Replacing Northern Lights 12kW GenSet Cylinder Head Part III (

This installment of the ‪@MVDirona‬ maintenance series picks up from our previous video, • Replacing Northern Lig... , where we replaced the defective cylinder head in our Northern Lights 12kW generator with a brand new one just shipped in from the US. In this video, we complete the job by adjusting the valves, replacing the coolant and bleeding the fuel system. Finally, we investigate whether anything in this installation can be improved for greater longevity.
You can read more about our travels at mvdirona.com, including a live map with our current location.
Link references in video:
69.1 Degrees: mvdirona.com/2...
North Atlantic Gales: • North Atlantic Gales (...
Diagnosing Low Power Output on a 12kW Generator: • Diagnosing Low Power O...
Replacing GenSet Cylinder Head Part I: • Replacing Northern Lig...
Replacing GenSet Cylinder Head Part II: • Replacing Northern Lig...

[@art4amor]

This is a compliment to You for all videos of the description of changing the generator head. The incredible patience during the action amazes me. The love for explaining how and why things work is fascinating. The camera setups are fantastically located so that we can see every movement and effect of the captain's engineer. The questions and answers are specified for anyone who may not know anything about the subject, but still learns almost enough to try to do the same thing himself. Personally, when I screw around my engines, I always have leftover screws or parts. Regards and thank You for sharing.

[@JasperTrojeTuck]

Thank you so much! I’ve learned a lot from your videos, we’ve got a 6kw northern lights generator onboard our boat in French Polynesia. Cheers for the tips!

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the feedback on the videos. We both appreciate it. Our generator has also spent time in French Polynesia and we had a truly spectacular time. Enjoy!

[@jimdavis1380]

Best primer on valve adjustment on the internet, period!

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the video feedback.

[@r.a.monigold9789]

No joking - the camera work and "do it again for the camera" shots is IMPRESSIVE. Good job on the pertinent questions as well. Thank you both for sharing!

[@MVDirona]

99% Jennifer's hard work to make this one. Thanks very much for the feedback.

[@James-seafan]

excellent video

[@MVDirona]

We appreciate the feedback.

[@TheBigWWI]

Very nice job. Well done and great vids!

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@rgr3427]

Thank you again for bringing us along with you on taking care of your vessel. Old mechanic friend of mine (old, ha, same age as me) would use a open end socket set so he could use a screwdriver at the same time to hold the set screw while tightening the nut. Saved him a little bit of time but as he did these all day long it added up.

[@MVDirona]

Your recommendation is the the right approach. What's going on is the central screw is the valve adjustment so you want to set it with screw driver and then use an open end wrench to tighten the lock nut. On this engine, the luck nut is below the lib of the rocker arm carrier so the open end wrench doesn't sit on the nut properly so I tighten most of the way like that but give a final tightening with a 10mm 1/4" drive socket and, as you saw, the adjustment sometimes changes a bit when I do this. I think the open end wrench could be used to fully tighten even though it's doesn't properly contact the full nut face and this would allow the job to proceed more quickly.

[@paulbadger6336]

MV Dirona, if you read Robert Rrudek’s statement carefully you will see that he mentions an “ open end socket”, not open end wrench. There are many ways to accomplish this the easiest is to purchase Matco tool MST8895.

[@MVDirona]

Wow! You're right, I thought "open end socket" was a mistake. I've never seen that tool and I just have to have one: Matco tool MST8895 (www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/MST8895/10mm-valve-adjustment-tool/). Thanks very much to you both for pointing it out.

[@paulbadger6336]

@@MVDirona , you're more than welcome, the least I could do.

[@BlueRidgeMarine]

Thanks guys, this was a new tool for me as well. I'm going to modify a socket and make one for my tractor. Thanks to you all.👍

[@Skysailor1000]

I always find new videos with your interesting topics. Respect. If your new Dirona sailed again, it would be as sensational as the new movie of Avatar or Lord of the Rings. 👍

[@MVDirona]

Thanks!

