Volvo D2 - 55hp Flooded - getting started

[ben373]

Hoping for some help getting a Volvo going again. D2-55 about 5 years old

Long story short - the boat was flooded to level with the top of the motor approx 3 months ago. Has been an insurance argument.

No water got in the oil, however, the oil has been changed.

All the electrics were damaged and removed. The bloke doing the job took off chasing a woman and has not been seen again.

I have the starter and alternator that have been repaired and tested by an auto electrician.

Unfortunately all the electrics have been cut - that is the loom, connection box, controls etc are in a very poor state. To make it worse he pulled out the throttle and gear cables plus the fuel shut off etc.

The motor can be turned over by hand.

I have a situation where we need to work out if the motor is worth the time and effort.

So the question is - what is the minimum I need to do to get the motor going?

if I connect the starter and can crank do i need any electrics at all?

i am hoping I could just install the starter motor, make sure the fuel is good and it should go???

Thanks in advance.

[boden36]

I would turn it over by hand at least four revolutions to make sure no water in cylinder or stuck valves.
Check gearbox oil.
Make sure the alternator is not energised.
Make sure there is coolant and a viable cooling system.
Make sure there is a way of stopping it.
Then just bleed it and start.
This will show you if it is worth going any further.

Regards,
Richard.

[jimbunyard]

First off, I have no direct experience with this engine at all.

But I believe the D2-55



Is based on a Perkins 404D engine



Which appears to be more of an old style (non-electronic) mechanically injected engine.

Which is good.

So if the oil is black and the fuel is clean, chances are good that you can put the starter back on and start and run it, with no electrics. Many engines use an electric solenoid to interrupt fuel flow to shut the engine down, but there is also usually a manual lever somewhere around the injection pump to kill the engine if electrics fail. Get someone familiar with the engine to help you if need be. A good service manual is invaluable.

If you plan to run the engine for any time at all (more that a minute or so) remember that you have to have the alternator belt on to run the engine water pump. In that case, either make sure the alternator has no wires connected to it, or that it is hooked up correctly to charge a battery, or you'll be bringing it back to the rebuilder.


If you find the engine runs ok, expect to change all the sensors, relays and anything else electrical. Better to do it now than out on the water somewhere. Depending on how long the engine was under and what shape it was in previously, and if it was in salt or fresh water, it might be a good idea to wash it well and repaint.

As for the old engine wiring harness, it is trash. Toss it. You can get a new one from Volvo, or you can make your own (time consuming but not difficult), or find a good mechanic/electrician to make one for you that can be much better than original equipment. (In that you can use better materials and tailor it to your application). I am not a fan of Volvo electrical systems...they're at least as bad as the prince of darkness's, Lucas.

So to answer the biggest question, if the engine was in good running condition before, I'd say that it is very much worth the effort.

[DougR]

I suggest wiring up the alternator + and - leads to avoid cooking the alternator if it self energizes and begins putting out current. You also may need to jury rig the glow plug circuit to get the engine started, depends on the ambient temp.

Other than that you should be good to go with the advice already given. The engine is a good solid unit, worth saving.

(Yes, Jim, the D2-55 and D2-75 are based on the Perkins 404c and 404d depending on vintage)

DougR

[TrentePieds]

Originally Posted by jimbunyard

First off, I have no direct experience with this engine at all.



As for the old engine wiring harness, it is trash. Toss it. You can get a new one from Volvo, or you can make your own (time consuming but not difficult), or find a good mechanic/electrician to make one for you that can be much better than original equipment. (In that you can use better materials and tailor it to your application). I am not a fan of Volvo electrical systems...they're at least as bad as the prince of darkness's, Lucas.

Second that!

Had a "no start" in a very awkward place on a Vetus 3M-10 = Mitsubishi K3D. All because Vetus, like Volvo, couldn't sell enuff "marinized" engines to make money if they didn't "sell into a market of ignorance". To do that, "pretty" has to override "workmanlike" and "functional" and reliable". That's why the wiring and the control panels are so bad. The engines are all just fine — it's the "bags hung on", the ancillaries, that are garbage.

So change the ancillaries.

It is dead simple to do that. You need a circuit for the glow plugs, you need a circuit for the starter motor, you need a circuit for the "killer", a device that consists of a very simple solenoid governing a plunger-cum-needle valve that stops the fuel flow to then engine when the button is pushed. That's the sum total of engine control circuits.

Charging circuit(s) and monitoring circuits are OTHER circuits, discrete from the fundamental three control circuits, and they don't come into direct play in a life-or-death situation. So you can be a little less rigorous about them,

On the Vetus, the push buttons weren"t fit for a kid's electric choo-choo train, and the wiring was WAY under-gauged. In consequence relays had to be employed. Those that were, were, like the buttons, mere toys.

So I hardwired the basic three, using wire of a gauge that can carry the ampage that needs to be carried over the distance it needs to be carried. Tables that tell you what the gauge should be for any given ampage and distance are freely available from Ms. Google :-)

TrentePieds

[boeing1]

suggest that you drain the transmission and service it before you run it....

