Moved to BCN... but problems with the volvos already

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sj8070

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Hi all
Cheers for help so far, particularly on these threads, in helping us choose our first boat and navigate the buying process:
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?478650-Deposit-down-now-the-admin-starts!
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?478306-Is-this-a-good-deal-Regal-2250

The surveys in Littlehampton (Sussex Boat Shop) all went well, particularly the structural survey.
The sea trial was very impressive - about 2 miles with her flat out, turbos kicking in when they should, water temperatures and oil pressures behaving
Our engineer (Adrian Cronk) noticed gear box oil in the UJ bellows leaking from the input seal... we knocked £400 off asking price to have this fixed
He also recommended a full service, particularly to the inaccessible fuel filters which looked very old.
Unfortunately we opted not to do this, opting to get the boat moved to Barcelona ASAP to bed into the marina for a holiday upcoming on 17th june

As you can see from pics below, the launch went without incident and the boat was nicely on plane for c.5 minutes before the starboard engine 'cut out' (revs dropped to zero)
Starboard engine then wouldn't start
At this point i cut the power to the port engine to return to the marina in forward tick
But the port engine began overheating rapidly, and the alarm set off (temp c.220F)
We drifted for a bit allowing the engine to cool, then managed to return and moor with port engine just at the 200F cusp, the occasional alarm..
A pretty disappointing start!

Fortunately the marina (Port Forum) had a reasonably sensible marine engineer on hand who helped us diagnose the problems

ENGINE PROBLEMS

Starboard engine seemed to be a fuel issue... so checked the bowls in the filters (that we could see) and no obvious water
Also checked that fuel was reaching the cylinders which it seemed to be (by loosening the nuts on top of them) - apologies for lack of correct terminology
At this point the engineer suspected it was air in the fuel... So he had me turn the engine over whilst (i believe) he attempted to 'bleed' the engine of air again turning one of the nuts on top of the engine.
This got it started again and running fine with lots of throttle in neutral (good 15 mins)
A little suspicious given the problem-free sea trial, I then asked if this was likely to fix the problem permanently (i.e. air had gotten in in transit perhaps?) or whether it was likely that air would continue to seep into the fuel system. He said he thought it was the former

We assumed that the port engine was overheating because of initial stress with just 1 engine running, having checked both the internal water was present and seemed ok, as well as that the raw water was pumping (opened the lid and it spurted out when the engine was turned over)

Both of the above assumptions appeared very naive when we had exactly the same problem when leaving the marina for the 2nd time, just in reverse
The port engine overheated first, and i put it in neutral to run with the starboard (which had no problems cooling itself running at decent revs)
However, after another couple of minutes we lost power to the starboard in exactly the same fashion as before

So to summarise, it appears:
- The starboard engine still has air entering the fuel, unless problem misdiagnosed in the first place or a new problem has occurred
- The port engine is having problems with cooling

Do we think this is very suspicious given a near perfect sea trial?
Or do these things happen when you tow a 30yr old engine for 20 hours?

Thoughts on possible solutions to the two issues greatly appreciated

Clearly we are very disappointed, but determined to solider on!
To those who said spend £25k on a newer boat/engine feel free to say I told you so!

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I cant see that transport would make any difference.

Two problems.

Overheating. Have you removed and changed the impeller ( may be part perished). Removed strainers and cleaned. Sea cocks open. If all done and still an issue then possible binged up water passages and needs cleaning out.

Replace impeller first

Engine issue. Best listen to others. Air in fuel ( if that is what is it ) is usually a loose fuel union or filter and tends only o happen at high power when you are sucking lots of fuel.

However if you have not changed fuel filters as advised then do that first.

Good luck
 
many thanks. sound like very plausible issues. impellers were supposed to have been recently changed but we will check them.
feel like loose fuel union / filter could easily be starboard issue
 
Could the fuel issue be crap in the fuel that has been shuck up during transport?

Change the fuel filters and see what they look like inside.

Overheating can be many things but I would start with the impellors as the one on the engine that overheated will now be damaged.
 
thanks this is an interesting idea as i think the boat had been sitting for nearly a year without use in a garage. will have all filters properly looked at (am now back in UK unfortunately)

re: impellors, is there a temperature above which they are likely to deform? surely they can handle 220F?
 
should say further to jrudge's reponse that i removed and checked the strainers on the port engine already - looked clean
Also, if i was getting sea water spurting out when engine turned over surely seacock not closed?
 
sj8070 said:
thanks this is an interesting idea as i think the boat had been sitting for nearly a year without use in a garage. will have all filters properly looked at (am now back in UK unfortunately)

re: impellors, is there a temperature above which they are likely to deform? surely they can handle 220F?
Click to expand...
With the impellors, it is not really a temp issue that will kill them, rather a lack of water, which lubes and keeps the impellors cold. This could occur if something creates a water blockage to the sea cock intake, as happened on the sea trial with my boat. However, it is odd that you had such a good sea trial, and then problems following delivery. Yes, the transport could have shaken gunge in the fuel around, and caused the gunge to get sucked into the fuel system. More likely something has "moved" during the transport, creating a very small air leak than only becomes a problem at high fuel demand, and does not show up when the engine is not under load.
 