[@waleedbangash4859]

Great videos James. Very informative.

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the feedback on the video.

[@James-seafan]

great how to video good conversation and spitfire

[@MVDirona]

Spitfire was unusually interested in the latter part of that job. We call him the quality inspector.

[@RBLVentures]

And that to will make the engine runs with more ..rattle....Lucky you fixed it BEFORE it broke..Well done

[@MVDirona]

The engine now has 8,021 hours on it and it appears to be running very well.

[@karlbass7895]

Really educational rebuild episodes. Thanks for all the hard work put into the filming & editing... heck... and the dismantling and rebuilding. No disrespect to you James (after all, you did do the a wonderful diagnosis & rebuild), but Jennifer... great job of questions and camera angles to make sure all us DIYers had a good understanding and view of what "your mechanic" was doing. Yep, you're the admiral all right :).

[@MVDirona]

I agree. Jennifer was the interviewer, the camera operator, the producer, and the editor. And, we have just over 100 hours on the engine rebuild and it's running great!

[@roberttorres809]

Purring like a kitten... love these type of boat videos! Thanks for sharing them...

[@MVDirona]

Thanks!

[@RenlangRen]

Another great how-to video. You two make a great team at these with Jennifer always asking the perfect questions and James always has easy to understand answers with no jargon.

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the kind words.

[@jcisko8594]

Outstanding…..a little TLC, works wonders. You make a technical issue look easy. Brilliant. Thank you.

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the feedback on the video.

[@kj3rd2657]

Very good video! I also have to work on large ships emergency generators some times. I like all of your videos and want to say Thank You for posting them.

[@MVDirona]

Cool, what type of generators to you work upon? Thanks for the feedback and all the best in 2021.

[@wlismyid]

Takes a hex of a lot of patience. Well done!!

[@MVDirona]

:-). Thanks.

[@wlismyid]

MV Dirona James, Jennifer, and Spitfire please keep producing these great videos! Stay safe and be well!

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the feedback. We would like to do more videos but they take a surprisingly large amount of time. But we do have more planned. We're hiking and sight seeing in Norway right now (mvdirona.com) and it's incredible so that wont help :-).

[@wjb2]

worth the wait, to see the damage to the Valve. The number two valve look like it had some bad pitting on the valve face as well.Last time i saw a valve seat that pull was when my old BSA motorcycle suck a piece of gravel through the carburettor Bell mouth. Lesson learned the hard way ensure you’ve got a mesh over bell mouth. Thanks for the time you’ve taken to make a great set of videos.

[@MVDirona]

Yes, good eye. The exhaust valves appear to have all been leaking and generally were in poor condition. The #3 exhaust seat was the worst I've ever seen from a valve seat wear perspective.

[@lupinvaenget13]

Good repair, outstanding diagnose, am impressed !

[@MVDirona]

Thanks!

[@10bbremer]

Well done. I'm just working up the nerve to change out the water pump impeller on my outboard!

[@MVDirona]

Me too! I've not yet done that job yet either even though we have two outboards and the last one was 9 years old and 600 hours when we sold it still on the original impeller.

[@Merrimac2]

Great work James & Jennifer!

[@MVDirona]

It's great hearing from you Merrimac2. I hope you adventure is continuing to be as much fun as the last time we talked. We're in Norway and loving it.

[@paulsthemarksman]

As always a very informative video thank you guys love your channel

[@MVDirona]

Thanks!

[@marcellopasini]

Very nice Job!

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the feedback. The new head now has 1,100 hours on it and is running well.

[@marcellopasini]

@@MVDirona Fantastic! what about that seal and water pump? how are they holding on?