[bretto55]

Just START IT! ENSURE you have a piece of rubber mat eg; truck mudflap etc to cover air intake in case she runs away.

[Snowpetrel]

I bought a mechanical oil pressure gauge and a infrared thermometer to test my replacement (secondhand) engine. This gave me oil pressure readings and multiple temperature readings without any wiring. I have yet to install the rest of the wiring. I am still hotwiring the engine to start! I'll get a engine watchdog unit to monitor temp and oil pressure.

http://www.enginewatchdog.com/tm4.html

Sent from my HTC_0PCV2 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[GILow]

Does this donk have glow plugs? I can't see any in the photos. But if it does then I assume you'll need to get power to those to start it.

Matt


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[GILow]

Originally Posted by GILow

Does this donk have glow plugs? I can't see any in the photos. But if it does then I assume you'll need to get power to those to start it.

Matt


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Looking at an online manual it does appear to have glow plugs (hardly a surprise, I'm yet to meet a diesel that doesn't) so I would definitely think you are going to need a way of powering those to start it.

Matt


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Snowpetrel]

Glow plugs are not a big issue, just hook them up to a positive wire for ten seconds. Least that works for mine. I think most are 12v, though I guess Volvo could do something weird...

Sent from my HTC_0PCV2 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

'''' though I guess Volvo could do something weird...

As the owner of two Volvo cars, I can say yes, they'll have done something weird. The only variable is HOW weird.

:^)

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

, just hook them up to a positive wire for ten seconds.

Actually, just reading this again... my engine came with a great big warning label, no more than 6 seconds on the glow plugs. Apparently they get fricasseed by any longer. Not sure what the norm is, our old Toyota 2H needed about 20 seconds on a good day, sometimes longer. Had a glow plug in the dashboard of the car so you could see what was happening in the engine.

Matt

[TrentePieds]

Glow plugs are 12 volts. Just think about it. Whatever calorific output they need to have, you get there quickest and with least pain by using highest possible "push" i.e. voltage. In toy ships all that is available in that department is almost always 12V, very rarely 24V.

My manual for the Vetus/Mitsubishi bastardization sez "15 seconds max". But that's for the sake of the starter motor. The plugs are like Custer's horse. They can take it.

But plugs get tired, sometimes. Remember that the electric goose is to get them to glow in the first place. In a running engine the heat in the combustion chamber keeps the filament glowing. Even if a filament breaks while the engine is running, the stumps will continue to glow until shut-down. But then there is no way to get the plug to glow again on the next start-up. So carry spares. They are dead easy to change.

For "flash-up" from "dead ship" I keep my engine compartment cover off so I can reach the MECHANICAL fuel shut-off, just in case I have a run-away, for on my beast there is no way I could choke it to death in case of a run-away. This also means that I have instant access to the "throttle", i.e to the lever on the injector pump that controls engine speed. A further benefit is that flashing-up from the engine compartment rather than from the cockpit keeps you aware of the general engine condition - incipient leaks, etc. etc.

I should say that the three essential buttons - great big, burly, grown-up Perkins jobs that can handle the ampage "direct" - are mounted on the side of the engine compartment and hard-wired to starter, plugs and fuel shut-off. For this season, that'll suffice. For next season, a second set, wired in parallel, will be fitted at the cockpit steering station.

Remember that a glow plug gobbles up 20 amps or so, so for a three-banger you are looking at 60 amps draw to "preheat", for a four banger 80 amps. So toy buttons won't cut it. You are, however, only looking at, say, 20 seconds of flow, so for a "tight" installation, wire gauge can be a little less than the "norms" say. For a "long" installation such as cockpit mounted buttons, direct wired, you need to be absolutely sure that the wire gauge is adequate, both because you don't want the wires heating up and because you don't want voltage losses in the wire run to render the plugs ineffective by depriving them of voltage.

My procedure is simple: Hold the push button for the plugs and count twelve elephants. Then continue to hold the button while also pressing the start-button. The first detonation is heard after five or six revolutions and ignition becomes self-sustaining after twelve or so.

TrentePieds

[sigmasailor]

We had some success with a D2 engine just now!
Last month it was turned over (not started) just fine.

Last Saterday we found it to be seized. Wouldn't start on the starter and impossible to turn over using a socket and a 2 ft long bar. We didn't give it all; the bolt on the hub didn't seem that strong.

It has a dry exhaust so waterlock was out of the question. Hmmm, what next?

We simply took out the injectors (real easy job) and gave it a liberal amount of WD40 in all 4 cylinders.

After letting it soak until this morning we tried again: it was spinning and squirting WD40 from all cylinders!

Put everything back in and it just started and ran fine. Let it warm up nicely this time.

Cause? We think it must have sucked in some moist air last month that caused some mild rust jamming a ring or two.