Cop Out

[HIT N RUN]

Iv'e been away from this board for a long while & the spring fishing has hit before we are ready. With work & the no-stop wench fest to get us up & running, I've missed a bunch of great spring reports. Anyways, it sounds like alot of people have been out killing them so rather than going back 10 pages to say congrats to all the lucky ones that have been out. This is my big congrats to all that I missed. Thanks for taking the time to give the reports. They make a huge difference.

I hope to be back fishing soon.

[Fishboy OV8]

ShooooWeeee, I got a sneaky suspicion that when you get Fancy back home, that an overnighter might be in the works.

We've got a lot of killin' to catch up on and them fish might as well just give up

[Tom Kidwell]

Bill:

It just don't "feel right" to be out there Whacking & Stacking 'em knowing you're stuck down in the engine room, covered in grease!

Get it done MAN! And get back out here!

[TerpHeels]

Jack, Billy and I will gladly consume the 1st tasty morsels off the new barby...let's go!

[Shady Grady]

Good To see you this weekend Bill
The Back yard looks fantabulous but I did manage to pick up a Spur
Hope the engine issue gets quickly resolved

Jack

[surfperch1]

Good to here you are almost back in the water and fishing.

[hd232]

Bill, I sure the tuna population while decline fast when you make it out there. I think Brian has a great idea

[Catch22]

I thought you were throwing in the towel and calling in a diesel mechanic by the title.....Did you figure out those engine woes? I know I would have to call in a grill technician just to get that thing up and runnin if it makes you fell any better....That grill was sweet!
I sure hope that by the time you see these replies you figured out that engine...i could tell it was eatin you up!
Good Luck!

Billy

[Baitcatcher]

Hope you get back on them soon Bill,
It stinks when the mechanical things keep you from pursuing your passion.

Good Luck,
Doug

[HIT N RUN]

Billy, It's been tough since everything is new & all put together right. What happens when your searching for a problem is, you have to go back tru & snd guess the work looking for anything you or the machinest/fuel shops might of missed. It is very frustrating since each time you try a new plan the outcome remains the same & I for one hate wasted motion. Thing is , it's a whole different ball game yanking back off parts in the tight quarters of the boat. Anyways, I have good & bad news.

Good news is, it turns out to be the injector pump . They can not be bench tested locally, in fact I'm told it's standard pratice to carry them in for inspection/rebuild which many times are done unnessarly. All the wrenching & snd guessing in the world won't fix a bad pump. The pump shop says most likely the old pump can't keep up with the new injectors so thats why it runs but not strong. I had been told 2 years ago when I was searching for power on my starboard engine that these pumps are bulletproof & that they will usually last tru mutipull rebuilds & since it ran prior to rebuild, I figured it was good.

The bad news is it requires one of the most extensive rebuilds possible $$$$ . He said it is flat out trashed. Once again, proof of what happens to a diesel when let sit. He said this was from the boat sitting for extremly long periods between starts & that even though the previous owner had repowered, the new engines weren't run enough to keep the pump protected from corrosion.

It seems this same corrosion problem has got me every step of the way tru my 3 year journy to get an older used boat back in tip top condition. At this point this will finally be the last mechanical thing left to to replace.

Cost to have the starboard injector pump rebuilt in 2005 $1,350 (Not as many parts required)

The current cost for this pump $2,400.

Note to all: I have been turning wrenches all my life. I am fortunate to be able to do all this work myself. I could not even begin to imagine what it would cost to pay others to restore an older vessel. The killer on boats is letting them sit. I run my boat atleast 2 times per month year around except when on blocks. When considering a used boat, keep in mind that hr's are not nearly as important as regular maintenance & use. Keep in mind that the guy who sold this boat to me (truly believed) that all was well with these 97, new warantee replacements from Cummins. In his mind, & mine @ the time, 860hrs seemed like they were barley broken in. If a guy buys a brand new boat, the same thing can happen. He uses it often for the first year or so but then he starts to slack & the boat winds up sitting.

People, RUN YOUR BOATS. And remember, starting them every couple weeks doesn't cut it. A motor must reach full operating temp under load for aprox 20 min to evaporate any moisture which is present in the steel of the engine parts. This is a fact. The reason U hear of boats with tons & tons of hrs is cause the are used commercially every day or so. All these boats for sale that mention repower @ fairly low hrs are a direct result from the above corrosion problems from lack of regular use.

OH 1 last thing to add to anyone who made it this far, Keep in mind that the recomended sevice manuals supplied with these older engines haven't accounted for these new fuels. Even off rd diesel has has very little sulfur content anymore so most of the lubracation qualitys have been removed.
It's now more important than ever to keep on the filters & get the engines up to temp as often as poss.

If the pump is ready by fri, I hope to be out of Wanchese by sun.

Let the fishing begin!!!