[@MVDirona]

The raw water pump isn't leaking. The usual failure for sea water cooling pumps is the bearings start to fail and either start leaking water or oil. The pumps are rebuildable but I typically replace them once they start to leak. They usually will go 2,000 to 3,000 hours so last quite well. Of course the rubber impellers in the sea water pump need to be replaced periodically. We've gone through 1 impeller since the head replacement. The rear main seal has been particularly interesting. Prior to the head replacement the rear main seal was leaking so badly that you couldn't stand near it with the cover off when running. it would sling oil across to splatter on the wing engine. After the head replacement, the leak just about completely stopped. My theory is the non-firing #3 cylinder was still getting diesel injected, it wasn't firing and was heading down the to the sump and diluting the oil. The diluted oil was more prone to leaking past the seal. With the engine back to operating as it should, the oil leak barely noticeable. I'll still need to change it but it doesn't look like it's going to be any time soon.

[@felixfeleus510]

Very nice videos and clear explanations about all the steps taken. I should send this damaged cylinderhead back to the supplier and claim for guarantee because on a good engine this should not happen after the runninghours your engine has. Although it is fully understandible you are sharing your thoughts about the source of the problem on youtube, in the light of a possible guarantee claim it would have been better to protect your interests and let the supplier/manufacturer come with the possible source of this problem. Now you gave them clear ammunition to reject any claim. Wishing you success with the continuation of your trip.

[@johanea]

Felix Feleus So a ”good engine” is expected to last forever without wear and tear?

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the comment. The manufacturer Northern Lights has legendarily good service and they really stand behind there product but, in this case, the engine has done 6,700 hours in 10 years. It's done fairly well. I would have preferred more -- our main engine has done 11,100 hours so far -- but 6,700 isn't a disaster for a small diesel there are many reports of these generators with 20,000 to even rarely as high as 30,000 hours.

[@felixfeleus510]

@@johanea Not forever, but a cast iron cilinderhead of a diesel engine should last more than 6.700 hours. Especially on an engine produced by John Deere which is condidered to be a real good quality engine. There is of course normal wear and tear on every engine. But when you see this damage there must be something wrong to the cilinderhead to my opinion. Otherwise you should have seen the same kind of effects, at least slightly, starting on the other cylinders as well. To my opinion this head can also be a bad casting which should be treated as guarantee or in a way of coulance getting back for example 50% of the price.

[@MVDirona]

I think your argument make sense. When a single cylinder shows damage far in excess of the others, it suggests a problem unique to that cylinder or a manufacturing/materials problem. In this particular case, the failed cylinder is at the back of the engine just a few inches above where the water is injected into the exhaust so it's possible there was a water issue but it's also possible there was a manufacturing problem with that cylinder. One correction on your note, the engine is not a John Deere product. It's an engine marinized by Northern Lights and is based upon a Japanese Tractor engine manufactured by Shibaura. These same engines with different marinization packages are sold by Northern Lights, Lugger, Perkins, and Volvo. But there is no relationship to any John Deere Power Plant other than Northern Lights does marinize John Deeres for their larger generators. Our 266 hp main engine (6068AFM75) is also marinized by Northern Lights to produce a very nice 150kw generator.

[@BLACKMINER73]

Great Video, Thanks

[@MVDirona]

Thank you.

[@johnoneil4688]

Thank you for making these video’s.

[@MVDirona]

Thanks. We appreciate the feedback.

[@jbbcoral66]

Well done...

[@MVDirona]

Thanks!

[@Erik-rp1hi]

Great job done. A check valve on the exhaust if possible might ease the mind but definitely run the engine like you mention if there is a question. I've had friends submerge their dirt bikes on river crossing and if you act fast you can stand them up on the rear wheel and pump the water out of the engine (first remove the spark plug) and finish the ride. Changing the oil when you get back home is needed.

