Mexican fuel

[dnimigon]

We came back to our boat after leaving it here in Puerto Vallarta in April. It hadn't been started since then. I had read that you top off the fuel and add additives when storing over long periods. It's a 25 hp Universal. Checked all when got here. Filled the fuel filters. Wouldn't start. Bled lines and injectors. Nothing. Finally started to smell the fuel. Very little diesel smell. Weak fuel. Barley any deisel smell at all.Drained the tank and lines. Dumped it all and got new fuel. Once it got through the injectors engine fired up. So my question is WHY. I had read about bad fuel here. Refining process not as good as up north. Doesn't the additive retain this or did I add the wrong additive. I'm thinking next time I'm drainingnall the fuel prior to leaving it sit for long periods. Cost a lot this time to dump fuel. Having it disposed of and buying new fuel besides the time involved. What did I do wrong here.

[Sailmonkey]

I think you missed something bleeding. Diesel doesn't just go bad like that. I've left Mexican (Pemex) fuel in the boat for 9 months with no additives and a half full tank. When we returned to the boat the engine started right up.

[zeehag]

refineries in mexico are minimal due to closure related to nafta deals. they are rebuilding htis part of infrastructure.
all diesel bought in mexico is pipelined or shipped into country.
seems a water issue occurs--i emptied 30 liters of water from my foul tank--some i am sure was bilge water.
the diesel part was 40 liters and smelled like very weak varnish.
if you plan on staying away from boat here,i suggest emptying tanks and essentially winterizing boat. then use new fuel when you return.
folks have had issues with gasoline as well-- but gasoline has a shelf life of only a few months. outboard mix has shelf life 2 months maximum.

i think most of my issue has been bilge water ingress into tank. i never used to experience this issue. even after a year of storage of fuel. the fuel in my jerry jugs is fine--only my tankage in boat is foul. might want to check your hoses and connections as well as winterze when departing.
oit also seems plastic tanks have more issue than do stainless....

[Capt Phil]

As usual, Zee' has it right. However the problem usually is with storage of diesel in Mexico, not the pipeline contamination with water. Mexican tank farms are notorious for water intrusion which may well be a contributing factor. Glad your problems were solved. I delivered many boats back and forth to a variety of Mexican ports over the years and got used to filtering every time I fueled up. Phil

[dnimigon]

I did bled the unit lots and even a Jerry can I had which was full smelt weak. Barley any deisel smell. Once I got the fuel out. New filters and new fuel in. Then prime. Engine fired right up. A few spurts till cleaned out bad stuff but all good now. Now onto next issue. . I'll post in new post. Might be worse problem. Thanks for the info you guys. I figured it was the Mexican fuel. And it was from Pemex.

[Charlie]

Is there a way to test the fuel for water content. A friend of mine is a ship's captain and he told me they would take a sample of fuel being delivered and if there was too much water they would reject it. Maybe some kind of strip you put in a sample

Here is a website Diesel Fuel Test Kit | Fast & easy test for Diesel contamination

[dnimigon]

Well I now have water in the oil. Long story but believe it's either a blown head gasket or possible on water side. Engine is the 25XPB. The water pump does this one seal between the oil and water and can it get in this way. Oil pressure is good. Sitting at 50 or slightly above. Had issue last year with bad fuel pump which isn't related. Have ran it at slip about 2-3 hrs. Pressure still good. Water temp 140 or so. Coolant level fine. Oil level stay consistent. Greyish milky stuff showing on dipstick. Not much. Have changed oil twice now. Last filter I took out was right full of sludge. Grey,white creamy. This engine only has probably 200 hrs on it. Was brand new prior to us buying the boat. Our boat is kept in Mexico, Puerto Vallarta. Had issues last year guy who was looking after boat while we're back home started engine, left it run a few minutes. Then shut off. This caused injection pump to screw up. Had to pull pump, take back to Canada and have rebuilt. Had broken main springs. Said was caused by too much moisture in engine from not proper warm up. I know it's hard to remove all oil using the pump out method. I first thought when I saw milky water it was still all the moisture in the engine. Hope it's not the head gasket. Hard to get one here so might have to wait till go back up north middle of Jan. Going to check filter again today. See how bad contaminated. Any thoughts

[Charlie]

Are yu familiar with a leak down test? It is a more telling dagnosis tool then the compression test. It will help you to pinpoint your problem. https://www.ericthecarguy.com/videos...leak-down-test Also I would look to your local Kubota dealer for parts. You may be able to locate the non marine parts in Mexico.

