Important engine checks

jwilson said:
How may people check their car engine oil, water/antifreeze levels, brake fluid levels and tyre pressures daily? And two of those failures can kill you faster and more effectively than a duff engine in a sailing yacht.
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On my old cars I check things every week or ten days of use and always before long trips. On my modern car ... meh. There is an engine in there somewhere, I believe, and it starts when I turn the key.
 
JumbleDuck said:
On my old cars I check things every week or ten days of use and always before long trips. On my modern car ... meh. There is an engine in there somewhere, I believe, and it starts when I turn the key.
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"Turn the key" how quaint :)
 
Serpentine belts are not designed to be checked as they are usually buried behind something. Just need changing at the stated service interval. One thing I do check regularly is the engine mount fastenings as these have been known to work loose. Not on this boat yet!
 
RupertW said:
I'm interested how often you find faults with any of the above?
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Rarely, once in fact, in the last 10 years the belt was wearing thin.

Because of the location of the control panel I can't see any warning lights - I need to stick my head in the cabin, great for keeping the electrics dry but not good for checking the warning lights. Amazing what the change in engine noise will tell you. A plastic bag covered the sea water intake last October we had it sorted in under three minutes as we knew that the morning's checks were good.

It is about preventative maintenance you stop things before they happen. What does looking at an oil pressure gauge tell you about your oil apart from the pressure is about right. A dipstick gives you a look at the oil, colour, viscosity, smell (no I don't taste it) all tell you things about the state if the oil.

Oh after watching the very good PBO YouTube channel I also do a daily walk round checking the rigging.
 
jwilson said:
How may people check their car engine oil, water/antifreeze levels, brake fluid levels and tyre pressures daily? And two of those failures can kill you faster and more effectively than a duff engine in a sailing yacht.
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Weekly checks on fluid levels and pressures.

I recall my late father opening the bonnet of his new car in about 1990 and quietly closing it muttering, "There is sod all I can do in there, I'm not an electrical engineer".
 
capnsensible said:
Dont get this. you car engine stops, you pull over. Cant do that at sea.

Engine checks daily, without fail. Whatever boat Im on. Its easy, doesnt take long, gets you familiar with the engine and can catch things before they become a proper problem.

Engines are nothing to be scared of. Or be lazy about.......:encouragement:
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I'm with you except that 'daily' should be replaced with 'before each passage'. I also find the 'I always sail attitude' odd too. I recently 'fixed' a starter motor for someone who had been battered in the Raz de Sein because he arrived seriously late because he couldn't sail fast enough and whe he finally decided to motor, the starter motor failed. Turned out that the failed starter motor was loose connections (30 second turn of a spanner). Further enquiry revealed that he had last looked in the engine bay in April, because he always sailed. Last fuel filter change was maybe 7 years ago and he had never looked at the drive belt in his 17 years of ownership!
Strikes me that if that is the case you should definitely do engine cheeks before each passage because if you hardly ever use the engine then you definitely want it to be good whe you need it.
 
Sandy said:
Rarely, once in fact, in the last 10 years the belt was wearing thin.

Because of the location of the control panel I can't see any warning lights - I need to stick my head in the cabin, great for keeping the electrics dry but not good for checking the warning lights. Amazing what the change in engine noise will tell you. A plastic bag covered the sea water intake last October we had it sorted in under three minutes as we knew that the morning's checks were good.

It is about preventative maintenance you stop things before they happen. What does looking at an oil pressure gauge tell you about your oil apart from the pressure is about right. A dipstick gives you a look at the oil, colour, viscosity, smell (no I don't taste it) all tell you things about the state if the oil.

Oh after watching the very good PBO YouTube channel I also do a daily walk round checking the rigging.
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And in my job (mostly around hospital and operating theatre safety and efficiency) I would say that checking 6 things 3650 times for one fault which would be simple to fix if it goes wrong would be a terrible waste of time that would be better spent reducing some other risks which occur more often and are far more catastrophic. But I absolutley agree with the practice of PPM as long as it follows the same logic. I'm fine for things to break that could have been prevented from breaking as long as the harm done from the break is less than the harm done by spending time on the checks.

I suspect what its really about though is that I like time off work and am rationalising reading a book as we float along above an occasional knee deep in engine moment.
 
In my 40- odd years of cruising, the only stoppages/failures I have had were due to:
Flat/old battery
Glow plugs failed
Blocked fuel filter(petrol)
Loose wire to alternator, easily spotted and replaced
Prop problems.

I have also had a couple of near misses with blocked raw water filter after relatively short journeys, and I think not yet run out of fuel.
Problems that my engineer has picked up include:
Loose engine mounting
Leaking water pump?

Because it is easy, I always check oil level and water filter and. Have a quick look and check fan belt (one failure after professional service) but I am not enough of an engineer to check everything mentioned, though I check coolant level occasionally.
 
Sandy said:
-snipped - A dipstick gives you a look at the oil, colour, viscosity, smell (no I don't taste it) all tell you things about the state if the oil.
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I opened the bonnet of my latest car shortly after buying it and there was no dipstick - it is supposed to tell me on a display if and when it needs oil. This is one feature I really hate: I like to look at the oil immediately after it's been serviced and then before every long trip. I'm not mechanically incompetent: I have stripped and rebuilt several car engines but these days I prefer to let a reliable garage (not main dealer) do the work.
 
