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By Paul Esterle — Spring 2006
It was a warm, bright day in late June, and I don't think there was another diesel-powered boat on the lake we called home. We had just taken delivery of our "new" boat, a 35-footer-our biggest to date and our first with diesel power. To be safe, I'd read every diesel manual I could get my hands on in preparation for our first trip away from the dock. After advancing the throttle to the recommended place, I turned the key, and true to form, the engine started right up.
Observing the requisite water flow from the exhaust before noting the right oil pressure and three-quarters-full fuel tank, my wife and I gingerly cast off the lines. We cruised past the breakwater and started putting our new girl through her paces. We practiced turning at various rpm settings, tried to estimate speed (the knotmeter wasn't functioning), and began to develop a working relationship with our powerplant.
All went well for about an hour; we were cruising-impressing our neighbors with the new boat and enjoying the calm waters. Our first inkling that something might be wrong was a slight decrease in engine rpm. Thinking I had inadvertently bumped the throttle, I advanced it slightly. Shortly after, the same thing happened. I again advanced the throttle to bring the engine up to cruising speed.
Soon I had the throttle firewalled and was still losing rpm. All too soon the engine shut down, and the boat became very quiet. Luckily we were in the middle of the lake with no appreciable wind. Unluckily the lake is well over 250 feet deep, so anchoring was out of the question.
I checked the fuel level; there was plenty in the tank. I had drained the fuel filter before leaving the dock, so I was reasonably sure there was no water in the fuel. Posting my wife as lookout, I crawled below the engine cover.
The engine would crank, but it wouldn't start. With a diesel, that usually means a fuel problem. I was about to start bleeding the fuel lines when I checked the Racor fuel filter. It was clean when we left the dock, and I couldn't imagine it being filled up so soon from just a few hours of cruising.
To my surprise it was absolutely black with crud, clogged solid with grunge. The previous owner had left a spare filter aboard, but I'd never changed this style of Racor. I had to fumble around loosening the band clamp while leaning on and over a hot engine-in the middle of a late-June afternoon. Once I removed it I could see that the filter element was a textbook case in clogging, filled with black particles and gunk.
After replacing the element and then discovering several methods of installing the new O-ring incorrectly, I finally got everything reassembled without any leaks. I was lucky that there was a pan under the engine to collect any fuel or oil leaks and that it had worked. Not a trace of diesel fuel got in the bilge or over the side. I was a different story, decorated with old engine oil and spilled diesel from the filter.
It was now time to start the engine. I had never bled the fuel lines on any diesel, and I didn't even know if I had the proper wrenches aboard or where the bleed points were. Then I remembered a tip from an old-timer. It probably isn't approved by any engine manufacturer, but it does work: Use WD-40 as starting fluid.
I had no other options, so I sprayed some in the air intake while my wife cranked the engine. It started! I continued spraying in small amounts until the engine ran by itself.
We immediately headed for the dock. Later, we learned what had caused our filter to get so clogged so quickly.
It turns out our boat had been trucked 480 miles to our lake, then crane-launched. The batteries were dead, so our marina towed the boat to our slip. The partially filled fuel tank, in conjunction with the motion of the boat, stirred up years' worth of sediment in the tank's bottom. The sediment was still somewhat in suspension when we took our little jaunt-and thus found its way into our filter.
What did I learn that day about underway maintenance? Always know your fuel system's bleed points; practice bleeding your engine with the proper tools; keep more than one spare filter aboard; and always be suspect about old fuel.
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