Starting a diesel after three years on the hard

[sail sfbay]

Did you start your engine?

[Mr B]

My B30 sat for 7 years,
I pulled both injectors and glowplugs out and gave them a clean,
Made sure they were running with a proper spray pattern and put them back in,
I squirted a bit of WD 40 down the barrels to make sure the rings had oil on them,
It easier to get oil in the barrels thru the Glowplug holes,
It turned over easy by hand,

My problem was water in the tanks and algae and a waxy substance blocking all the fuel lines and valves,
Which required all the valves being pulled part and cleaned, and the fuel lines getting blown out,
I replaced the filters and fuel pump with new units as I changed their position from outside on the transom to inside the cockpit allowing ease to get at and clean,
I treated the 7 year old diesel with Fuel Doctor and the run it thru a pump into a bucket with a filter and put it back into the tanks,
3 days later,I had pretty clean fuel with no water and no Algae,
They call it fuel polishing,
worked for me,

[MJH]

Originally Posted by nestorph

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I haven't been able to get my boat in the water for at least three seasons. When I first bought it, it had been in a cradle for two years and the surveyor started up the engine (a Yanmar 2GM20) and ran it for a minute with no problem. Rather than just roll the dice and hope I have the same luck, I'd like to hear from you folks about precautions/prep work I should do prior to re-starting it this year. Thanks in advance!

PS In case you need to know, the fuel has been in the tank the same length of time...

You don't say how old the engine is, the hours on it, and the boat's age...was it the original engine?

When I purchased my last boat it also had been on the hard for three years but the engine was new. The owner agreed to have the fuel cleaned but I still found a need to change fuel filters very often getting the boat home. At one stop I had the fuel cleaned a second time.

Others have good advice: change oil, all filters, at least check the water pump and batteries. These will establish a baseline for future service.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[Sofa King Fishy]

Polish all of your fuel- you’ve likely got some condensation in the tanks. Disassemble & clean your racors as well, I delivered a boat last year that was on the hard for 2 years & excess water in the fuel made things difficult- the engine would hunt for RPM’s, then suddenly cut off for a while…

[CarlF]

Three years isn't that long. Check the oil level - then tap the starter and see if the engine turns. If it does, start it and run it for 5 minutes.

If you are starting it in the water and it doesn't start in 10 seconds, close the seacock until it does start to keep from getting seawater in the cylinders. It's very likely that there's some air in the fuel lines.

After the 5 minute run - change impeller, oil, transmission fluid, coolant, filters. Check the belts. Be sure to bleed after the coolant change (run for 20 minutes with the cap loose then top up after it cools).

[Cheechako]

I would clean and replace both fuel filters. The diesel is likely a mess after sitting so long. If the oil looks good you can change it or not initially until you find out how the engine runs for a bit. If not running that well you may want to have the injectors cleaned and tested as the tips can rust a bit sitting.

[donradcliffe]

My number one rule on working on engines--never do more than one thing at a time. If it doesn't run right, then you have to worry about WHICH change you screwed up. I'd pull the impeller, pull the stop lever, and try to turn it over. If it spins easily, use the starter for 20 seconds to distribute oil, put the stop lever back in, give it half throttle, and see if it starts (be prepared to block the air intake it it runs away). If it catches, run it for about a minute to see if it settles down and runs on all cylinders. Then replace the impeller (coated with dish soap) provide water supply, and start it again to ensure cooling water and fuel flow. If there is no cooling water flow, fix that. If the engine starts and dies, fix the fuel system. If it runs for 5 minutes, THEN shut it down and replace the fuel filters ONE AT A TIME.

[Nyaminyami]

I agree with all the other suggestions but due to personal (bitter) experience I would lay a bit more emphasis on ensuring the diesel oil fuel is clean.
It would be worth fitting a cheap transparent inline filter and let the engine idle for a while and see if there is any gunk. If there is any sign of diesel bacteria (a slimy yellow-brown gunk) the fuel may have to be scrubbed or replaced. And then the fuel tank itself may have to be thoroughly cleaned.
Good luck.

[col50]

Originally Posted by sailcrazy

Following. Our Yanmar 4JH-TE has been sitting for over a year now, due to Covid. We won't return to Puerto Rico, where the boat is on the hard until Nov...it will then be 18 months+ since it's run. We too installed a "T" and a 90* valve on the cooling water inlet line, so we can shut off the seawater inlet, connect a bucket and hoce to the valve, and supply fresh water for running on the hard. Based on comments here I'll rewater that line before we resplash to ensure the impeller won't run dry. And I like the idea of turning it over with a socket and "long" breaker bar(we do not have any unloading valve) before we try to start her up.

Since you don't have an unloading valve, be sure the shutoff handle is pulled, or the stop button is pushed, so the engine cannot fire when you're cranking it.

[BBill]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

My number one rule on working on engines--never do more than one thing at a time. If it doesn't run right, then you have to worry about WHICH change you screwed up. I'd pull the impeller, pull the stop lever, and try to turn it over. If it spins easily, use the starter for 20 seconds to distribute oil, put the stop lever back in, give it half throttle, and see if it starts (be prepared to block the air intake it it runs away). If it catches, run it for about a minute to see if it settles down and runs on all cylinders. Then replace the impeller (coated with dish soap) provide water supply, and start it again to ensure cooling water and fuel flow. If there is no cooli,g water flow, fix that. If the engine starts and dies, fix the fuel system. If it runs for 5 minutes, THEN shut it down and replace the fuel filters ONE AT A TIME.

This ^^^^^. Hopefully you have primary and secondary filters to catch bad tank fuel. 3 yrs ISN'T a long time and it should start up like normal. I've seen this go on for decades here in Florida with snowbird boats...and personally had one sit 6 yrs wet and another 3 yrs on the hard. Basically needed checking the pump impellers, releasing compression and turning over by hand, tweaking the primer and then starting.

You can remove the impeller if rubber (or screw down the grease cup if bronze) for a dry start on the hard. After the engine has started and run a few seconds the impeller can be installed and water added for longer engine runs. Then you can decide whether to pull parts and do regular maintenance.

[MVDarlin]

Polish the fuel. If tanks were not stored completely full there will be condensation in there after 3 years. Possibly GALLONS of water. Depending on engine hours it might be worth pulling the head for inspection and service.

[Mickeyrouse]

There are several YouTube videos of really old diesels that have set up for many years ( like, 15 or so) and then being started. No particular reason why they shouldn’t- if the technology worked then, it should work today. The ideas of cranking with the fuel shut off are good- get that oil where it needs to be before things start getting warm. Water pump impellers will tend to “ take a set” meaning one or more vanes will be deformed, probably permanently, and are the first ones that will break. So the advice to change those are sound. Some engines (older Perkins, for example) have flax or “ rope” main rear seals, which dry out with disuse, and will leak pretty well. Warming up and running will not make them seal any better, and there’s only one way to correct that. But if you have adequate oil in the crankcase, it won’t hurt the engine. But that oil should be fresh- oil that’s set up for a long time will likely have moisture in it which turns to sludge, a nice name for water-oil emulsion. Operating temp is not warm enough to cook the moisture out. Diesel fuel does not rapidly deteriorate with time, but the microbes will surely have a happy environment. Assuming you have no sticking valves- probably not, if they weren’t sticking when last run- the engine will probably crank okay. Before you put much time on it though, I’d change all filters, pump impeller(s), heat exchanger zincs, coolant, and crankcase and transmission oil, clean raw water strainer,( silt in that is hard on the pump impeller) check battery electrolyte ( if applicable) and look it over for leaking seals and gaskets.