Fuel Injector Pump leaking

[Axle2121]

I've got a leak in the fuel system on my Pearson 39. The engine is a Westerbeke 4-107. After taking off and replacing the copper washers on the injector line I thought was leaking, it appears that the injector pump itself is leaking. It's a 1974 engine and the pump looks to be original. The prices for a new pump are pretty high, so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with repairing a fuel pump or having it rebuilt.

Thanks,
Alex

[Axle2121]

One more thing I forgot to ask. Since the leak is just seeping out of somewhere and then dripping from the lowest point on the pump, I'm not 100% sure where the leak is originating. Are there any tricks for pinpointing the location of the leak?

[Idiens]

Clean it and puff talcum powder on it, then run it, this might show a trace of where the oil originates.

You need to talk to a diesel engineer - in the US it may be too expensive to refurbish, and it's about the most expensive part on a diesel, in India it might not be.

[gc1111]

From bitter experience. Fuel leaks can be as hard to track down as cabin top drips. Don't rule ANYTHING out. Loosen and retighten all connections.Then go back and do it again.

[PorFin]

Axle,

I had to have the I-P on my Perkins 4-108 rebuilt. I finally traced the leak back to the throttle shaft, but that entailed a fairly long stretch with a drop light in one hand, a rag in the other, and my head next to the idling engine (hint -- think abour EAR PLUGS before you get all contorted into position so you can eyeball the pump.)

I found that rebuild kits are fairly inexpensive, but elected to let the pros do the work. It wasn't cheap, but it was still a lot cheaper than a rebuilt pump. I lucked out in that there was a good shop not too far away that did the work.

Something else to think about as long as the beast will be out of commission -- injectors. If they've been in there a while, you may as well throw a little love their way as well. Relatively cheap and easy to have them cleaned and put back into A-1 condition before you try out that new pump.

Best of luck,
PF

[Axle2121]

PorFin: I spent the weekend all contorted trying to track down the leak. They certainly like to put things in places that seem pretty impossible to get a wrench on them. I'll need to train my 8yr old to work on the engine. He'd probably fit better I think the Perkins 4-108 is similar to the Westerbeke 4-107. Any tips on how to get the injector pump out if I need to? It looks like it's on with three bolts. I can reach two of them, but the third looks like it's buried against the engine.

Before I do that I'll try some of the other suggestions about talcum powder and tightning EVERYTHING. There's one injector line on the far side that I couldn't get too, so that's probably the one that's leaking LOL. How likely is it that the pump itself is leaking, not one of the connections? The engine runs fine as is, but fuel is dripping at a rate of about 1 drop every 3 seconds.

[camaraderie]

Here's the entire service manual for your engine. You should be able to figure it out from this!
http://www.endeavourowners.com/dscsn...p%20Manual.pdf

The same underlying site also has parts lists etc. you can navigate to.
Try TAD for perkins engines, perkins diesel, perkins marine, perkins parts, perkins generators, perkins service (ask for Sherry) for anything you need...good folks.

[Axle2121]

Thanks everyone for the help. I ended up getting the injector pump out and shipped off to TAD. They were very helpful and got the pump back quickly. Got it re-installed and the engine running without leaks right before leaving on a week long cruise over Christmas.

[camaraderie]

Thanks for the report Axle...glad TAD worked out well for you.