[@MVDirona]

Good suggestion on the check valve. In 35 kts of wind and fully developed seas in the Gulf of Alaska we flooded our wing engine (the auxiliary engine beside the gen). We took out the glow plugs, hand cranked the engine while oiling the cylinders to get the water out. Changed the oil, ran it to full temp, and changed the oil again. As you said, if you get to it quickly, it's not a problem. We did put a check valve on that engine as you suggested and it's never happened again. The check valve is a very effective solution. On gen the their is a GenSep way up in the salong so the exhaust goes up to the GenSep and then back down. The GenSep makes flooding less likely but, as long as it's there, there isn't space for a check valve. Given all the GenSep does is slightly quite the gen exhaust but dumping the exhaust cooling water underwater, I should just remove it and install a check valve but it hasn't happened :-).

[@barrysummers1622]

Thank you, another great video.

[@MVDirona]

There are 200 hours on it now and it's doing GREAT!

[@steveharvey1876]

Cheers! Stay well!

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the feedback on the video.

[@darrylmcleman6456]

Job done and a cat-scan too as KZbin poster Jonathan W. might say!

[@MVDirona]

Catscan? That's brilliant. Yes, most mechanical jobs on Dirona have had a thorough cat scan. Spitfire loves the engine room and especially likes it when we are all down there.

[@theresnobodyhere5778]

Nothing better than a good engine autopsy ,that were we learn that was amazing ,seeing the damage ,surprised it run the cast iron always going to give way to the stainless steel valve i learned stripping heads seldomwill you see a polished ring on the exhaust valve not like a inlet were its cold wet deisel passing through when opened, exhaust has hot burnt gas and soot always are black but you can see a sheen of black ring were it seats and seals i think its been a combination of things thats caused this ,best put it in Davey Jones,s locker the salty brine will soon evaporate it ,the genset will run for another 10 years

[@MVDirona]

I appreciate your thoughts on the failure and what to expect on exhaust valve seats. The new head now has 289 hours on it and it's running well. It's super interesting to me that the rear main oil seal hasn't leaked since. I suspect it'll be back soon enough but it's nice that it's not currently leaking.

[@theresnobodyhere5778]

@@MVDirona,yeh and it is only fresh air passing through inlet valves modern petrol and diesel are direct injected into cylinder just correcting my first comment,its the exhaust valves getting the heavy abuse and wear with whats passing over them Great to hear theres no more leaking pressure getting blown back down crankcase breather pipe which was your suspicions all along building pressure in sump forcing oil out rear seal ,youd think manufacturers would put a oneway inline ball valve or flap valve in breather tube to stop that ,a plastic polyprop sealed unit be cheap to produce

[@MVDirona]

It's nice to have the generator back to running in top form. We are currently enjoying Norway and haven't been plugged into shore power for about 3 weeks so we're very dependent upon that little generator. It's doing great at 7,036 hours. Thanks for your thoughts on these generator issues.

[@MrNewAmerican]

James.Is.Ironman.

[@oregonarcher]

Ran across your video's and find them very interesting and entertaining to watch. Your wife does a great job of filming and asking the right questions. Nice job of production too! Far from being any kind of engine expert but have to ask. With a wet exhaust system isn't there always going to be moisture in the exhaust system? There is no check valve in the system to isolate the exhaust manifold from the exhaust hose and waterlock (muffler), therefore corrosion on all the valves and depending on if a valve is open when sitting moisture will get into the combustion chamber too. You didn't show exhaust valve #1 but I am guessing that it too had evidence of corrosion just because of exposure to the damp exhaust system? If all this exposure is true obviously the exposure lessons from #3 to #1 because of distance. Maybe the failure was just bad luck enhanced by the constant exposure to moisture? Either way it definitely shows why keeping these engines run at regular interval is important! Makes you wonder what some of these pleasure vessel engines with west exhaust that sit at dock all the time must look like! Safe travels!