[zeehag]

why not have a rebuild kit shipped to you in pv? rotten robbie is only mechanic or parts finder person i know of there--he is volvo.
in barra de navidad is a really good mechanic and in casimiro castillo is an excellent injector pump rebuilder.
robbie is or was a volvo dealer type guy--if he doesnt have access he will know who to see and where to go--have you tried the vhf cruisers net in am for assistance?? there are some good resources in mexico.
also check tractor and forklift parts houses. kubota is a forklift and tractor engine. you should be able to find the resources without much effort as you are in a hub locale.
while you are in the pv industrial zone, try the 6 peso tacos. they are divine.......

[dnimigon]

Been doing some more reading. Possible raw water pump issue. How do I fine this Rotten Robbie guy. Our boats in the main marina. Has been here since almost new. Is 30 ft. Catalina. New engine installed prior to us buying. I believe Zarcozza has pumps but price inflated as usual. Might try to locate one off old engine. So if it is the pump steal issue why won't it show more aggressively. As I said engine temps fine. Even running for couple hours. Wonder if just massive buildup of moisture in engine. Is there a way to flush this out somehow

[dnimigon]

So now also thinking bad fuel we had we were priming and turning engine over lots trying to get it to fire until finally found out bad fuel which we dumped and replaced. So thinking we were pumping raw bad fuel into cylinders which was loaded probably with water and all this was running down cylind r walls into oil. Now have this crap in oil. Doesn't take much water to turn oil milky. I'm thinking not head gasket as it should show other ways I'm assuming. Possible raw water pump or just the fact of lots of priming and trying to start engine with bad fuel caused this all to get into pan.

[DeepFrz]

Did you have the water intake valve shut off when you were cranking. If not then you probably flooded the engine with salt water. Maybe caused damage by cranking with water in a cylinder. Anyway, you have pretty severe problems and I suggest you have a good mechanic take a look.

Good luck.

[bobofthenorth]

It doesn't take much water in the oil to turn it milky. Unless the engine gets warm enough for long enough to boil the water out it can look bad when you pull the dipstick. Even just normal condensation in a small sump like yours can look bad after a short run time.

Unless you're seeing other signs of a head gasket failure (pressurized heat exchanger, losing coolant, oil in the coolant) I'd take a deep breath, relax and run the engine up to temperature for at least an hour before checking the dipstick.

R.J.(Bob) Evans
www.bobandmarilyn.ca

[dnimigon]

So. Did some more investigation. Took raw pump off. All bad inside. Seal toast. Bearings hooped. Basically a new pump. Shaft may be fine. Only problem is here they only have the seal kit. Going to try a couple places tomorrow to try and find another pump. It's the Sherwood one. Seals on both ends bad. Case can be cleaned up. Hell of a thing to get out off the engine the way it sits in our boat. Stand on head, twist arm around backwards plus try to see what your doing. Been thinking this may have been issue long ago prior to injector pump screwing up as when that started to happen I took off side of injector pump to fing milky substance on side of pump. Not a lot so assumed it was something else. Not sure why this all started as the engine had 150 hrs on it when pump acted up. Ending up taking out last year and back up north to rebuild. Broken pump springs inside. Traced to condensation build up. Not running hot enough to burn off moisture. Boat sits quite a few months while we're up north. Hopefully haven't got more issues. Wish I lived closer. I'd just pull the motor and strip it down and rebuild it. Guess I could do it here but need the tools which are up north. Maybe I'll plan that for my next holiday down here in April. God, what a way to have a holiday.

[Lepke]

If you buy a new pump and the old pump case is ok, you might rebuild it as a spare. I keep spares for all my pumps. Any problem just swap pumps and go on doing what you planned.