Cat 3208 n.a. coolant leak

[JD]

skipperdude wrote:She came right back to life and settled down to a low idle with narry a knock or rattle.
I was so blown away I couldn't believeit I actually did a bit of a Newfie Jig.*

-- Edited by skipperdude on Sunday 12th of February 2012 06:36:56 PM

*Great.* Have you wiped that smile off of your face yet.* Let me know if it is gone by morning.

One tip.* Use*six or eight point*box end*wrench to tighten or loosen the nut on a rocker.* Way less chance of coming off and rounding the corners.

 

[skipperdude]

JD wrote:
*

One tip.* Use*six or eight point*box end*wrench to tighten or loosen the nut on a rocker.* Way less chance of coming off and rounding the corners.

*Thanks JD right on with that. I think I just put that wrench on there to show what I was doing.

Next week I will do the break in. Only because I didn't bring the oil for an oil change.

*A couple of the boys were on board when I fired her up and were suprised that I didn't have to bleed the injectors.

I guess that the fuel pump being full of fuel was all that was required to get it to light off. As I said before all I did was pump up the priming pump.

I know the injectors were empty because I had to pull the caps off to change the O rings.

This was a big job for me I hope you can see my apprehension when you look at how far down I had to take the engine to start rebuilding.

The first pic is where the water pump*was to go.

Next is the block and pistons port and starboard

the last*2 pic's show the finished product including the rebuilt heat exchanger. from a coolant leak to a major rebuild. Wheww!!

Almost done.

SD


-- Edited by skipperdude on Monday 13th of February 2012 12:17:10 PM

 

[Per]

damn i am impressed.. in awe.
well done!

 

[skipperdude]

Well this weekend was the final on this project.

Changed the oil and fired her up again I let it idle untill the temp guage started showing an increase then ran it up to 1/2 the rated RPM for the engine. after about about 30 min it slowley took it up to 2800 RPM the rated RPM for the engine. Just following*Da Book as FF would say.

Man*I have to admit she sounded great.

No coolant leak as far as I could tell.

She seems to have a slightly different sound. More even. Sort of a purr. I think the kitty likes her new parts.

SD

*

*

 

[expat]

Good work, you certainly stick to your saying "if you cant repair it you shouldnot have it"

 

[Codger2]

skipperdude wrote:Man*I have to admit she sounded great.
No coolant leak as far as I could tell.

********** :worship: :worship: :worship:

 

[JD]

skipperdude wrote:Well this weekend was the final on this project.
Changed the oil and fired her up again I let it idle untill the temp guage started showing an increase then ran it up to 1/2 the rated RPM for the engine. after about about 30 min it slowley took it up to 2800 RPM the rated RPM for the engine. Just following*Da Book as FF would say.

Man*I have to admit she sounded great.

No coolant leak as far as I could tell.

She seems to have a slightly different sound. More even. Sort of a purr. I think the kitty likes her new parts.

SD

Glad all is well.* Now admit it.* It wasn't as bad as you thought.* Is the grin gone yet?

*

 

[skipperdude]

Thanks folks you are to kind.

It sure is a good feeling knowing that the heart and sole of the boat is strong and healthy.

*As she go's now there is nothing mechanical or electrical that*I haven't gone through and rebuilt ( Usually Overbuilt )as good as new.

I don't think I could buy a new boat put together any better than The Apache II.

All systems are go and 100%

As they say in Oz* "No worries mate"

I like it.

SD

*


-- Edited by skipperdude on Monday 20th of February 2012 04:41:55 PM

 

[Forkliftt]

SD::::You are my hero!!:smile:

 

[skipperdude]

I thought I had it all locked down and took the boat for a ride last weekend.

when we got back to the harbor I opened the hatches and discovered diesel all over the top of the motor it was stained red.

The only thing red was a dye I had put in my hydraulic pump chasing a leak. So what was it doing on top of the engine?

Turns out. After a wipe down and a restart that one of the injector lines had developed a leak the red color was*rust *from the steel line.

It leaked right where the clamp is that holds the fuel line assembly together.

When I pulled the assembly off to do the rebuild I must have caused a leak. Very high pressure.

$70.00 from cat. Expensive little bugger. Now do I replace the leaking one or do them all?

SD

 

[Forkliftt]

I say just the one. I have hardly ever seen an injector line fail. Sounds like yours failed because it was not secured and rubbed against something. Just change one- and you can send me the remaining $490!! No, I changed my mind. I will take some more ginger cookies!! SD, we do a lot of teardowns and over the years I have developed a system that works for me. My memory is terrible, so to begin with I snap digital pictures before and during the tear down. This helps me reconstruct the routing of lines, hoses, wiring, etc. These days I just snap away with my iPhone. Secondly I use telephone wire to mark all hoses, wiring terminals- anything that needs to be reconnected. We keep sections about 10" long of the Multi color telephone wires in the grey outer cover- and anytime I disconnect a starter wire, etc. I cut one of these wires in half and put one on each side. It helps me to remember where things go and it makes the job go faster. The last thing I do is put my fasteners in a Multi compartment tray as I disassemble the project. Iwechave a stack of those Craftsman toolbox plastic drawer inserts that I had the bottom sprayed with truck bedliner. I label each set of bolts. Bellhousing. Starter. Control valve. I'm anal about putting the original hardware back where it belongs. Anyway, what you are doing works great too. This is proven by the fact that she started up and you have been cruising:smile:

 

[Edelweiss]

I'm with steve.* Unless they are rust pitted, the chances of the rest of them failing is remote.* Since it leaked at the pipeloom it was probably under stress or*a vibration wear point.* Just check the rest of them at that*clamp and you're good to go.

