Volvo 2002 - Help Needed

[witzgall]

What would be the symptom if the stop cable was not fully disengaged? I know it would make it hard to start, but what about if it is just very, very slightly engaged?

Chris

[gjordan]

Before you go to the expense and time of tearing your engine down again, you might want to buy a used injector and remove the guts so you can have the leak down fitting welded to it. You then have the adapter that the mechanic was talking about. If your Volvo has a lift pump you should check the diaphram, since a pinhole in a lift pump diaphram is the commonest cause of fuel in the sump. If you have freshwater cooling, the leak down test will probably tell you if you have a bad head gasket or cracked head. If the compression is even in both cylinders, and you are not boiling off water from your coolant tank, you probably dont have a blown gasket. A diesel will run for years with 270PSI compression if all other things are OK. It may be a little harder to start in cold conditions but will run fine. If you are still having problems with the engine not turning full revs, and smoking at full throttle you might want to try to talk to the last owner and see if it has always been this way. You could pay for a complete overhaul and still have the same problem if the boat is over propped to begin with. Check the cheapest things first before you start spending big money.____Grant.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by gjordan

If your Volvo has a lift pump you should check the diaphram, since a pinhole in a lift pump diaphram is the commonest cause of fuel in the sump.

I am with grant on this. The engine did work and now a couple of mechanics have been fiddling with it.

The volvo lift pump is capable of drawing fuel from the return line btw so I would be looking at the fuel side of things including the settings for the stop cable before pulling the head.

These are older generation engines but can still do sterling service as ours does, I wouldn't give up yet.

Pete

[gjordan]

Captnjim, any luck solving your problem? Please let us know what solution you come up with. ___Grant.

[CaptnJim]

thank you for all the good suggestions

the previous owner was appaled when he saw the smoke an soot comming out of the exhaust because he never saw it smoke at all - the smoke condition also appears in neutral leading me away from a dirty or incorrect prop situation


Grant - as it is winter here and the boat in on the hard I'm not rushing the repair work while I gather information and wait a bit for the weather to warm beyond freezing. I will post updates as I proceed.

the previous owner was appaled when he saw the smoke an soot comming out of the exhaust because he never saw it smoke at all - the smoke condition also appears in neutral leading me away from a dirty or incorrect prop situation


The used injector is a great idea. I just disposed of one because of the tab for the return line was snaped off, now I wish I had it back.


Pete7 - So I will try the small things first starting with a new lift pump, (the design has changed so I will have to pick up the new tube too) proceeding to finding a used injector leak down which for the leak down test, and obtaining a head gasket set in case I have to move down the rebuild route.

I accedentialy confirmed the fuel pull from the return comment as I installed a fuel shut off valve at the primary filter feed line only to see the engine run just fine with the value off. At lease it makes changing the filters less messy and confirms I do not have a primary side fuel blockage problem



- if anyone wishes to part with a bad injector for the leakdown adapter please send me a email.

CatpnJim

[Doug Brown]

If they ground the valves and seats down a lot, you will lose compression. The only way of finding this out is to pull the head off - which isn't that hard to do. At the same time you can check for loose bolts, blown head gasket, etc.

Once the head is off you need to measure the thickness of the valve between the face and where the angle begins - check in your Volvo manual - there is a picture and dimensions. You also need to measure the distance from the head surface down to the valve face. Again, dimension in the Volvo book (think it is about 0.011").

If both these numbers are excessive, you will need new valves (ouch! - expensive) and may need the head re-surfaced again.

I would not remove the fuel injection pumps - a serious can of worms there in getting them re-set. Besides, they seem to last forever.

Injectors are another story - you really need someone who knows what they are doing. There is a company in my town with an EXCELLENT guy who only works on the fuel injectors. Very nice professional shop with all the tools. For a basic overhaul - clean, re-set to factory specs - it is about $45 per injector. If they need new tips (about the only thing that really goes wrong) add $95 ($140 complete overhaul and new tip).

When the head is removed the injector tips can be seriously damaged if the head is just tossed on a work bench - the injector tips stick out past the face of the head. You need to put the head on a couple of pieces of wood to keep the injector tips from hitting anything and being damaged.

There is also a machine shop 60-miles away that I use that is EXCELLENT. For a very light valve and seat grind (clean up the seats) and skimming the head (took off 0.006") they charged $60 for all the work! They do all the warranty work for John Deere tractors in our area as well as other diesel engines - land and marine versions.

While the head is off, check the exhaust manifold. If the engine has been running rich (and with all the black smoke, yours has!) huge amounts of oily soot can build up inside the manifold and greatly reduce the size of the exhaust passage. You'll need to clean it out - a yucky job - otherwise your upper RPM range can be reduced.

Since you are changing oil filters like there M&M's, you can buy Napa, Sierra or Fram filters that are less expensive that Volvo's and work just fine.

Doug Brown

[Dorin Oxender]

Doug, awhile back you posted some used parts for 2003. I need a few injection pumps. Do you still have them?