This all remind me of a skipper info night I once went too in an over winter Marina ,we stayed at ,
These night where mean for everyone to share info on what ever subject that was being talk about .
on this night it was about what needed to be checked at the end of each season , the suggestion from one skipper was that every J clip should be removed from the pipe and examined then spray with WD 40 and replace ,
Within a few mins people was saying what a great idea .
At which point I walked out ,
I have enough problem removing one pipe let alone every pipe on the boat ,
Just show how people don't want to make them self look stupid and because one say he does then someone else agree before you know it more just on the band wagon .
I probably Run my engine more in one week them some here do in a month ,
For tho who say they do it every time they start the engine that mean they do it seven times to my one time .
once a week I open up check the engine oil and cooler, have a look at the water strain , sea water pump for any signs of leaks and a quick look around the engine , unless I see something that may indicate a problem the door are shut till next week or at some time longer depending how much we use the engine .
Off cause you feel happier doing it every time , go for it .
 
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sailaboutvic said:
This all remind me of a skipper info night I once went too in an over winter Marina ,we stayed at ,
These night where mean for everyone to share info on what ever subject that was being talk about .
on this night it was about what needed to be checked at the end of each season , the suggestion from one skipper was that every J clip should be removed from the pipe and examined then spray with WD 40 and replace ,
Within a few mins people was saying what a great idea .
At which point I walked out ,
I have enough problem removing one pipe let alone every pipe on the boat ,
Just show how people don't want to make them self look stupid and because one say he does then someone else agree before you know it more just on the band wagon .
I probably Run my engine more in one week them some here do in a month ,
For tho who say they do it every time they start the engine that mean they do it seven times to my one time .
once a week I open up check the engine oil and cooler, have a look at the water strain , sea water pump for any signs of leaks and a quick look around the engine , unless I see something that may indicate a problem the door are shut till next week or at some time longer depending how much we use the engine .
Off cause you feel happier doing it every time , go for it .
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Thats Buggered the thread Vic :cool:
 
RupertW said:
And in my job (mostly around hospital and operating theatre safety and efficiency) I would say that checking 6 things 3650 times for one fault which would be simple to fix if it goes wrong would be a terrible waste of time that would be better spent reducing some other risks which occur more often and are far more catastrophic. But I absolutley agree with the practice of PPM as long as it follows the same logic. I'm fine for things to break that could have been prevented from breaking as long as the harm done from the break is less than the harm done by spending time on the checks.

I suspect what its really about though is that I like time off work and am rationalising reading a book as we float along above an occasional knee deep in engine moment.
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But its not just checking six things! It is opening up the hatch where the engine lives and giving it an inspection. Yes there is the Wobble thing, but I am touching electrical connections, visually inspecting filters for leaks round O rings and for stuff that should not be in the bilge.

I'd be interested to hear a surgeon talk about what checks they did before an operation and how many times things were checked during the procedure. We started the operation with 20 surgical instruments why do we only have eighteen now the patient is neatly sutured?

Its a bit like wearing a life jacket. I've worn them everyday I've been on a boat. Two years ago I was tipped out the dingy and the thing inflated. What if I had not worn it and drifted out to sea at 5kts past Exmouth Lifeboat Station as it was getting dark? Quite sure I would not have been spotted in the gloom.
 
Sandy said:
Its a bit like wearing a life jacket. I've worn them everyday I've been on a boat. Two years ago I was tipped out the dingy and the thing inflated. What if I had not worn it and drifted out to sea at 5kts past Exmouth Lifeboat Station as it was getting dark? Quite sure I would not have been spotted in the gloom.
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Please don't start the "I always wear a lifejacket" discussion.
 
Sandy said:
But its not just checking six things! It is opening up the hatch where the engine lives and giving it an inspection. Yes there is the Wobble thing, but I am touching electrical connections, visually inspecting filters for leaks round O rings and for stuff that should not be in the bilge.
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And how does this visual inspection check the torque on nuts and bolts, which is how the thread started?
 
Sandy said:
It was only used to illustrate a point ;)
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Not a very good illustration, I'm afraid. Saying "I've worn them everyday I've been on a boat" would seem to indicate that you have little ability to assess real risks. There are lots of days when it's quite safe to go out on a boat without wearing a lifejacket (unless perhaps you have issues with balance or stability). It worries me when I see people in flat calm conditions going out of the marina wearing lifejackets - I can only think that they have zero idea of what constitutes a risk.
 
pvb said:
OK, so what exactly do you check daily?
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Did you not read the previous posts??

Good all round look. Anything looking wrong, unusual leaks.

Quick shake up of sea water inlet valve.

Fresh water level.

Engine oil level.

Fan belt(s) tension.

Gearbox oil level.

Wipe around under engine.

Time taken three minutes. Anyone who cannot be arsed to do basic checks is either scared of engines, lazy or doesnt want to admit they dont know what they are doing..........

Peeps you can all argue all night for not bothering, but Im not interested in that. Safety first, your duty is clear. :encouragement:
 
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