Gary showed up at 9:00 and we headed off into the fog. I ran up and down the river at WOT and cruise speed while he crawled around the engine compartment. You’ve got to admire someone, especially as tall as he is, who will go down headfirst next to that spinning shaft with the set screws sticking out. I sure wouldn’t do it.
He came up a while later and said that he could see absolutely no sign of oil coming out of the bell housing or anywhere else. The engine was hot and we had run long enough that we should have started to see something. We sat there stumped for a while. I suggested that maybe it was getting caught by the vibration damper and being slung around the bell housing so hadn’t had time yet to drip out. Neither of us was very convinced by that.
He went back down again and returned a few minutes later with the answer. Being a smart guy, he decided not to believe my crankcase pressure test and try his own. He pulled the dipstick to do a paper towel flutter test and oil started welling up out the dipstick tube in a solid stream the full width of the tube. That explains the oil found next to the engine which I thought was just accumulated from the difficult dipstick checks and drips from the hose when pumping out during the oil change.
He then had me go down and pull the crankcase vent hose off the engine. Oil stopped flowing out of the dipstick tube. We ran around for a while with the dipstick out and no oil came out. After we got back to the dock, I hooked up the hose and blew through it and it felt very clear. Gary did as well and agreed it wasn’t much back pressure.
With this information in hand, I suddenly realized several design features of the engine. The dipstick is in an external tube that runs in a “J” all the way to the bottom of the sump. That means pressure can push out all the oil in the gear case. The dipstick is also quite short, about a hand span, so the top of the housing is nearer the oil level than on many engines. This engine was also installed at greater than recommended shaft angle. The stick has an “O” ring seal. The crankcase breather tube is supposed to go to a fitting on the intake manifold right at the point where aircraft tap off vacuum to run instruments and cars used to for running windshield wipers. This is clearly an engine which is right on the edge of pushing oil up the dipstick.
It is a classic accident chain such as I saw back when I was studying aircraft crashes. Take out any one item and no accident.
1) RPM must be over 2100 with load.
2) Positive suction on crankcase breather line must be removed. (This is a good lesson BTW in the value of sitting down and reading every word in your engine manual. My engine came with the hose tied next to the intake as on most small diesels and I just never looked in that section of the manual.)
3) Some additional restriction must be added to the breather hose. The oil separator, which Mainesail has used successfully on 30 or more boats, along with an additional couple feet of hose was it.
4) The dipstick must be loose.
Number (4) is a question. The dipstick is pretty much a by feel behind your back item on this boat. I’ve done it so many times I may have mistaken the clunk of the edge of the “O” housing for it being fully seated. I’d just spilled some oil on the floor so I was a bit distracted. The “O” ring also may have gotten old and it vibrated loose. I’m going to investigate replacing it and keep a very close eye on it for a while.
A mystery is why the dipstick tube seemed like the cleanest part of the engine. Probably that is just a function of brand new oil running very hot down the sides. The tube leads right next to the hole in the bottom of the bell housing further confusing things.
Gary said, “Drop me off at the dock and you’re good to go. I’ll send you a bill.”
Well, he could have sold me a new engine this morning and had just figured his way out of a few thousand dollars of work so I said, “No, let’s take it up to your yard and I’ll spend some of that money you just saved me.”
He had his crew of two excellent mechanics go to it. It was a strange experience since I have never had anyone else work on my boat. It was sort of like getting a massage. First you lie down naked which feels really awkward and then if feels, ahhh.. ohh…, wonderful. I see now why women go to spas.
They aligned the engine, adjusted the valves which were tight enough that they were going to give me trouble, probably before I got back to Portland. They also fixed a fuel leak discovered in the morning, adjusted the stuffing box, checked shift and throttle cables, alternator belt, and changed the oil since I had put in some recovered from the drip pan.
Kate discovered that my exhaust hose had cracked and started leaking. Everything is now done except for replacement of that hose which arrives tomorrow. All these are things which I’m in no shape to do right now so I would have ignored them. This engine would not have gotten me back to Portland without further problems and waste of Internet bandwidth.
There is still going to be a sizable bill tomorrow but it’s going to be way less than I thought and some of the best money I’ve spent since leaving Portland. I’ve taken a long shower and soak in the tub at the motel and will take about three more before I go to bed and again in the morning. I’ll be here tomorrow night as well and then go down Saturday morning, put everything back in place in Strider and pick up life again where I was when the low oil pressure alarm went off.
My back is enough better that I think I can safely wait till I get back to Portland for an evaluation. I’m going to be a bit more conservative about getting into overly exciting anchoring situations. If it’s giving me trouble again after a few days of sailing, I’ll rethink that. Stress and worry may have had something to do with how severe this episode of cramping and pain was.
