My first Journey.

[J. Landin]

Going on my first real journey in my 1975 Marine Trader 34’ Sedan. The trip is only about 25 miles in the ICW in Florida from my slip in Sebastian to my Sisters house dock in Satellite Beach.
Engine:
Ford Lehman 120 w/800hrs on rebuild
New raw water pump and hoses, coolant and coolant hoses, heat exchanger, oil coolers and hoses.
Engine Oil, injection pump oil, and filter change
Transmission:
Fluid change, new cooler and oil hoses
Electrical:
100% new
DC panel, wiring and loads (new)
AC panel, wire and loads (new)
Victron Multiplus II Inverter, Cerbo GX monitoring, Orion 30a DC to DC charger
400aHr lithium house batteries 2/0 wiring
New Engine starter, wiring and 2 new group 31 starter batteries

Engine runs about 175 deg cruising. Oil pressure is 53 psi

All seems well which brings me to my question.
Anything I am missing?
Do these Ford Lehman’s just keep running as long as they have raw water, fuel and oil pressure?
What should I be looking out for?

Thanks

 

[High Wire]

Do you have towing insurance? Worth every penny if something happens.

 

[READY]

+1 on towing. Can save big $$ but also provides peace of mind. Carry a few spare impellers and Racor filters and of course some tools. Yes the Lehmans are really reliable. Have fun!

 

[Comodave]

The Lehmans are old but they run forever. They do have a known problem with the number 6 cylinder overheating but it isn’t very common. The Lehman guru is Brian at American Diesel. He is very willing to give advice and is the go to for parts. 804-435-3107

 

[J. Landin]

Thanks for the replies. Yes I have SeaTow Gold.

 

[PhilPB]

What to look out for? Manatees

 

[TBill36]

Sounds like a lot of work was recently done. Check for leaks and make sure your bilge pumps are working. Start the engines and look them over at the dock before leaving. Are belts properly tightened or are they slipping or showing vibration? Anything dripping? Check all the wiring and panels for excess heat. The infra-red thermometers are your friend. New doesn't necessarily mean correct. Then do a visual of your engine room every hour while running.

 

[BobMc]

Since you'll be one of the slowest boats on the Indian River Lagoon, watch out for jerks who will pass you without notice and leave you to deal with a nice wake. More of a problem when being passed from astern than from forward, but even then you'll want to take the wakes on a 45 degree angle to help reduce the roll. Stay tuned to VHF 16 and 13 for those boaters who are courteous enough to let you know they're going to pass. Know your VHF radio protocols (it's not CB radio)! Easy peasy - it's only 25 miles and you won't even have to anchor out if you make 7.5 MPH (inland waterway distances are measured in statute miles, not nautical miles). Stay in the channel!

 

[amapola]

Get TowBoatUS or SeaTow insurance before you go.

 

[rgano]

On EVERY journey take a few minutes while at 1600-1800 RPM to visit the engine with a strong flashlight. Look for any drips coming from the area of the seawater pump. Check UNDER the exhaust elbow for signs of rust or dripping - this is where you find out it is time to replace the elbow, often cited as a 500-hour job. Check around the radiator cap on the expansion tank and under the circulating pump for coolant leaks. Look at the level of the coolant recovery tank which should have been installed at some point in the engine's life to see that the level is an inch or two above the cold-engine level. Look along the whole fuel supply system for any leaks (use a blue paper shop towel for best display of leaking fuel). Look at the drip pan - using fresh oil absorbent pads there is a good way to notice issues. If you don't have one, get an IR thermometer and record findings at locations like individual cylinder exhaust ports and all coolers when you consider the engine running fine. You can even write them on the engine in magic marker if you please. Then during your few minutes every hour or two of running the engine you can compare a couple of your earlier readings with current temps.

 

[Delta Riverat]

I'd say you be good to go!

 

[tpfbdf]

I hope to make a similar post, someday! Have a great trip and enjoy the journey at trawler speed!

 

[ACT09]

Sounds great! you're good to go.

 

[J. Landin]

First off thank you all for the replies. Boat overall and engine ran great.

The week before I was running the engine at the slip to make sure everything was running smooth and no leaks. I started the engine and ran around to check the water flow at the exhaust, flowing great. Every 15 min I checked the pressures and temperatures on all 3 sets of my gauges. At about the 30 min mark I saw the engine temps rising and shut the engine down at 190deg. Sea strainer was clean and flowing but the raw water pump was not pumping. Next step, check the drive dog coupling on the Jabsco pump, it was fine. I inspected the jabsco drive months ago when I put in a new water pump impeller. Next I take the back cover off the impeller housing and find that all but 2 of the vanes are missing and the remaining 2 are barely hanging in there. I ordered a new Johnson pump from AD and asked Brian if he thought the impeller was old stock or something. He said that the only thing that would cause that would be a restriction or blockage on the raw water pickup side of the pump. He also said I should take all the pieces of the impeller I found and lay them out like the NTSB does to make sure I had retrieved all the pieces. Found 100% of the impeller and installed the new Johnson pump including the tapered metal oil passage block off pin.

The water at the marina was down about 12” so we bumped a little on the muddy bottom getting out. We ran at about 1700 rpm for 30 min before I went below to do some checking in the engine room. Previously I adjusted the packing gland on the shaft seal and found it was not dripping, too tight. With tools in hand, shut down the engine loosened the gland, tightened the jam nut and were on our way running a very slow drip.

The remainder of the trip was uneventful which was a good thing. Ran the engine up to 1900rpm making about 9 mph (not knots). Engine temps vary depending on what gauge I read. Flybridge station made it up to 180 but mostly ran at about 178. Lower station, same gauge type as above ran a tick over 180. Engine room digital made in USA gauge read 185 but this was mounted to the expansion tank.

These temperatures seem pretty good. Anyone have an opinion on temperatures? Is there a lower temperature thermostat that can be used? The trip took just over 3hrs.

Thank you,
Jeremy