Larry B*

 

[Codger2]

Forkliftt wrote:
*No, I changed my mind. I will take some more ginger cookies!!

______________________________________________________

Some more ginger cookies! What the hell is that? I tried to order some & couldn't! :jawdrop:

 

[FF]

"After a wipe down and a restart that one of the injector lines had developed a leak the red color was rust from the steel line."

This would scare the crap out of me as all that rust is being pumped thru your injectors!

AS a minimum I would pull each and every line and flush them , and change the oil in the injection pump base , and flush IT!!!

Brake cleaner spray will help clean the inside of the delivery tubing.

 

[Forkliftt]

Walt
I know SD provides baked goods to the Cruise Ships in Alaska, but down here we have to earn the cookies!! I don't remember exactly how I did this- but I think it included SkipperDude praises and maybe pushing for a SkipperDude Presidential bid???:biggrin:
I DO remember getting my carefully wrapped assortment of Skipperdude cookies in the mail:smile:Ginger is my favorite- but they were all delicious!!

 

[skipperdude]

FF wrote:
"After a wipe down and a restart that one of the injector lines had developed a leak the red color was rust from the steel line."

This would scare the crap out of me as all that rust is being pumped thru your injectors!

AS a minimum I would pull each and every line and flush them , and change the oil in the injection pump base , and flush IT!!!

Brake cleaner spray will help clean the inside of the delivery tubing.

*Gotcha FF I will do just that. It troubles me that removing the lines is what caused the leak. The pipeloom as Larry called it ( thanks for the tec term Larry) is where the leak is. I don't think there would be any problem with the injector pump as it is up stream from the leak. Perhaps the adaptor where the injector connects through the head could be an issue.

I bought the tubes for cylinder's 5 and 7 as that is where the leak was

I didn't disassemble it but it was at that pipeloom that the problem occurred. I am going to look at some sort of gasket or insert on the pipeloom *to prevent the vibration from causing this to happen.

On the right side top of the pic is the area where it was leaking.

The second pic is the injector adaptor

Any suggestions?*

SD



-- Edited by skipperdude on Wednesday 29th of February 2012 10:29:32 AM


-- Edited by skipperdude on Wednesday 29th of February 2012 10:46:27 AM

 

[RickB]

If you are finding a lot of rust in the fuel that leaked out onto the engine it is unlikely that it came from inside the injector pipe. You will probably cause far more problems removing them again and "cleaning" them.

The failure you experienced is fairly common. It happens because the high pressure pulse tries to straighten the injector tube and unless the clamp (vibration absorber in Cummins speak) is tight enough to restrain the pipe it will oscillate back and forth until it wears through the pipe as you discovered. If there is any moisture around, the shiny worn steel immediately rusts and the superfine particles are spread around the area but are usually invisible unless you wipe the area with a clean white rag or get a lot of liquid diesel fuel on it so that it gets suspended and becomes visible. If you use red dyed fuel, it just looks worse.

Nobody ever checks those clamps bu they should. Any sign of rust at one is a warning flag.

Large engines now have to have the high pressure pipe inside a larger tube so that the spray from a leaking pipe will not cause an explosion and fire when the fog of fuel reaches the exhaust piping. Those larger pipes drain to a small tank that has a level alarm to warn of a leaking injection pipe.


-- Edited by RickB on Wednesday 29th of February 2012 11:17:24 AM

 

[skipperdude]

Thanks Rick. You know I am not even sure it was rust. It was reddish in color.

I did pour a gallon of Marvel mystery oil into the tank as well as a stabilizer for the winter so the fuel may be red in color. I will check it out when next*I am on the boat.

I really didn't get time to tear it apart before the tunnel out of Whittier closed. I will check this all out.

*After looking at the pic I posted I can't see any rust where I found the leak.

I am going to go over all the clamps on the lines and make sure they are tight would you suggest any sort of rubber or gasket to prevent the clamps from wearing the tube away.

*I know Cat does it the way they do but I was thinking of a retrofit to the design.

It is a good thing that I found this because as you say people should be aware of this issue and check it out once in a while as a preventative maintenance.

SD

*

 

[RickB]

skipperdude wrote:...*would you suggest any sort of rubber or gasket to prevent the clamps from wearing the tube away.

