Looking for a Perkins mechanic - Long Island Sound area

[speedoo]

I'm the proud new owner of a Beneteau 37 footer. She has a low hours Perkins 4-108 that appears to be in top shape, but the surveyor recommended I have a mechanic check a couple of things out.

So I am looking for recommendations for a good no-nonsense (eg someone who won't even try to BS me) Perkins mechanic. Boat is currently in Darien, CT.

Thanks.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Speedo,
Great engine. Does it run? Any smoke? What color is the smoke? Why does your surveyor want you to get a mechanic? I had a Perkins in my last boat and they are a wonderful auxiliary.
Any good diesel mech. can help you with a Perkins. They were in Rover 4x4s, lots of tractors and a whole bunch of boats.
Kind Regards, --JohnL--

[speedoo]

Aloha John. The engine runs great, no smoke whatsoever. The surveyor spotted some coolant leaking from around the head gasket at full throttle during the sea trial. Since he saw no other problems, he is just being conservative as any good surveyor should be. I need to know whether I just need to re-torque the head bolts or replace the head gasket.

Thanks for your advice. Boat service people are generally very expensive around here, so I want to make sure I find a trustworthy mechanic.

[GordMay]

You might contact:
Perkins Power North East (includes Ct.)
600 S. Egg Harbor Rd, NJ, 08037, USA
Toll Free: [800] 234 7660
Fax: [609] 567 1571
Website: www.perkinspowerne.com

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Again Speedo,
Ok. I get it. Very conservative surveyor. Most here in Hawaii won't even look at or listen to an engine.
I belive Massey Furgeson tractors use Perkins engines. All any good diesel mechanic needs to know is the torque specs on the head bolts and the recommended tightening sequence. If that doesn't cure the problem then a new head gasket is the answer. I once over tightened head bolts on a Mercedes diesel and the same problem of coolant leaking occurred. In that case I didn't convert the specs to ftlbs properly. Once you over tighten the head bolts there is no recovery other than changing the head gasket again. I once under tightened the head bolts on my Triumph (TR4A) engine and the coolant water was a problem. The specs in the manual were wrong. In that case all I needed to do was tighten them to proper specs and everything was aok again.
Kind Regards, --JohnL--
Kind Regards, --John--

[pete]

Originally Posted by GordMay

You might contact:
Perkins Power North East (includes Ct.)
600 S. Egg Harbor Rd, NJ, 08037, USA
Toll Free: [800] 234 7660
Fax: [609] 567 1571
Website: www.perkinspowerne.com

They are the distributor for the Northeast, and most likely will not be the ones working on it. I would try Long Island Diesel in Holbrook. 631-567-0228. Ask for Rich.

[speedoo]

Thanks, Pete. I'm trying to find someone on the CT side of the Sound, but I will probably give Rich a call anyhow.

[Alan Wheeler]

I can help with advice to that issue. REPLACE HEAD GASKET. Once the seal has been compromised, you will never have a reliable seal again. It is best to lift the head and to replace the gasket. The head and block surfaces will need to be clean. Torgue down the head and after another 5-10hrs, torgue it down again. This allows for take up, because the head expansion and contraction due to heat will compress the gasket further and stretch the bolts slightly. If the second torque down has not been done, somewhere down the track the gasket seal will fail just as you have had happen.

For general info, This re-torqueing should be done on any cast iron head/block, using conventional bolts.
Bolts that are tightend using the degrees of twist method are tightened once. They can never be re-used. They are discarded and new bolts used. This method is realtively common on more modern day engines with alloy heads. Some Aluminium heads use a special gasket surface that seals to the metal surface and usually don't need retorqueing. HOWEVER, as there are many different methods, for all engines, it is essential that you read the manufactures specs and do and follow thier instructions and methods.