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the feedback on the videos. Our blog is at mvdirona.com. You're right that wet exhaust engines do have water near the cylinder head all the time but there shouldn't ever be water in the head. The inject the water on the downward slant of the exhaust hose and the design is that there is water mixed in with the exhaust from the exhaust elbow and through the muffler and out. There should be no water in the cylinder head unless the boat is healed over so far that the exhaust downslope becomes an upslope. This takes a lot but it can happen in in extremely rough water but, in the normal case, there should be no water anywhere near the head. However, because it's all open to the muffler and the muffler is full of water, the exhaust valve area of the cylinder head could be very high humidity. For the most part, wet exhaust systems do quite well and 6740 hours is early and Northern Lights engines normally go longer between cylinder head problems so this fault doesn't look "normal". Let's see how long the new cylinder head does. It's already got 1,855 hours so it's going up fast.

[@oregonarcher]

@@MVDirona I think you may have had a flaw. Beautiful work on the replacement!

[@MVDirona]

I suspect you are right. I can't find any issues with the exhaust system on close inspection. One thing that I do differently now is to run all engines after the boat has been in really rough water. For example, we just cross the Atlantic and encountered a couple periods of fairly rough water. After, each we run the engines to temperature just to ensure that no water was forced in during the rough stuff.

[@frankkreyssig7626]

Rust NEVER sleep’s.

[@MVDirona]

True. In this case I suspect it's made much worse by long periods of inactivity with water just a few feet below the cylinder head in the water lift muffler creating a moist, high-condensation environment.

[@billmartin4602]

Always enjoy watching your videos. I have never seen a valve beat it self into a head like that. It's a shame the head can't be rebuilt. I think I would've made a couple of guide studs to help with the installation of the exhaust manifold. Looks pretty tight between the engine and the bulkhead so the studs may not have worked in your case. Also are flair nut wrenches and valve adjustment wrench feasible to use in your situation?

[@MVDirona]

Yes, that valve seat is a total wreck. Guide studs would have fit and are a great idea. I should have done used them. In fact, the manufacturer really should have used them as well. A flare nut wrench probably would fit in that tight spot on top of the mechanical injection pump. I don't have a set on the boat but should. Until suggested by some others here, I hadn't run into a valve adjustment wrench before. It's easy to do the job without one but it would be faster with one. $85 seems on the high side but I'll probably do it anyway. Thanks for your good suggestions Bill.

[@ClivehWright]

Hey great video work and questions! Next time you service the JD6068 would you be willing to do a run through video with things to check and any tips? Valve adjustment etc?

[@MVDirona]

Here's a video on checking the drive belt: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXOcemeEatKFfdk. I've done the valve adjustment 6 times (every 2,000 engine hours) but haven't yet videoed the process. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@johanea]

No no no. The reason you have a bit of corrosion inside the combustion chamber is because of condensation. In addition, the carbon deposits you see at the top of the liner, valves and cylinder head is quite corrosive as it is. Is even more corrosive if moist or wet. The whole environment where your combustion happens is a fairly bad place for cast iron. And cast iron is porous to make matters worse. I would not be too concerned about that small amount of corrosion. I see it frequently on ships propulsion and alternator engines. But I must say I didn’t expect the damage you found of the exhaust valve. Good video.

[@MVDirona]

Yes, you are right, we do have a 1-way valve (flapper) on the wing engine. In rough seas in the Gulf of Alaska, it did have water forced up through the exhaust system to the engine. I found it right away so it was easy to correct by removing the glow plugs, getting the water out, changing the oil, then running, and changing the oil again. And finally running at full load and heat and then changing the oil again. We put a check valve on the exhaust and haven't seen the problem since. On the generator, the exhaust goes up to a Centek Water separator (www.centekmarine.com/product-category/water-separators/) which is way above the engine room. Because the water/air separator is so high above the water line, I didn't install a check-valve on that side. The generator exhaust design is compliant with manufacturer recommendations but the wing engine exhaust design was as well and it flooded so perhaps a check valve would be advised on the generator as well. I rechecked the parts manual for the generator (Northern Lights M844NW3.3) and confirmed the exhaust valve seats are not replaceable. They are just part of the head. The intake valve seats are changeable (part number 110136400). The manufacturer says there isn't space in that small head for replacable valve seats. I would prefer to have both seats replacable and, if they can only do one, that they do the exhaust. I agree with your assessment that #2 was exhaust was burned as well. There was evidence that all exhaust valves were leaking. The others had stable valve adjustments so we're receding but they do appear to have been leaking.