A boat travelling by road is subject to a whole load of vibrations it doesn't usually get exposed too and any potentially loose bits get given a good shaking.
+1 on carp stirred up in the fuel tanks causing blockages or air getting in. Just be patient and go through all the fuel line connections. If there are any right angles or valves might be worth taking them to bits incase metal swarf or rubbish has got sucked up and trapped in the tight bends. Its surprising what gets into fuel tanks over the years.
over heating - have you checked the raw water pick up pipe is properly on the outdrive? After being trucked with the legs in beach mode has the hose kinked or come loose?
 
Try one of those infra red temp guns on the overheating engine, possibly a faulty temp sender. Available from Halfords for not very much money and very useful in these situations as you can tell what area of the engine that is getting too hot.
 
sj8070 said:
should say further to jrudge's reponse that i removed and checked the strainers on the port engine already - looked clean
Also, if i was getting sea water spurting out when engine turned over surely seacock not closed?
Click to expand...

Have you even got seacocks? (Outdrives normally bring raw water in via the leg).
 
Given the succesful sea trial in the uk it does sound likely that the transport to spain may have caused these issues. For the stalling engine it could well be a fuel blockage . For the overheating engine, could be kinked pick up pipe, impellor,or maybe even something as simple as a jubilee clip having failed or the thermostat sticking closed . Work your way round the cooling system looking for issues.
 
Last edited:
sj8070 said:
The surveys in Littlehampton (Sussex Boat Shop) all went well, particularly the structural survey.
The sea trial was very impressive - about 2 miles with her flat out, turbos kicking in when they should, water temperatures and oil pressures behaving
Our engineer (Adrian Cronk) noticed gear box oil in the UJ bellows leaking from the input seal... we knocked £400 off asking price to have this fixed
He also recommended a full service, particularly to the inaccessible fuel filters which looked very old.
Unfortunately we opted not to do this, opting to get the boat moved to Barcelona ASAP to bed into the marina for a holiday upcoming on 17th June
A
Click to expand...

Adrian Cronk has been looking after by boats since 2004 and when I purchased by Hunton he also recommended a full service, This was carried out and a few bits came to light that had not been picked up on the sea trial, I would say that its a shame you opted not to have this full service. At least you would have know that everything had been checked, Adrian is very much the same as Volvo Paul, very thorough and they both know their engines.

Yes the service may have delayed you a bit but would have been worth the wait,

But fingers crossed that you can get the issues solved and get back to enjoying the boat
 
so today engineer got the sbd engine started again by bleeding the air
he thinks its the fuel pre filters that have been badly installed and leaking air in
checked impellers on port engine and they are fine
so still a bit of a mystery as to why overheating (though many things still to check)
 
I have no idea what engines/ drives you have fitted. My 2009 VP D4-300 overheated last summer. It wasn't the
cooling hose fitting on the outdrive that had failed (expected to be the cause), close to it though, the rubber hose and stainless clamp were not properly fitted ( clamp was not clamping the hose to the coupling!). Not some DIY bodge/
well meaning incompetence by an amateur, but action by a VP dealer who changed the drive bellows.
 
GrahamHR said:
I have no idea what engines/ drives you have fitted. My 2009 VP D4-300 overheated last summer. It wasn't the
cooling hose fitting on the outdrive that had failed (expected to be the cause), close to it though, the rubber hose and stainless clamp were not properly fitted ( clamp was not clamping the hose to the coupling!). Not some DIY bodge/
well meaning incompetence by an amateur, but action by a VP dealer who changed the drive bellows.
Click to expand...

I is quite alarming how many times failures occur in work done by the so called professionals. I still think if you are able to do the work yourself you will tend to do it properly.

Good luck with sorting out the issues, Lets hope it is something simple
 
regarding the overheat - the thermostat would be a quick item to check, just remove it and place into a pan of boiling water, if it doesnt open when in the boiling water then its broken, and would cause an overheat.
 
julians said:
regarding the overheat - the thermostat would be a quick item to check, just remove it and place into a pan of boiling water, if it doesnt open when in the boiling water then its broken, and would cause an overheat.
Click to expand...
Or just take the thermostat out and run arround ( in the Med in the Summer ) without it ( them if two ) .
If it still overheats
I would wip the exhaust elbow off and look inside at the spray rings / holes .---- they corrode and block - made of imho inadequate metal for a marine enviroment . This prevents a full flow @ planing speeds .

If that's not if have the seawater coolers cleaned or Rydlimed .

But before all this have you had it lifted out to check all the bellows /pick up pipes and other submerged tubing that may have kinked or pulled off while the raised legs bounced about for a1000 miles on a truck ?
 
Portofino said:
Or just take the thermostat out and run arround ( in the Med in the Summer ) without it ( them if two ) .
If it still overheats
I would wip the exhaust elbow off and look inside at the spray rings / holes .---- they corrode and block - made of imho inadequate metal for a marine enviroment . This prevents a full flow @ planing speeds .

If that's not if have the seawater coolers cleaned or Rydlimed .

But before all this have you had it lifted out to check all the bellows /pick up pipes and other submerged tubing that may have kinked or pulled off while the raised legs bounced about for a1000 miles on a truck ?
Click to expand...

We haven't
Had that all checked before she left Chichester
Never realised how much stress a long tow would put on an engine
 
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