1977 Pearson 39 with white smoke

[jammin81]

I sailed my 39 Yawl down to the Bahamas over the past several years. I recently noticed white smoke on my way from Nassau to Great Exuma.

I also noticed a slight loss in power. My cooling system is functioning perfectly and was recently overhauled. I am thinking then it must be a fuel injector.

Has anyone had to replace or repair a fuel injector? Are the parts available for a Westerbeke 40 to rebuild injector?

Thanks!

 

[ed stack]

Not being a diesel wunderkind, mind you, I suspect you could certainly get Westerbeke parts from any good diesel repair shop stateside. I know my local Westerbeke/Universal dealer has never had any issue ordering parts for my ~30 year old 5411.

But I have to ask, does more exhaust smoke suggest a mixing elbow or sea-water intake constriction? Not that that's the only issue, but I was thinking that the muffler should mix sea water and exhaust so that you don't have smoke. Any increase in exhaust gases should dissolve. Though I suppose If the diffusion gradients are swamped...

Hope you can get to the source soon.

 

[RECESS]

With white smoke and a loss of power it is often a sign your engine is working harder than before. My Volvo MD11C did this until I scraped the shaft and prop. I had much more power after cleaning them.

 

[rlucasvideo]

If I'm honest, this sounds like a head gasket failure. Check the crankcase oil. If it loss like milk chocolate and the engine has been running a but warmer than normal, that's the likeliest suspect. Not imminently catastrophic but it typically will get worse.

 

[HillbillyWanderer]

Sounds like could be head gasket or worse cracked heads. The oil will be the tell tell sign.

 

[SEMIJim]

Hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, and I'm not a diesel guy, so I could well be wrong, but white smoke in a gasoline engine is generally a sign of a head gasket failure or a cracked head. As HillbillyWanderer noted: A check of the oil will tell you if this is the case.

Jim