Does anyone know a good Diesel Mechanic in Connecticut?

[Marianaipf]

We’re looking for recommendations for a diesel mechanic in the New york/Connecticut area for our 1984 universal westerbeke M18 engine.


During the sea trial for the purchase of our sailboat the engine lost power to the ignition and would not restart.

The previous owner is paying for this repair but the yard can only fix this issue next month so we are trying to find someone with better availability.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

where is your boat in CT? If near Bridgeport you should call The Boat Shop at Captains Cove Marina. Brad is a good mechanic and a straight shooter to deal with.

 

[Marianaipf]

where is your boat in CT? If near Bridgeport you should call The Boat Shop at Captains Cove Marina. Brad is a good mechanic and a straight shooter to deal with.

Hi Larry, its in Rowayton, so actually not far from there thank you for the advice

 

[PaulK]

Second for Brad at Captain's Cove. Nice guy, besides knowing engines.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

lost power to the ignition and would not restart.

Just re-read this. Do you mean the starter lost power? There is no ignition on a diesel. If the starter, I'd check for a faulty ground connection, or tripped fuse/breaker. Or maybe a faulty start switch (not making contact due to corrosion). This might be very simple if it's just a matter of cleaning contacts.

 

[Marianaipf]

Just re-read this. Do you mean the starter lost power? There is no ignition on a diesel. If the starter, I'd check for a faulty ground connection, or tripped fuse/breaker. Or maybe a faulty start switch (not making contact due to corrosion). This might be very simple if it's just a matter of cleaning contacts.

It seems like power was lost to the whole panel, possibly the common ground for panel wore through or was corroded. Starter is fine but panel wont let you communicate with the starter.

My husband also doesn’t think the problem is serious and is confident he can solve it. Unfortunately the current owner isn’t comfortable with the idea of trying to solve this ourselves and wants to bring in a diesel mechanic.

Other issue is that this is an Universal M18 with original alternator mount. A lot of vibration is coming from the alternator and these mounts are known to be poorly made and a serious failure point. Want to resolve that issue at the same time as the wiring failure.

Seems like the new alternator and new wiring harness was just a sloppy job when put in last year.

 

[PaulK]

It seems like power was lost to the whole panel, possibly the common ground for panel wore through or was corroded. Starter is fine but panel wont let you communicate with the starter.

My husband also doesn’t think the problem is serious and is confident he can solve it. Unfortunately the current owner isn’t comfortable with the idea of trying to solve this ourselves and wants to bring in a diesel mechanic.

Other issue is that this is an Universal M18 with original alternator mount. A lot of vibration is coming from the alternator and these mounts are known to be poorly made and a serious failure point. Want to resolve that issue at the same time as the wiring failure.

Seems like the new alternator and new wiring harness was just a sloppy job when put in last year.

Doesn't sound like you should really want the owner to have these problems fixed if his yard is the one responsible for them. Maybe set up an escrow amount ("not to exceed...")that you can use to get them fixed by someone you can trust to do a good job.