% sure it was normal until I heard another one from across the dock once. I knew instantly they had the same engine.
When our 2gm20 fires up it runs for about 30 seconds (haven't put a stop watch on it) then sounds like it loads down. Turns out that is exactly what happens, the alternator starts putting out current around 30 seconds after startup. Ours also has clatter sounds.
If you haven't thought of it, if your engine has zincs, they should be changed too. While doing that, you can see if the cooling passages are clear. I'm working on my engine and when I took the zinc cover off the back of the head, I had difficulty and found out it was blocked.
This attached picture can give you an idea... but my engine is much older, but not taken care of well in the past so I get to fix some things.
Despite the fact that it sat idle, I would replace all wear items and do all routine maintenance, just so that I knew when these were done last on any used motor. Presumably, with 20 hours on a 10+ year old motor, nothing has ever been done. Motors don't like to sit, things rot/rust.
Oil and filter (I might do this again after a few hours of running, you might knock some rust off and the motor is barely broken in)
Air filter
Impeller (for certain)
Fuel filters (definitely fresh fuel in the tank)
Valve clearances
Flush coolant
Descale the raw water circuit
Zincs
Belts
Transmission fluid
Hoses, if they look at all brittle (after 10 years, I would consider changing them anyway)
If all is running well, I would just get back on a regular routine. If smoking or running rough or she's difficult to start, then I would check compression and look into the fuel system (cleaning injectors, pump pressure, etc)
Keep a close eye on her for the first season. Enjoy!
Did you say "modern" Yanmar? 3GM30F is not really modern - which may be a bliss for you!
It is reliable, simple, noisy and shaky. Last forever. Doesn't need much maintenance.
Air filter ... clean it, if there still is anyone. Otherwise it can be replaced with about any foam ....
The obvious ones:
impeller -yes, change.
Oil filter - change
fuel filter - check / clean / change
fuel tank - look inside (this could be very important, you do report on some leakage / water. In fuel it can result in some nasty things growing). Check carefully, maybe empty tank, do some cleaning.
replace coolant.
check electrics - probably no real problem.
Did you say "modern" Yanmar? 3GM30F is not really modern - which may be a bliss for you!
It is reliable, simple, noisy and shaky. Last forever. Doesn't need much maintenance.
Air filter ... clean it, if there still is anyone. Otherwise it can be replaced with about any foam ....
The obvious ones:
impeller -yes, change.
Oil filter - change
fuel filter - check / clean / change
fuel tank - look inside (this could be very important, you do report on some leakage / water. In fuel it can result in some nasty things growing). Check carefully, maybe empty tank, do some cleaning.
replace coolant.
check electrics - probably no real problem.
I work in the fuel industry, as such am well aware of the nasty stuff that can happen in fuel tanks, fortunately all of the tanks are stainless as is all plumbing from it, as far as the fuel line anywhere so a simple drain and flush will probably do.
I was digging through some of the bits that came with the boat today and was happy to come across a couple spare impellers belts etc, going to note the p/n's and go ahead and give the engine a once over and change out all of the regular maintenance parts.
Is there anything that should be checked as far as the seawater side of things goes?
Presumably if Im getting water out of the exhaust its working fine?
Getting water out the exhaust is good when the engine is running. The problem can be filling the hose and then the engine when you shut down. That's why a functioning anti syphon or pee'ing out vent is necessary .Becoming familiar with or upgrading systems is usually a good thing.Congrats on your new vessel. I'll look you up when I get back from Thai in the spring.
That clatter is the injectors firing and its a good sound to hear because it will warn you when something goes awry. As long as it's regular and about the same for each cylinder, chances are all is well. In fact you get so used to the clatter that even the slightest change becomes easily noticeable.
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