Oh, Drum Point Marine obviously gets my very highest rating, not just for Gary’s diagnosis but for Kate and Christian. I know a thing or two myself and it was a pleasure watching them work, like going to a game and watching good athletes.
He came up a while later and said that he could see absolutely no sign of oil coming out of the bell housing or anywhere else. The engine was hot and we had run long enough that we should have started to see something. We sat there stumped for a while. I suggested that maybe it was getting caught by the vibration damper and being slung around the bell housing so hadn’t had time yet to drip out. Neither of us was very convinced by that.
He went back down again and returned a few minutes later with the answer. Being a smart guy, he decided not to believe my crankcase pressure test and try his own. He pulled the dipstick to do a paper towel flutter test and oil started welling up out the dipstick tube in a solid stream the full width of the tube. That explains the oil found next to the engine which I thought was just accumulated from the difficult dipstick checks and drips from the hose when pumping out during the oil change.
He then had me go down and pull the crankcase vent hose off the engine. Oil stopped flowing out of the dipstick tube. We ran around for a while with the dipstick out and no oil came out. After we got back to the dock, I hooked up the hose and blew through it and it felt very clear. Gary did as well and agreed it wasn’t much back pressure.
With this information in hand, I suddenly realized several design features of the engine. The dipstick is in an external tube that runs in a “J” all the way to the bottom of the sump. That means pressure can push out all the oil in the gear case. The dipstick is also quite short, about a hand span, so the top of the housing is nearer the oil level than on many engines. This engine was also installed at greater than recommended shaft angle. The stick has an “O” ring seal. The crankcase breather tube is supposed to go to a fitting on the intake manifold right at the point where aircraft tap off vacuum to run instruments and cars used to for running windshield wipers. This is clearly an engine which is right on the edge of pushing oil up the dipstick.
It is a classic accident chain such as I saw back when I was studying aircraft crashes. Take out any one item and no accident.
1) RPM must be over 2100 with load.
2) Positive suction on crankcase breather line must be removed. (This is a good lesson BTW in the value of sitting down and reading every word in your engine manual. My engine came with the hose tied next to the intake as on most small diesels and I just never looked in that section of the manual.)
3) Some additional restriction must be added to the breather hose. The oil separator, which Mainesail has used successfully on 30 or more boats, along with an additional couple feet of hose was it.
4) The dipstick must be loose.
Number (4) is a question. The dipstick is pretty much a by feel behind your back item on this boat. I’ve done it so many times I may have mistaken the clunk of the edge of the “O” housing for it being fully seated. I’d just spilled some oil on the floor so I was a bit distracted. The “O” ring also may have gotten old and it vibrated loose. I’m going to investigate replacing it and keep a very close eye on it for a while.
A mystery is why the dipstick tube seemed like the cleanest part of the engine. Probably that is just a function of brand new oil running very hot down the sides. The tube leads right next to the hole in the bottom of the bell housing further confusing things.
Gary said, “Drop me off at the dock and you’re good to go. I’ll send you a bill.”
Well, he could have sold me a new engine this morning and had just figured his way out of a few thousand dollars of work so I said, “No, let’s take it up to your yard and I’ll spend some of that money you just saved me.”
He had his crew of two excellent mechanics go to it. It was a strange experience since I have never had anyone else work on my boat. It was sort of like getting a massage. First you lie down naked which feels really awkward and then if feels, ahhh.. ohh…, wonderful. I see now why women go to spas.
They aligned the engine, adjusted the valves which were tight enough that they were going to give me trouble, probably before I got back to Portland. They also fixed a fuel leak discovered in the morning, adjusted the stuffing box, checked shift and throttle cables, alternator belt, and changed the oil since I had put in some recovered from the drip pan.
Kate discovered that my exhaust hose had cracked and started leaking. Everything is now done except for replacement of that hose which arrives tomorrow. All these are things which I’m in no shape to do right now so I would have ignored them. This engine would not have gotten me back to Portland without further problems and waste of Internet bandwidth.
There is still going to be a sizable bill tomorrow but it’s going to be way less than I thought and some of the best money I’ve spent since leaving Portland. I’ve taken a long shower and soak in the tub at the motel and will take about three more before I go to bed and again in the morning. I’ll be here tomorrow night as well and then go down Saturday morning, put everything back in place in Strider and pick up life again where I was when the low oil pressure alarm went off.
My back is enough better that I think I can safely wait till I get back to Portland for an evaluation. I’m going to be a bit more conservative about getting into overly exciting anchoring situations. If it’s giving me trouble again after a few days of sailing, I’ll rethink that. Stress and worry may have had something to do with how severe this episode of cramping and pain was.
Oh, Drum Point Marine obviously gets my very highest rating, not just for Gary’s diagnosis but for Kate and Christian. I know a thing or two myself and it was a pleasure watching them work, like going to a game and watching good athletes.
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Hope to see you out there ......
