We managed to get back to the boat within a day or two and get down to work. I sent Feng away, with the dog, to give me some working space and began to cover myself in diesel again. New pump in hand, I emptied 28 litres of grungy diesel fuel out of the tank – we’re talking milky fuel mixed with about 3 inches of dark brown sludge. I’ve never seen anything like it! I replaced all of the hoses and ran through at least 3 fuel filters before it was running clear again.
I still had one problem… the fuel was flowing freely until it hit the lift-pump. I spent a full day trying to figure out how to get the engine primed and the lift-pump working again before I buckled and had to call-in professional help. Ed Breen (Breen Marine) came out and [expensively] found the problem. Apparently the previous owner re-used crush gaskets for the fuel lift-pump and when the engine strained under load of sucking in bad diesel, it also sucked air into the pump and broke the syphon. The air killed the engine. *sigh*
At any rate, a large bill later and a few extra hoses and filters to keep on hand, the problem is resolved! Yay! We now have a better-than-ever diesel engine and are headed for Bayfield…
For the record…
– Don’t buy fuel hoses at Princess Auto.
– Make sure to check that all fuel hoses, nipples and connections are the correct size. My engine now has a mix of 1/4, 3/8 and 5/8 hoses connecting to various bits. Ugh.
– My engine uses Napa Gold 3166 (Carquest 86166) filters. They seem to be stocked in two’s. Two in Goderich, Two in London etc… Buy them when you can!
– I don’t like the taste of diesel.
– Don’t re-use fuel crush gaskets.
– Fuel filters come with 3-4 gaskets + 2 o-rings. Don’t use them all. 2 gaskets + 2 o-rings is what you need.
blah blah, boring entry, I know. But this will help me in the future.