FL 120 injection pump fill level stripped

[J. Landin]

Going through the engine, changing fluids, hoses, coolers and heat exchanger. While checking the fluid level in the injection pump before draining, I discovered the oil level screw was stripped….and the injection pump oil was very diluted with diesel. The hole in the boss for this screw seemed to be about the size of an 1/8” NPT fitting. I covered the tap in grease and proceeded to slowly tap the port. Long story short the whole cast aluminum boss broke off from the injection pump. It appears one of the previous owners had broken this boss and epoxied it in place.

I cleaned all the epoxy residue from the injection pump and broken piece and finished taping the piece in the vice. Then cleaned everything with acetone, epoxied a nipple into the newly threaded boss and epoxied the piece back onto the injection pump. For the future I’ll just use a SS 1/8 NPT cap for checking the fluid level. Should hold fine. Epoxy used is JB Weld KwickWeld.

 

[READY]

For a MacGyver repair it looks pretty good. i would think you might want to think about finding a spare pump. Given you need to change this oil every 50-100 hours it is going to see a lot of cycles. I would hate to be dependent on this type of repair, even though it may last forever. If you can locate and buy a spare pump that will insure that your repair never fails!!

 

[Max1]

Nice. I've never used JB Weld before. I hope that holds up.

 

[Irish Rambler]

On the surface a good looking repair for a 'bodge it and f***t it' job.
Sorry but I'm a fussy old git, and for such a critical part of your engine there's only one way, take the pump to a diesel pump repair shop and get a replacement pump.
You may find that an agricultural dealer will give you a much keener price than a marine 'specialist'.
Just for a moment imagine and metal filings that may have got inside the pump and what they would do over time, now imagine you've been caught out by an unexepected weather storm and the pump quits !

Attention to detail is the difference between an amatuer and professional.

 

[jleonard]

I think vibration will fail that repair. The additional torque of that extended pipe and fitting will take it out.
I would pull the pump and either try to get it welded then re-tap, or a replacement pump as suggested above.

FWIW I only used that "fill level" hole 3 or 4 times. After that I got a plastic measuring cup, marked it for the oil volume er the manual, then would drain into the cup, note the level (and smell for diesel presence), then refill to that level.
In the 15 years I owned my Albin, I never had any appreciable amount diesel in the pump.

 

[J. Landin]

Thanks for the replies and I appreciate the concerns. The way I see it is this, the previous owner didn’t epoxy this boss back on it was at least the owner before him. That would make the old repair at least 8 years old and it only failed because I put the additional torque on it with the pipe tap. I will keep a keen eye on it and if it does happen to fail it is only the overflow port not the drain or a pressurized port.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

Another concern would be why did the original fail? I suppose it is possible that somebody turned it the wrong way (with a big wrench). It is also possible that the oil change was neglected for so long that the fill plug corroded (which seems almost impossible). If corrosion was the problem, what is the rest of the internal like? The failed fill could be a symptom rather that just a problem on its own.

Always nice to have TF opinions that your issue could be much worse. I'd put a smiley face emijo here if I knew how.

 

[J. Landin]

The original failure has me puzzled too. I think this is the section of the pump that contains the governor. It is likely, in my opinion, that someone replaced the overflow port screw with one that was too long and the governor body came around and knocked the whole boss off. The damage looks like it matches the rotation of the injection pump if that makes sense. Again, the way I look at it, the epoxy job worked for at least 8 years and I feel like I am pretty good at gluing things together..lol

I’ll find a proper plastic cap (oil, fuel and temp rated) to put on the end of the pipe nipple to reduce the cantilevered load. Maybe just turn one from Delrin.

 

[psneeld]

It is only an inspection/overflow port under little or no pressure.

An expanding rubber plug would probably work or just a larger diameter bolt tapped to correct size.

A good piece of tape would probably work if it could stick to the surface.

 

[Tator]

In the 16 years and thousands of miles I had my Lehmans, I only used the overflow plug twice. I used a mustard/ketchup type squeeze bottle that I marked with the appropriate measurement. As I had limited room on the outboard side of my stbd engine which made using a funnel difficult, it sure was a time and mess saver!

Tator

 

[Pete Meisinger]

It will hold up just fine. Personally, if there is fuel in the pump I suspect the pump could use a rebuild..or not. Those pumps are very durable, no need to change oil every 50 hours. Diesel fuel is actually a pretty good lubricant. I changed mine annually.

pete

 

[ronobrien]

Nice. I've never used JB Weld before. I hope that holds up.

I have used JB Weld on a few occasions. It seems to hold up pretty well.

 

[ronobrien]

I have a plan to install a self lubricating system on my twin FL120. I haven't worked out all the details yet but I hope to tap into a pressurized oil galley and run a line to the drain fitting at the bottom of the pump. Then run a line from the level check point and drain it back to the sump. The oil will change at every oil change. It will have a constant oil supply and any fuel dilution will go away with every oil change. As I said not all the details are worked out, just a concept. Any thoughts?

 

[Comodave]

I have a plan to install a self lubricating system on my twin FL120. I haven't worked out all the details yet but I hope to tap into a pressurized oil galley and run a line to the drain fitting at the bottom of the pump. Then run a line from the level check point and drain it back to the sump. The oil will change at every oil change. It will have a constant oil supply and any fuel dilution will go away with every oil change. As I said not all the details are worked out, just a concept. Any thoughts?

Not sure I would do that since you will be diluting the engine lube oil with diesel. Depending on how long you go between engine oil changes it could be a problem.

 

[av8r]

The pumps on the 135s (2725e) are lubed by the engine oil supply, there is a line from the top of the oil cooler-oil filter adapter on the block. It probably has a restrictor to limit the flow, and it drains the oil out the front into the timing gear cover. That’s why the 135s don’t have a pump oil change interval specified. Dilution doesn’t seem to be an issue.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. r. You might want to run your idea by Brian at American Diesel. He is a font of information regarding Lehmans. He will surely have an opinion on the viability of the alteration.

 

[ronobrien]

Not sure I would do that since you will be diluting the engine lube oil with diesel. Depending on how long you go between engine oil changes it could be a problem.

I think the dilution rate given the quantity in the oil sump is far less of a problem than the dilution rate given the oil quantity in the pump. Recommended oil change intervals for the pump is 50 hours. If I change the engine oil every 100 hours I think it will be fine. The pump is also machined to higher tolerances than anything in the engine. I concur with your thoughts in theory, but I think in actual application it will be OK. Thanks.

 

[ronobrien]

Greetings,
Mr. r. You might want to run your idea by Brian at American Diesel. He is a font of information regarding Lehmans. He will surely have an opinion on the viability of the alteration.

I was going to do that when I got to that point in the restoration. I think i heard that someone makes a retrofit kit to accomplish the same. I have a ways to go before then. Thanks.

 

[J. Landin]

I think your plan is great. As said above I would put in a restriction/orifice fitting at the source. Another item to add would be a check valve on the feed going to the existing drain plug. This would help ensure that your injection pump is full of oil on start up

 

[C lectric]

A couple of oil samples after the changes to the the lube system for the injection pump would answer the question about how the main oil sump, engine, is handling the fuel contamination.

 

[ronobrien]

I think your plan is great. As said above I would put in a restriction/orifice fitting at the source. Another item to add would be a check valve on the feed going to the existing drain plug. This would help ensure that your injection pump is full of oil on start up

Thanks. Great minds think alike. I was thinking of some sort of feed line restriction so the pump would not be overfilled. I was going to loop the feed line (bottom of pump) above the return line (side of pump). This would keep the oil level at the return line level when the engine is shut off..