When am I gona get a break?

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:43 am

Yesterday, after working on her for countless hours this spring, I launched Sea Breeze. Both engines fired right up and were pumping water out of the exhaust. The only problem was the engine alarm on the port engine was buzzing and the oil pressure was reading zero. It usually takes a few seconds for the pressure to come up , but this time it didn't. I goosed it a little, thinking the extra revs would get the oil flowing. When that didn't work I shut the engine down. I then proceeded to move the boat out of the slings on one engine. Once in a slip and the boat secured I started to check why there was no oil pressure... I checked the oil and it was full. I know I had good oil pressure last fall when I pulled the boat. I checked the wires on the sending unit to make sure they were making good contact. I put in a mechanical pressure gauge, hoping the sending units were bad. Everything I checked was fine, but I had zero oil pressure.

Today I pulled the oil pump off, along with the distributor and the gear that turns both the distributor and oil pump. (Chrysler 440's have an external oil pump so you don't need to raise the engine and drop the pan.) While trying to get one of the oil cooler lines off the oil pump, I managed to break one of the fittings. The hose will have to be replaced. The gears in the oil pump should turn freely. Mine weren't, the gears were very hard to turn, so I went out and bought a new pump. I have no idea what could have happened to the pump over the winter to cause the pump to fail. Hopefully I won't need all the kingsâ€™ horsemen to put humpty together again. Anyways, thatâ€™s tomorrowâ€™s project. If all goes well, I'll be moving the boat to the harbor Saturday. I really can't wait to get out of the boatyard and into my slip

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 7:29 am

You might want to take the old pump apart and see what kind of shape it's in. If the gears are a damaged and you find metal shavings, there's a chance that some of them may have gotten into the rest of your oil system.

You can also change the oil filter and cut the old one open to check for metal shavings. I dont want to sound alarmist but I would be concerned. Keep in mind that not all of the oil passes thru the filter. Most systems have a built in bypass which allows a portion of the oil
pumped to go directly to the engine to keep up with lubrication demands. Filters are too restrictive to handle all of the oil flow requirements to keep up with the demand of the engine.

Hopefully though, you'll find everything to be clean and ready for a great boating season.

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 8:57 am

I did take the old pump apart and the gear and ring look good with no signs of wear, The shaft that turn the gear is stiff. I don't know if there is a bearing or just a machined fit, but that is where the failure took place.

Changing oil is on the to do list today. After I get the pump installed I plan on using an old distributor drive gear to spin the oil pump. With the distributor and the drive gear out you can insert an old drive gear shaft into the oil pump and spin it with a drill. I cut the gear off the old shaft and welded a rod long enough to extend out of the distributor hole. Spinning the oil pump should pump oil through out the engine. I don't think the engine was run long enough to damage the bearings, but I don't want to run it any more with out oil, even that short time it would take for the engine to prime itself.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 6:28 pm

The by pass on most filter is there in case the filter plugs other wise all the oil shoulf flow thru it

PRIMARY FILTERS

Primary filters are standard on most engines. They are also called â€œfull-flowâ€ because 100% of the engine oil passes through them in normal operation. The filters must work without introducing a lot of restriction, or else oil will not flow into the engine during cold start-ups. This is one reason the full-flow filter allows passage of the comparatively small contaminants; trying to catch everything would restrict flow.
If blockage occurs in the filter, bypass valves open. This allows oil to go around the filter and back to the engine. In this situation, lubrication with unfiltered oil is better than none at all.

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 3:02 am

Good news and bad. First the good news; Sea Breeze is back in Burnham Harbor in Chicago. The bad news is She made the 22 mile run on one engine. Friday I went to the boat yard with the new oil pump, filter, oil, and my oil change kit. I changed the oil and installed the new pump. The shaft that drives the oil pump has a 5/16 hex on the end that fits into the oil pump. I had a 5/16 hex rod that I inserted into the oil pump through the hole that the distributor goes in. I planned on using a drill to spin the oil pump and pump oil through out the engine before inserting the drive gear and distributor. that way on start up the engine would be pre lubricated. The only problem, I couldn't turn the oil pump. What should have spun easily wouldn't turn. After scratching may head and saying a few more then a few words not fit to print I removed the pump only to find I had broke the pump when I was installing it. The oil pump has a round shaft fitted with an O ring that slides into the block. Even though I lubed the O ring, I couldn't compress the O ring to slip into the block. On the port engine the oil pump is on the outside front of the engine. To get to it you have to lie on top and hang over the front of the engine to install the pump. No matter how hard I twisted and pulled, I couldn't get that O ring to slide into the block. I thought that if I used a threaded rod screwed into the block I could draw the pump into the block with a nut. What I didn't realize, at the time, by tightening the nut I cocked the pump and cracked the casting. I think the plan would have worked if I had used at least two rods and drew the pump in with even pressure, but I only had one, so that what I used. We can go through all the clichÃ©â€™s: hind sight is 20/20; live and learns; failure is the best teacher; bottom line is I broke the pump and couldnâ€™t get anther one over the weekend. I wanted my boat in the harbor so I took a chance and brought her there on one engine. Certainly not a plan I would recommend, but at least that plan worked this time. No, Iâ€™m not that crazy. A friend was moving his boat to the harbor and ran escort. Fortunately he wasnâ€™t needed.

Now that the boat is in the harbor there isnâ€™t any huge rush to get the pump in. I will get it in soon but I can take my time and do it right.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:08 am

A lot folks say the would not take a boat out on one engine . I don't see a proplem other then your turning is fair oneway and docking can be fun .
They make single engine boats don't they ?

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:26 pm

Docking is the problem. In my case my friends at the harbor knew I was coming in on one engine and were ready to help me into my slip. Without there help I would have been in trouble. Being that it was the weekend there were plenty of able hands around. During the week there may have been no one to help and I wouldn't have considered bringing her in on one engine.

If on the other hand, if you start with two engines and loose one during the trip, you do what you have to to get back safely.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 2:41 pm

With a single screw, prop walk becomes a very important factor when docking. My single RH rotation pulls the back end to port when in reverse which is handy when docking in tight places. I would imagine that even on a twin screw boat that the use of prop walk can be a handy thing in tight places. On a single screw boat it's almost like having a stern thruster. If I want to pull straight into a dock and stop paralell with the dock on the port side, I have to pull into the slip with the back of the boat at an angle away from the dock. Then when the boat is put into reverse to stop forward motion, the back end will swing to port stopping the boat paralell to the dock.

It takes a little practice.

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 3:25 pm

When operating a twin engine boat with one engine, the prop walk is amplified. The power is off set from the center line of the boat. In my case, I had the starboard engine. Turning to port is easy. Turning to starboard is very sluggish, and next to impossible if there is a strong cross wind blowing from the starboard. If you have a lot of room to operate in, you can position the boat so your final approach can utilize the prop walk, but in tight quarters in a stiff wind, you will want all the help you can get.

You don't want to damage your boat, and certainly don't want to damage anyone else's.