Newbie with engine service on horizon - DIY?

[Rebar_Caruso]

I've got a Nissan/Diecon ED-33 and it's got about 3,000 hours on it. Owned the boat for about a year and have applied myself to hiring out the survey & service on the purchase, and now I'm at time for the next service. She's had 65 hours usage in the last year. Seepage of oil in the rocker cover gasket, and I have no doubt there is sludge in the oilpan that needs to be cleaned out. Prior owner was not big on maintenance so I'm 90% sure I've got to drop the pan. Gotta get a torque wrench, and I can't find the right gasket for the engine type. There's alot I don't know.

My question - do I stumble in blindly and go for it, or get a mechanic out to teach me while he does the service so I have a clue the next time things need servicing?

[Quebramar]

Hi, what I did was to get a technician to come and check the engine, also recalibrate the valves (needs be done every 1000hrs so yours seems in order to get done) and ask him tons of questions on what to do and check. Took him an hour and then I started to get my hands dirty myself

[fstarocka]

find someone who is willing to teach/show you, and learn learn learn. its pretty dangerous taking a vessel out and knowing squat about it. Diesels are SO basic - a friend of mine got stranded off the pnw coast on his 34 hunter, motor stalled at night. He paid a chap around 2k to come out -

all he had to do was bleed the injectors (once u see how straight fwd this is u might even laugh). Im not saying be good enough to machine the crank but certainly get familiar with it, even if that means making a mistake or two - trust me the dividends will pay off your whole life, whether boating or not -

Its very easy to make gaskets, punch set, utility knife and patience (except head gaskets).

Do a compression test (get one for diesels, petrol compression testers usually dont go high enough on the psi scale)

Do the valves, they are REAL easy.

Sludge in oil pan - well theres a big difference between maybe and yes/no. NOt sure where u are but in the US theres a nifty pump with a very thin hose at Home Depot for $9, u attach a drill and it will pump out 90-95% of your oil clean.. that will tell u alot of whats down there.

Replace diesel filter and make sure you have a water separator type filter - if it runs well i wouldnt get into it too far.. ive fished on boats for years that ran on 4 diesel motors for ages held together with fishing line, wire and probably chewing gum - and they just kept going. They are super simple, super reliable.

[Rebar_Caruso]

@fstarocka - Thanks for that and I will be doing as you suggest. I hired a guy to come out and tutor me for an hour as he did a basic service. Walking before I run kinda thing. Learned MUCH and lost most of my paranoia. You're right, super simple in many ways. Will be getting compression tester & some of the other things en route to my next service & give it a go.

Next chore is opening up Diesel tank #1 and trying to sort out the old fuel in that thing, and yes, I'll have plenty of filters on hand when I do... lol.

Both of you - Thank you for coming on and holding a newbies hand for a minute. Much appreciated.

Cheers! - Rebar

[slowpoker]

Could insert a wire hanger with a long thin rag hooked and pinched by the wire real tight and gently wipe the bottom of the oil pan, withdraw , squeeze dry with a grocery bag between your fingers and re- inset to clean the bottom of the oil pan if you feel is dirty with sludge. just do not loose the thin strip of cloth inside there.
Can do something similar with the fuel tank when not much fuel inside it to wipe clean it.

[Rebar_Caruso]

Originally Posted by slowpoker

Could insert a wire hanger with a long thin rag hooked and pinched by the wire real tight and gently wipe the bottom of the oil pan, withdraw , squeeze dry with a grocery bag between your fingers and re- inset to clean the bottom of the oil pan if you feel is dirty with sludge. just do not loose the thin strip of cloth inside there.
Can do something similar with the fuel tank when not much fuel inside it to wipe clean it.

absolutely - I'm getting back in touch with my "creative troubleshooting" side. I don't have to worry so much about fking things up when I begin to understand tolerances & taboo's. Thanks for the idea! damn cheaper than hiring a polisher.

[sailah]

I don't know what your engine is like but there is no way for me to drop the pan without pulling the engine. I'd much prefer to cycle the engine oil using straight engine oil or tranny fluid for a very short time. That's if you actually do have sludge.

For the fuel tank, you could build a polisher for short money. It's far easier than hand pumping i can tell you that. Mine is permanently mounted in my engine room as I polish fuel while the engine is running. But you could easily make a quickie version that you could rig up temporarily to polish your fuel.

You'd need a Carter P4070 fuel pump and some type of filter mechanism. I used a Shelco filter housing and bought $5 large filters from McMaster Carr.

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