[@johanea]

MV Dirona Just a small question if you may. I work on various kind of commercial and naval vessels, engines only, and my question is simply. Why does not a vessel even of your kind of vessel have the funnel or exhaust pointing out from the “monkey island” above wheelhouse? I am sure nothing to do with emissions, but perhaps to do to look more yacht like? Mechanically having exhaust under the waterline sounds like a pretty poor option no? And further, is this arrangement an option to have an exhaust above wheelhouse or below waterline an option?

[@MVDirona]

It's a good question. In recreational boats their are two primary exhaust system designs. Wet exhaust where sea water is injected at the exhaust elbow just after the engine exhaust manifold. This allows the exhaust and cooling water mix to be run through the boat in rubber hoses (since it's cool) and dumped out at the back of the boat at the water line. The other design is referred to as a dry exhaust and, in this design, the exhaust is dumped out the stack as it is in most large commercial boats. Both designs and pros and cons but the vast majority of recreational boats use wet exhaust to avoid the space taken up by the stack which needs to be insulated so fairly large and it needs to pass up from the engine room to the top of the boat. Commercial boats do both but most of the large ones use dry exhaust. Our boat has a main engine with dry exhaust but the auxiliary engine and generator are wet exhaust. I used to be ambivalent understanding the pros and cons of each design and being willing to accept either. I'm still willing to have either but I'm starting to like dry exhaust better because it avoids some nasty failure modes. So the quick answer to your question is recreational boats can do either but most run wet exhaust. Ours is unusual in that it has both where the main is dry and the auxiliary and gen are wet. After having put 11,180 hours on the main without ever an issue and seen two issues in the dry exhaust engines, I'm becoming more partial to dry exhaust.

[@Captlucpicard]

the reason why cylinder #3 is damage it is because when the sea water flowed back to the engine exhaust valve #1 and #2 were closed preventing the water going to the cylinder head. cylinder #3 had its exhaust valve opened. 2 or 3oz. of water sits on top of your piston, submerging the valve seat and the top of the exhaust for several months. 3oz. might evaporate or slowly flow down around the piston back to your oil pan . or simply pushed out the engine when you started it after several months. 3oz. wont be enough for hydro lock. in heavy sea , can you close the exhaust sea cock ? this applies to your wing engine too.

[@MVDirona]

I suspect that you are correct. Rare but long period(s) of sea water exposure.

[@notj5712]

Really surprised that it doesn't have hardened valve seats....

[@MVDirona]

Agreed. Small diesels are far less durable than their larger brethren. No hardened valve seats, parent bore cylinders (no replaceable sleeves). Still it did go 6,700 hours before needing head work which, if you assumed 40 mph average, is still the equivalent of 268,000 miles. However, the large main engine equipped with more typical diesel engine longevity features has done more than 11,000 hours with no major service.

[@notj5712]

@@MVDirona That is an impressive lifespan. I wonder if you could have hardened seats cut an installed in your old head and carry that as a spare.... Most machine shops should be able to do it.

[@MVDirona]

It might be possible to install exhaust valve seats but as built, there are no exhaust valve seats installed into the head. The the parts manual shows that the intake valve seats are changeable but the exhaust are not. The manufacturer explains that there isn't sufficient space in these small heads to make both seats changeable. It might be possible to put installable seats in but, since the manufacturer believes they can't, I didn't investigate further. Because the #3 valve is recessed 1/8" to 1/4" into the head, my assessment is that this head is not savable so I discarded it. Fortunately, unlike many marine equipment suppliers, Northern Lights are fairly reasonable on their pricing for a complete head so, if we need to do it again, that's the direction we'll go. The old head was discarded due to the sever recession on the #3 exhaust valve seat.