*I would replace old loose ones with factory new. The idea is to eliminate as much vibration as possible and if the old ones are worn and can't hold the pipes tightly together then they should be replaced.

There is a tremendous amount of power in the vibrations and it can cause cracking and leaks at both the pump and injector ends as well as wear at the clamp itself.

 

[Forkliftt]

Ditto here. Those engineers should know the best way.

 

[skipperdude]

There was a lot of people that viewed this topic.

*Did anyone really get anything out of it. Other than reading about my bumbling around trying to fix my motor?

It sure helped me a lot as some of the suggestions were right on from the begining.

Are things like this what the forum is about.

Was it a wast of time for anyone?

SD

 

[JD]

skipperdude wrote:
There was a lot of people that viewed this topic.

*Did anyone really get anything out of it. Other than reading about my bumbling around trying to fix my motor?

It sure helped me a lot as some of the suggestions were right on from the begining.

Are things like this what the forum is about.

Was it a wast of time for anyone?

SD

*It is not a waste of time if anything that anyone said helped you gain the confidence to do the job.* And that's what seems to have happened.

 

[Edelweiss]

I always love following someones efforts at fixing a problem by getting down and getting their own hands dirty.* Nothing worse than listening to people tell*stories of how they paid someone*to do something they could have done*themselves.*

Look how much you learned about your boat and your engine.* I'll bet you have more confidence in your self and your skills now, than before you started this project?* I enjoyed this string very much and was delighted by your success.* Keep it up!!

Larry B

 

[CPseudonym]

I find these to be the most enjoyable and educational threads to read. I gain valuable insight following them. I am particularly fond of the input from folks like Rick and others who obviously posses a high degree of knowledge in marine mechanical systems.

SD you are one of the many folks on this board i'd like to have a beer with someday, we seem to share a can do/learn as you go attitude. Sure, its cost me a dollar or two going that route through the years but all education has a price. Couldn't agree more with Larry, if folks have both the time and the aptitude why hire out? There are times when it's prudent and convenient but it's downright boring to hear folks post about. I recently hired out an outboard repair that I just didn't have the time to do but didn't feel compelled to start a thread about it, I did enough writing in my checkbook*

 

[FF]

"Nothing worse than listening to people tell stories of how they paid someone to do something they could have done themselves. "

Not really , many folks understand the problem and the fix , but are reluctant to tackle the job,for lack of experience.

Paying someone , and watching over their shoulder , Monkey See Monkey Do can show folks how easy the job really is.

It is a good technique for folks starting . or that can not understand Da Book,for lack of experience.

 

[JD]

CPseudonym wrote:SD you are one of the many folks on this board i'd like to have a beer with someday, we seem to share a can do/learn as you go attitude.

Tell the truth.* You just want to get your hands on some of his Oatmeal Cookies.

 

[skipperdude]

Thanks for the accolades I wasn't really looking for that but appreciated.

*It was kind of a long thread over 4,000 people looked in to see what was happening. As it started with a coolant leak and morphed into a rebuild.

I was just hoping someone learned something from all the questions and answers.

When it comes right down to it it was just nuts and bolts with a little grunting and groaning because of the heavy parts.

It's like if I could do it anybody can.

Like Larry of Edelwisse said "*You have more confidence in your self and your skills now, than before you started this project."

I sure do.

What I am trying to say is Jump in with both feet and Get er done. Adjust your valves. Keep up on the maintenance.

Know your boat systems. What happens if you are out there somewhere and something go's wrong. You have to be able to fix things.

Like I always say " If you cant fix it maybe it shouldn't be on the boat."

The forum was a great help and offered a boat load of encourigement.

Thanks to all.

SD

*


-- Edited by skipperdude on Friday 23rd of March 2012 10:47:19 AM

 

[CPseudonym]

JD wrote:CPseudonym wrote:SD you are one of the many folks on this board i'd like to have a beer with someday, we seem to share a can do/learn as you go attitude.

Tell the truth.* You just want to get your hands on some of his Oatmeal Cookies.

*Oatmeal cookies would be good too. But if I shake him down for anything it would be some of those crab he posted the other day

 

[FF]

Oatmeal cookies?

Was that with the "Alice B Toklas" recipe?

 

[cworthy]

It was worthy it!

There was a lot of people that viewed this topic.

*Did anyone really get anything out of it. Other than reading about my bumbling around trying to fix my motor?

It sure helped me a lot as some of the suggestions were right on from the begining.

Are things like this what the forum is about.

Was it a wast of time for anyone?

SD

I often tell the SO that reading these forums is better than reading a first rate novel.
I WAS INTRIGUED to find out how your project ended! It was a great read, informative and gave me the encouragement to tackle lesser jobs. Hopefully I will work my way up to ones of your difficulty level.
Keep up the great information sessions. Obviously, there are many who enjoy it. Hopefully other enterprising boaters will also be encouraged to share their experiences.

CWORTHY
"Boatless in NS"