PERKINS 4108 CRUISING ALONG THE RIVER AND JUST STOPPED PLEASE CAN ANYONE HELP

[poppylibby]

Hi if anyone can HELP id be greatful for ideas or advice. Yesterday I was happily cruising down the river when without any warning the engine just stopped. I tried to restart her the engine is turning over but wont fire.. I have already bleed the flue system still wont start. I have checked diesel no water is in it. I have checked the lift pump and changed the flue filter. bleed the flue system again and still no joy.

[shakey doug]

Manually pull STOP lever into Run position [fwd] return spring maybe u/s.

[jkishel]

Remember to close the cooling water through hull while you're cranking away so that you don't fill the engine with sea water. If the engine stop switch is in the correct position, methodically work your way through the fuel system upstream to downstream; check the vent, pickup screen, each hose and connection for air leaks, lift pump, injection pump and injectors.

[Mike OReilly]

Did you bleed out air when you bled?

I have almost zero skills when it comes to engines, but we've been having a problem which bears some resemblance to your description. Turned well, wouldn't fire. Bled, sometimes fired, sometimes not.

Finally found two (so far ) fuel leaks. First was in a return line feeding from the pressure pump back to the engine-mounted (secondary) filter housing. The second one was at injector 2. We figure we're getting air in via these leaks.

Both were small. Couldn't even see the one without the engine running. The other was hard b/c the compression fitting felt solid. So maybe you've got a minute leak somewhere that's sucking in air.

[Cheechako]

Are you getting plenty of fuel squirting out when bleeding? If your fuel supply is clogged, bleeding wont help.
How old a boat? possible tank contamination or even something clogging the pickup tube end at bottom of tank.

[Lepke]

If the engine just stopped like turning off a gas engine. No sputtering, no up and down rpms, just quit.
Make sure fuel is being pumped by the lift pump free of air bubbles. Bubbles indicate an air leak somewhere in the fuel supply line. It's easier to pump air than fuel. Leaking filter, loose fitting, fuel line wear - anywhere before the lift pump.
Most likely cause is stop lever moving to the stop position. Check linkage.
If you have fuel being pumped by the lift pump, check to see if the fuel is being supplied to the injectors by loosening the tubing nuts at the injectors and crank engine.
No fuel at the injectors with the lever in the run position, bad injector pump or broken injector pump drive shaft - if the lift pump is supplying fuel.

[JSSailem]

Had similar problem with my 4107. Turned out to be debris in the fuel pickup tube. Could manually pump a little fuel, but fuel pump could not get enough fuel to run. One way to diagnose fuel statvation is to put a vaccum guage on the engine side of the primary filter. If vaccum is high then fuel blockage is between the guage and the tank. i.e.clogged filter, line blockage, or in tank pickup. No vaccum registered than work towards high pressure pump on engine as issue. Blockage, air leak, etc.

[sailormed]

My engine stop problem was due to a clogged mesh filter in the fuel pickup line just above the bottom of the tank.


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[CSY Man]

Originally Posted by sailormed

My engine stop problem was due to a clogged mesh filter in the fuel pickup line just above the bottom of the tank.


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Same thing exactly on previous boat.
The engine would stop without warning, then it would start later and run for a while. Totally unreliable but it made me a better sailor, had to sail to the dock occasionally.

[Starblossom]

Remove the fuel pick up from the tank and pressurize it with air to check for leaks.
By now you have probably checked your fuel system from tank to injector. But have you checked the pick up tube.
I had a similar problem and found the pickup tube in the tank had a pin hole about half way down and the engine quit when it ceased to get fuel, when the fuel level went below the pin hole

[CHRIS V CLEMENT]

I have a 1973 vintage Perkins 4-108 in my Gulfstar 41.I had similar fuel issues that made her unreliable for years.I knew that I had a fuel pressure leak somewhere, I just could not find it.I got used to bleeding the injectors once a month.I finally crawled in the engine room with the engine running to look for the slow leak. I found it on the high pressure pump where the throttle shaft exits the pump body. It was a very slow, small steady drip. An "o" ring on the shaft had failed.Rebuilding the high pressure pump and checking the spray pattern of all the injectors has made her run like new.

[redhead]

Just a suggestion... loosen one of the fuel pipe nuts on the one of the injectors(do not remove,just 1/2 turn) and crank the engine with the wrench still on the nut, when you see fuel coming out of the pipe tighten the nut back up while still cranking. Takes a little coordination but this always worked for us. Good luck

[Scout 30]

If you haven't installed an electric fuel pump before your filters this would be a good time to do so. If you have an air leak this will pressurize the system & show you where it is. It also makes priming much easier & will often keep the diesel running it there is a leak or even a plugged fuel pick up tube in an emergency.

[stevebein]

Ihad a similar problem. Intermittent stopping of the engine. The cause was the fuel lift pump gasket leaking. It was found when we pressurized the fuel system. If you can do that, with more pressure than just a booster pump, then it will be easier to find,that is if leaks are the problem. Good luck.

[skipmac]

Had a similar problem in the past and after hours and hours of checking the fuel system bit by bit I determined a guaranteed method to isolate where in the fuel system you have a problem, be it leak or blockage.

Get a perfectly clean fuel jug, a perfectly clean piece of fuel hose and carefully fill the jug with fresh, perfectly clean fuel. This is important because parts of this will bypass the filters and you do not want to get any debris at all into the injector end of the system.

Then start at one end of the fuel supply and step by step work your way to the other end using your fuel jug as the supply. You can start at either end but I like starting at the tank end. First remove the fuel pickup line from the tank and connect your jug to that line. Bleed, crank and see if the engine now runs. If no, connect your jug to the input at the primary filter and try again. If no then connect to the lift pump, try again. If no connect to the input of the secondary filter, try again. By now it's 94.362% that the engine has cranked. The problem is now isolated to somewhere just before where you have the jug connected to make the engine run, probably the part immediately before.

So far this method has worked every time I've had a fuel problem.