[@KYEMattFiBeR]

Hey James and Jennifer, thanks for an extremely interesting video series. I'd love to know though, was there any signs of bending of the #3 valve? Any chance you rolled it and compared it to the others? Cheers!

[@MVDirona]

I wish it were a bent valve. Far cheaper to fix. It rolls fine -- the issue was a recessed exhaust seat which takes a head to replace since these little engines don't have pressed in valve seats. However, I can't really complain too much in that it only took a day to fix and the parts cost less than getting the boat waxed :-).

[@manosparavida3551]

I haven't caught up with you guys in months, I've also changed my YT name due to forgetting my 12 yr old password (easily done I guess) mv Dirona must've done more miles than the Starship Enterprise 😉

[@MVDirona]

I don't know if we have gone further but the Enterprise mission statement sounds good to us: Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before!

[@manosparavida3551]

@@MVDirona With your fearless intrepidity of the oceans the opening narrative of Star Treck sounds fairly apt. Wishing the pair of you a continually safe passage.

[@MVDirona]

Thanks!

[@Colinpark]

LOl, the cat supervising its humans! Any reason you don't put a bit of oil on the drive train before putting the cover on? Also surprised there is no hand priming pump for the fuel system.

[@MVDirona]

Adding oil to the valve train is an excellent suggestion. I should have done that. The rocker arms are direct pressure fed from the oil pump so will be oiled after bleeding the fuel systems but oiling them before closing up the engine would have been better. The engine does have a priming lever at the fuel pump and this can be used to bleed the air out before the high pressure injection pump. So, after a filter change, just pump the priming lever and open the bleed screw at the top of the filter and the engine will be ready to start. However, when the pressure lines between the injection pump and injectors have been off, each high pressure line needs to be bled individually and the procedure to do that is to crack the line at each injector, put a rag over it to prevent dangerous spray, and give the engine a crank. The priming lever on the fuel pump makes quick work of bleeding air out before the injection pump but won't bleed the high pressure lines (they are fed by small pistons in the injection pump).

[@cjf334]

The zip tied radiator overflow hose. Next repair hose clamp

[@wlismyid]

Zip ties are actually better

[@MVDirona]

On these very close to 0 PSI 1/4" connections, I've come to like zip ties. They are quick to install, don't interfere with the cooling system cap, and last remarkably well.

[@jonycreche2731]

What is your background, this is just memorizing. Love it

[@MVDirona]

I work on high scale hardware and software systems at Amazon Web Services (kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6qycp18g7V0mKM). But, 30 years back I did work on exotic Italian cars. None were diesel powered, few were cast iron, and none were in a boat but there definitely is some knowledge carryover :-).

[@56Spookdog]

Is Spitfire named after the plane or car? I use wire to compress strong springs when there’s not a tool that will work. I use two pieces of wire on opposing sides of the spring, wrapping the wires around the spring and wind them like a bread wrapper tie till the spring is compressed enough.

[@MVDirona]

Spitfire wasn't named after either. His veterinarian in Seattle coined the name for him. We hadn't yet named him before his first vet visit nearly 17 years ago and when we opened the cat carrier in the vets office he went crazy. Ran all over the room and was amazingly energetic for a tiny, couple of month old kitten. The Vet exclaimed "What a little Spitfire!" and the name stuck. Great suggestion on using wiring to tighten down springs when you don't have the appropriate tools. Great idea. I'll add that to my virtual toolbox. Thanks!

[@James-seafan]

hi Jennifer and James if I may ask a question are the wing engine and generator using the same exhaust system has the main engine thank you

[@MVDirona]

No, they each have separate exhaust systems. Manufacturers want to see each engine with an independent exhaust so that one running won't effect the back pressure in another. The main engine is a dry exhaust system exiting out the top of the stack. The wing engine is a wet exhaust (engine cooling water cools the exhaust so it can be carried safely in rubber hoses) existing out the aft port side of the boat. The generator is also a we exhaust exiting out of the starboard side.

