Yanmar diesel problem?

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RonRelyea

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Sep 2, 2009
339
Hunter Vision-32 New Hamburg, NY
so today I took the boat out for the first time in a couple of weeks. Engine (Yanmar 3gm30f) started fine and had good flow of cooling water ...

I started out off the dock and about a minute into motoring, the engine started running REALLY rough. Lots of gray exhaust ...

I throttled back while looking over the side .. and then saw what looked like a black liquid cloud out of the exhaust. After that I played with the throttle a bit and everything seemed fine. Ran the engine for another 5-10 minutes and it ran fine. Sailed ... engine restarted OK and made it back to dock with no further problems.

Does anyone have any ideas on what might have happened? What might I look for to make sure this doesn't happen again or happen more severely??

Thanks!
 
Scott T-Bird

Scott T-Bird

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Oct 26, 2008
6,432
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Fuel line clogging may be an issue ...

if you have had some unusually rough conditions, some particles may be stirred up in your fuel tank and causing a problem. With labor day boat traffic and a windier than normal weekend, I had some similar issues.

I was able to resolve it by bleeding the line at the secondary filter. In my case, I was getting some rough running syptoms at higher rpms when I first started up the engine at my mooring the last 2 days.

Everything has quieted down to normal now and when I put the boat away a few hours ago she was purring sweetly at all rpms so I doubt I will have an issue next time I start up. We'll see ...
 
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Barnacle Bill

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Jun 9, 2008
1,850
- -- -Bayfield
Often grey smoke (lighter in color) suggests steam which can happen when internal cooling water passes through a bad head gasket into the cylinders. Sometimes a head can warp from extreme over heating, which can compromise the seal too. But, this might not be your problem, just something to think about.
 
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RonRelyea

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Sep 2, 2009
339
Hunter Vision-32 New Hamburg, NY
Diesel Problem - possibly "seaweed" on prop???

Shell said:
Also check your prop for growth.
Click to expand
Shell .... thanks for the input. I think you might have hit the nail on the head ... we've got quite a bit of aquatic plant growth broken loose and flowing with the tides in the Hudson. It's not improbable that I had a good chunk of this stuff stuck around my prop / shaft. Thus ... engine running fine in idle ... run in gear for a bit and I'm fighting a mass of water chestnut or milfoil around the prop ... get the rough running engine from having a fouled prop ... then, luckily, the green mess gets dislodged and the engine runs fine ....

What do you think???
 
kloudie1

kloudie1

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Nov 6, 2006
10,219
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Could have been that water rat that Roger had .. plugging your exhaust !! ?? He may have a taste for sailing now !
 
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RonRelyea

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Sep 2, 2009
339
Hunter Vision-32 New Hamburg, NY
Rats in the exhaust?

kloudie1 said:
Could have been that water rat that Roger had .. plugging your exhaust !! ?? He may have a taste for sailing now !
Click to expand
Actually ... I have seen a rat (muskrat?) swimming around the docks ... but .. if he was plugging the exhaust, the engine wouldn't have been idling smoothly out of gear.
 
Cpt. Jon

Cpt. Jon

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Dec 9, 2008
426
1980 Hunter 30 "Denali" Seaford, VA
My money (if I had any) would be on a fouled prop and shaft.
 
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