Diesel engines
 

A friend is thinking of buying a yacht with twin diesel engines. He doesn't
trust the people who inspect boats because he believes they are in cahoots with
the yatch brokers. He asked me if I'd take a look at the engines in the boat he
made an offer on. Are there some things I can check on without taking a lot of
time and using expensive equipment? He suggested checking the exhaust for smoke
but since diesels burn oil anyway I wouldn't expect to tell much from that. Oil
analysis is out because the owner just changed it.
engineman1

Diesel engines
 

In article , Engineman1 wrote:

A friend is thinking of buying a yacht with twin diesel engines. He doesn't
trust the people who inspect boats because he believes they are in cahoots with
the yatch brokers. He asked me if I'd take a look at the engines in the boat he
made an offer on. Are there some things I can check on without taking a lot of
time and using expensive equipment? He suggested checking the exhaust for smoke
but since diesels burn oil anyway I wouldn't expect to tell much from that. Oil
analysis is out because the owner just changed it.

If it were me buying it then I'd want to do a compression test.

--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Mike Graham | Metalworker, rustic, part-time zealot.
|
http://www.metalmangler.com| Caledon, Ontario, Canada

Diesel engines
 

In article ,
says...
A friend is thinking of buying a yacht with twin diesel engines. He doesn't
trust the people who inspect boats because he believes they are in cahoots with
the yatch brokers. He asked me if I'd take a look at the engines in the boat he
made an offer on. Are there some things I can check on without taking a lot of
time and using expensive equipment? He suggested checking the exhaust for smoke
but since diesels burn oil anyway I wouldn't expect to tell much from that. Oil
analysis is out because the owner just changed it.
engineman1


AFAIK, any modern diesel is going to have recirculating coolant and a
heat exchanger. Check the PH of the coolant. I don't know if it affects
marine diesels but the trucks are running higher temperatures to burn
cleaner and the coolant starts etching if you don't watch the PH. Bubbles
in the recovery tank when the engine is running should cause you to start
running from this deal also. (Or at least give your buddy one heck of a
talking point in negotiating a better price.)

Later,
Joe

Diesel engines
 

Have him call several insurance companies for quotes. They will recommend
very independent expert marine surveyors who do this stuff for a living and
could care less what a yacht broker thinks of them. If you pay for a
valuation survey you'll get a thorough report and a fair estimate of the
value.

There's lots more to a boat than engines, and there's an awful lot to marine
engines. What you don't know can cost a fortune if it doesn't actually kill
you.

"Engineman1" wrote in message
...
A friend is thinking of buying a yacht with twin diesel engines. He
doesn't
trust the people who inspect boats because he believes they are in cahoots
with
the yatch brokers. He asked me if I'd take a look at the engines in the
boat he
made an offer on. Are there some things I can check on without taking a
lot of
time and using expensive equipment? He suggested checking the exhaust for
smoke
but since diesels burn oil anyway I wouldn't expect to tell much from
that. Oil
analysis is out because the owner just changed it.
engineman1

Diesel engines
 

I would ask to see the maintenance records.

John

Diesel engines
 

In article , Ed Huntress wrote:

that. Oil
analysis is out because the owner just changed it.

You can learn a lot about the condition of a diesel engine by having an
assessment done of the lubricating oil's condition.


I guess the missed that pertinant final line in the original poster's
message, the the oil was just changed.

--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Mike Graham | Metalworker, rustic, part-time zealot.
|
http://www.metalmangler.com| Caledon, Ontario, Canada

Diesel engines
 

There are two kinds of smoke from either Diesel or SI engine. First is
white/bluish smoke. Although we frequently say an engine smoking like
that is 'burning' oil, it is not really burning it. In fact, that is
vapor from hot oil, unburned, and comes from oil leaking into hot
cylinder from bad rings or valve seals, and is the same in SI or CI.

Second kind of smoke is black smoke, or soot. This has somewhat
different but related causes in SI and CI engines. In either case it is
due to rich mixture resulting in incomplete combustion, but the
technical details on exactly how the soot forms are different. In the CI
(Diesel) it usually means misadjustment or problem in fuel (injection)
control.

