The Head Gasket Saga
Most modern
cruising sailboats have an engine, to enter and leave ports and to make
progress in adverse winds or calm conditions. Anyone who has
experienced engine problems breathes a sigh of relief when the engine turns
over and starts. When engine failure occurs, the safety of the boat is
jeopardized whether in the middle of an ocean passage or entering the home harbour. This summer Pilgrim’s engine failed.
What follows is a description of how we detected, analyzed and repaired the
problem. We hope our story and photos will help other boaters avoid
engine problems, and be able to respond to the problems with our without
professional help.
July 23-24
Occasional Harbour
Bubbles in
the coolant expansion bottle with a bit of black stuff on the surface did not
seem to be too serious but worth a check. Out came the reference books for a
quick read on possible failures that could cause the symptoms. While we were at
anchor in Occasional Harbour we compared the
reference books. One book mentioned that we could have an exhaust manifold
crack … not too much of a problem as long as the coolant level stays high.
Another book mentioned that we should use dishwasher detergent to clean out the
coolant and any black scum that was present. A third reference mentioned
checking the oil dipstick for oil level increase and discolouration.
The oil level was checked with the dip stick and the colour
and level were normal. Based on the references we decided to carry on and not
worry about the bubbles.
July 25-
27 St Lewis /
Fox Harbour
We
continued to monitor the bubbles and black carbon during our motoring but there
was no significant increase since we first noticed the issue. We carried on
motoring and monitoring.
July 28-31 Battle Harbour
No oil colour or volume change and no increase in venting gave us
the confidence to continue motoring on to Newfoundland. We had not noticed any
external problems with the engine up to this point.
Newfoundland
August 1-3 Griquet
No oil colour or volume change and no increase in venting
August 4-7 St Anthony
No oil colour or volume change and no increase in venting
August 8 Conche
No oil colour or volume change and no increase in venting
August 9-11 Fourche Harbour,
Williamsport
No oil colour or volume change. The oil pressure metre started to have an erratic reading but that had
happened before and would eventually settle down.
August 12-13 Pacquet Harbour, Woodside
The coolant
level had dropped and there was an increase in the carbon floating in the
expansion tank. The engine operating temperature had started to climb from 160
to 180 degeers. While at anchor I added additional
glycol and checked the oil level but there was no change in level or color.
During our run to Little Bay Harbour things started
to deteriorate rapidly. The engine temperature started to climb to the point
where we had to shut down the engine. White smoke from the exhaust,
bubbles in the coolant expansion tank and a slow but steady loss of coolant …
Fortunately the wind materialized, and we were able to make 3 knots under main
and Genoa hard on the wind.
August 14-16 Little Bay Island
When we
were 1 mile off this harbour, we furled the Genoa and
managed to get the engine on long enough to come into the harbour
and dock at the public wharf (coolant lasts 20 minutes before it needs a refill
… means the motor needs to be cool enough to pop the rad
cap to refill the coolant).
We finally
did an oil change and discovered a half a liter of water in the bottom of the
oil pan.
Since we had a major problem with our diesel
engine, we had to plan to sail the 50 miles from Little Bay Island to
Lewisporte without the engine. We waited
for a forecast of moderate westerly winds, which would allow us to sail from
Little Bay Island all the way to Lewisporte.
We arranged a tow out of Little Bay Harbour
past Black Rock Sunker (such descriptive place names)
and unfurled the Genoa and hoisted the staysail.
The narrow channel out of Little Bay Island Harbour
and the folks that towed us out
August 17 Lewisporte
After a
difficult sail down the shipping channel we had a hard time getting a promised
tow into Lewisporte. Once dockside the real saga began.
Our long
awaited tow into Lewisporte
No advice,
bad advice, no diesel mechanic willing to visit the boat … total lack of
interest from anyone that could help set the stage for the most frustrating
experience I have ever experienced. It seems that Newfoundlanders expect
everyone to be able to do whatever is required to fix any problems one may
encounter. Even doctors sew up their own thumbs that they have almost cut off.
Back to the reference books and manuals … a 5 km walk to Canadian Tire to pick
up tools that I never thought I would need like a ˝ inch torque wrench.
The Ford
Lehman SP90 … better as a boat anchor than an engine
Several
emails to “experts” asking some simple questions were not answered … but rather
bad advice was easy to get. It simply came down to reading the service manual for
the engine and totally ignoring the armchair experts.
The exhaust
manifold was removed with help of a block and tackle hung from the top of the
engine compartment … the manifold was taken to a diesel shop for pressure
testing and it passed with flying colours.
Use an egg
carton to keep stuff in order … the exhaust manifold
Carbon
buildup in the exhaust ports of the exhaust manifold … cleaning it out
The head
was popped off after removing almost all of the components on the engine … fuel
filters, valve covers, rocker arms, push rods. The block and tackle was put use
to pop the head off the block … help from a local weight lifter helped lift the
head off the block in the confined space of the engine room. The head was
shipped off to St. John’s for a cleaning and rebuild.
The head
removed and the gasket break is clearly visible
A week
later the head was picked up and reinstalled … several days later all of the
various bits and pieces were reinstalled and valve clearances set. Severe
trepidation preceded the turning of the key for the first restart … A lot of
cranking to get the fuel flowing finally resulted in a running engine. The
break-in schedule was followed before any load applied and we finally had a
running engine.
Clean and
rebuilt head as delivered and installed
Have tools ….
Will travel
Lessons
learned
- Your are on your own outside of major
cities
- Carry enough spares and tools to do
everything within reason. Taking off the head is apparently within reason.
- Before heading off on a long multiyear
voyage take the time to rebuild the engine yourself
- Carry at least 5 changes of oil and
transmission fluid plus filters
- DO NOT rely on the oil dip stick to tell
you anything … take an oil sample from the bottom of the oil pan.
- Know the weights of each engine part you
may need to remove
- Install a way of lifting parts that are
too heavy to lift by one person
- Carry the shop and parts manuals
- Carry a pressure tester for the coolant
system … it can be used to test the injector excessive fuel line.
- Carry a spare injector and high pressure
line set
- Carry at least 2 head and exhaust manifold
gaskets
- Carry a full set of ˝ inch sockets and a
120 ft-lb torque wrench
- The “experts” will always appear and offer
help and opinion after the job is done.
- Run a diesel at 80% rpm and adjust the
prop pitch to prevent laboring the engine … prevents carbon buildup
- Glycol plus oil creates a terrible gelatinous mess
that is very hard to clean up, plugs oil passages, puts a glaze on
bearings and screws up engines
- Water plus oil produces a mixture that resembles
a chocolate milk shake … not good but can be fixed
- If you get glycol in oil … drain the
coolant immediately and replace with drinking water if you can’t fix the
problem immediately … remember to clean the gook out of the valve cover
and anything else you can get at … you need at least 5 oil and filter
changes to clear up the mess once you fix the problem. Always pull oil
samples from the drain plug. Water is heavier than oil so will settle on
the bottom of the oil pan and will be the first thing pulled out of the
pan.
- Alternatives to oil for the cleaning out
the engine include ATF and diesel fuel … run at
idle without a load for a short time. Check your manual.