petter ac1w

[comtech]

could anybody help me get this started ?

its been laid up for a while but turns over freely by hand and also when hooked up to the battery,the problem is it wont fire up.
i took the injector off and had it seviced but this didnt help,so i checked both pipes leading from the pump ( bleed off pipe and high pressure fuel pipe ) both are fine and the bleed off pipe which runs to the back of the injector sprays diesel all over the place ! the high pressure pipe is however dry as a bone.
to try and find out why i started to remove the pump,after eventually loosening the nuts the pump became loose and can be moved maybe 5-6 mm but then refuses to budge !
any ideas?

this is my first yacht and i'm beginning to realize that i need the help of a double jointed dwarf with very long fingers.

yours aye

 

[twisterkai]

I can't remember the exact position, but the cold start lever needs to be at a certain angle to allow injection pump removal. Although the fuel system on the petters is 'self bleeding' it sounds like an air lock. Beware! If you do need to remove the pump, be careful not to lose/damage any of the shims that are between the pump body and crank case - they set the timing.

If it's not air, it could be the stop lever mechanism. Although the lever is on the opposite side to the pump, it controls the rack in the pump through a simple link inside the crank case. If you can't get it to run at all, take the weight of the forward end of the engine (under the sump) with blocks of wood etc and remove the mounting cradle from the sump and flexable mounts. You can then remove the front cover plate (after removing water pump etc) using allan keys. You'll then be able to see the full internal controls to the injection pump.

 

[comtech]

If the problem on the petter is just an air lock,is there anything i can do before starting to dismantle the engine ?

yours aye

 

[twisterkai]

Bypass the engine fuel supply and rig up a temporary tank a couple of feet above the engine with a pipe from the bottom directly to the injection pump inlet - if possible, make sure it goes through a filter, it could be that the problem is muck in the pump. If it is muck, try putting any diesel fuel injection cleaning/conditioning liquid through the pump, it may help.

If you satisfy yourself that the problem is definately the pump, take it to a specialist - they can flush it through and check seals etc. If it's terminal (the pump), I've managed to get good second hand petter bits from Marine Engine Services at Uxbridge (near London). Haven't used them for a year or so, but they were always extremely helpful. Good luck with it.