Engineman1 wrote:

A friend is thinking of buying a yacht with twin diesel engines. He doesn't
trust the people who inspect boats because he believes they are in cahoots with
the yatch brokers. He asked me if I'd take a look at the engines in the boat he
made an offer on. Are there some things I can check on without taking a lot of
time and using expensive equipment? He suggested checking the exhaust for smoke
but since diesels burn oil anyway I wouldn't expect to tell much from that. Oil
analysis is out because the owner just changed it.
engineman1

--
Don Stauffer in Minnesota

webpage- http://www.usfamily.net/web/stauffer

Diesel engines
 

"Mike Graham" wrote in message
...
In article , Ed Huntress
wrote:

that. Oil
analysis is out because the owner just changed it.

You can learn a lot about the condition of a diesel engine by having an
assessment done of the lubricating oil's condition.


I guess the missed that pertinant final line in the original poster's
message, the the oil was just changed.

Too bad.

--
Ed Huntress
(remove "3" from email address for email reply)

Diesel engines
 

Ed Huntress wrote:
"Mike Graham" wrote in message
...
In article , Ed Huntress
wrote:

that. Oil
analysis is out because the owner just changed it.

You can learn a lot about the condition of a diesel engine by having an
assessment done of the lubricating oil's condition.


I guess the missed that pertinant final line in the original poster's
message, the the oil was just changed.

Too bad.

How sensitive are the tests?
Obviously, they will pick up 'normal' levels of wear, but might you get
reasonable indications at lower levels, from 10 hours of wear?
Not to mention the fact that all the oil won't have been drained out.

--
http://inquisitor.i.am/ | | Ian Stirling.
---------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------
Two parrots sitting on a perch. One asks the other, "Can you smell fish?"

Diesel engines
 

Yep, indeed, steam. Steam should dissipate quicker than smoke. Bluish
white (oil vapor) stays a bit longer, soot hangs around forever,
unfortunately :-)

Carl Byrns wrote:

On Sun, 20 Jul 2003 12:11:30 -0500, Don Stauffer
wrote:

There are two kinds of smoke from either Diesel or SI engine. First is
white/bluish smoke. Although we frequently say an engine smoking like
that is 'burning' oil, it is not really burning it. In fact, that is
vapor from hot oil, unburned, and comes from oil leaking into hot
cylinder from bad rings or valve seals, and is the same in SI or CI.

Second kind of smoke is black smoke, or soot. This has somewhat
different but related causes in SI and CI engines. In either case it is
due to rich mixture resulting in incomplete combustion, but the
technical details on exactly how the soot forms are different. In the CI
(Diesel) it usually means misadjustment or problem in fuel (injection)
control.

You forgot white smoke- steam- from internal water leaks.

-Carl
"The man who has nothing worth dying for has nothing worth living for"- Martin Luther King, Jr.

--
Don Stauffer in Minnesota

webpage- http://www.usfamily.net/web/stauffer

Diesel engines
 

On Sun, 20 Jul 2003 19:19:27 GMT, Carl Byrns
wrote something
.......and in reply I say!:

There can be white _smoke_ (stays around and does not dissipate as
fast as steem) caused by too lean a mix, IIRC.

On Sun, 20 Jul 2003 12:11:30 -0500, Don Stauffer
wrote:

There are two kinds of smoke from either Diesel or SI engine. First is
white/bluish smoke. Although we frequently say an engine smoking like
that is 'burning' oil, it is not really burning it. In fact, that is
vapor from hot oil, unburned, and comes from oil leaking into hot
cylinder from bad rings or valve seals, and is the same in SI or CI.

Second kind of smoke is black smoke, or soot. This has somewhat
different but related causes in SI and CI engines. In either case it is
due to rich mixture resulting in incomplete combustion, but the
technical details on exactly how the soot forms are different. In the CI
(Diesel) it usually means misadjustment or problem in fuel (injection)
control.

You forgot white smoke- steam- from internal water leaks.

-Carl
"The man who has nothing worth dying for has nothing worth living for"- Martin Luther King, Jr.

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