ddspeer
10-16-2005, 03:08 PM
I posted a couple of photos of an oil leak repair done last year and left a teaser note about it. Well here is the complete (almost) story of what happened.
I have a 30 year old sailboat with a Volvo MD17C diesel that has been a real faithful engine for the eight years that I've had the boat. It had been leaking a little oil for quite some time and last summer it finally got bad enough that I decided to have it fixed. I stopped in at my favorite boat yard in Portland near the end of August and told them what I wanted, that is fix the oil leak. The leak was from under the number three cylinder jacket so the heads and jackets would have to be removed to put in new gaskets. Since the engine had been raw water cooled I thought that would be a good time to see if I needed new sleeves and told the head mechanic that. I left my boat and went home. I called every week for the next four weeks and was told every time that they hadn't had time to look at it yet. I finally drove to Portland and found my engine completely taken apart, laying in three boxes on the shop floor. I hit the roof! Unfortunately I didn't demand they put it back together as is. I allowed them to continue the complete rebuild they had started without my permission. $8000 later I had my boat and engine back and had every expectation that all would be well for some time to come. NOT!
Six weeks ago I found my number one cylinder full of water when I tried to start the engine. Now, after many phone calls and exasperating arguments with the boat yard they have found that the head on number one cylinder has failed. It has a hole in the wall between the exhaust port and the cooling chamber. Exactly where we go from here isn't perfectly clear as I'm still arguing with them on who is responsible for what.
I have a 30 year old sailboat with a Volvo MD17C diesel that has been a real faithful engine for the eight years that I've had the boat. It had been leaking a little oil for quite some time and last summer it finally got bad enough that I decided to have it fixed. I stopped in at my favorite boat yard in Portland near the end of August and told them what I wanted, that is fix the oil leak. The leak was from under the number three cylinder jacket so the heads and jackets would have to be removed to put in new gaskets. Since the engine had been raw water cooled I thought that would be a good time to see if I needed new sleeves and told the head mechanic that. I left my boat and went home. I called every week for the next four weeks and was told every time that they hadn't had time to look at it yet. I finally drove to Portland and found my engine completely taken apart, laying in three boxes on the shop floor. I hit the roof! Unfortunately I didn't demand they put it back together as is. I allowed them to continue the complete rebuild they had started without my permission. $8000 later I had my boat and engine back and had every expectation that all would be well for some time to come. NOT!
Six weeks ago I found my number one cylinder full of water when I tried to start the engine. Now, after many phone calls and exasperating arguments with the boat yard they have found that the head on number one cylinder has failed. It has a hole in the wall between the exhaust port and the cooling chamber. Exactly where we go from here isn't perfectly clear as I'm still arguing with them on who is responsible for what.