[@James-seafan]

thank you for the information I only asked as I've seen a boat with 3 engines using the same exhaust looks like the owner's have changed the exhaust system

[@MVDirona]

I don't doubt there are examples out there. They may have been built that way. Engine manufacturer recommendations are often treated as hints or recommendations by builders :-). Generally, separate exhausts for each engine is the preferred configuration.

[@richtieszen3856]

You mentioned in the video that in hindsight you should have run the wing engine along with the generator after a few big rolls where you might have encountered the water ingress. So on the rest of the passage you never ran the generator?

[@MVDirona]

The main engine can produce 9 kW of power so we never run the generator underway. It is only used when not underway and not plugged in to shore power. So, after a long trip, the gen is not used on the long trip nor used at the marina we arrived at to check in to Ireland so it can go quite a while inactive. The wing engine gets run in marinas and other close quarters situations (to supply hydraulic power for the thrusters) and when raising and lowering the anchor (to supply windlass hydraulic power) so it gets frequent use but even it can go a long time without being used when crossing an ocean or in a marina. A long time back I changed operating policy to run all mechanical systems every three weeks but that's still too long if it's been hit with water. I've now added one more change and operate all engines after big storms or difficult conditions. These are fairly rare events but running the mechanical systems after one is easy and worth doing.

[@roberttorres809]

If there was a water ingress with this engine, will this be the case with the rest of your engines?

[@psmwrx]

Main engine is a closed system that's keel cooled (radiator attached to the keel), so no sea water touches the main.

[@MVDirona]

Yup, both are right. The main engine is a dry exhaust design so no water gets near it. However, the wing engine is also wet exhaust and water ingress was a problem on that one as well. We were in the Gulf of Alaska in big beam seas and water was forced up it's exhaust systems and the engine was flooded. Because we knew it was wet, it was a quick fix to get the engine dry and clean again. We put a check valve in the exhaust and that issue has never repeated during the intervening 9 years and some very rough conditions. The check valve prevents flooding but, no matter what you do, wet exhaust engines have water near the cylinder head and it ends up being a wet area especially in cold climates.

[@roberttorres809]

Oh, okay. Thanks for the reply.

[@roberthall-palmer9134]

Just spent a 6 weeks on our boat, cleaned and checked systems daily. Cleaning systems helps build confidence in maintaining and operating a boat.

[@MVDirona]

And keeping everything clean will allow you to spot problems far earlier. Good approach.

[@ajones8699]

Collets

[@classicraceruk1337]

I have never seen a valve seat so damaged before no wonder you had a problem.

[@MVDirona]

Yes, me too. I've never seen a valve receded nearly 1/4" into a head. What's amazing is that it would still produce very close to full power even in that condition. The valve would recede further into the head so quickly that it would need another valve adjustment in 20 to 30 hours when it should be able to go 1,000s of hours but, other than that, the engine was still operating fine even with that valve seat destroyed and it looking like all exhaust valves where leaking.

[@classicraceruk1337]

MV Dirona Engines can behave strangely it’s surprising how well they run with problems. I was taught an engine performs at its best just before a blow up!!! This was for racing engines, I have had that experience myself!!! Thanks for putting out these videos I do enjoy them

[@MVDirona]

Thanks for the comments. From your youtube name it sounds like you race classic cars. In distant past, I raced a Brabham BT29 (chassis number 49) and a Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV. They were far from new at the time and certainly are classic cars now. And, having blown up more than my fair share of Alfa Romeo engines, I can confirm your theory that they often ran best just before they blew up.

[@classicraceruk1337]

MV Dirona No not cars motorcycles I just love old Manx Norton’s, Matchless G50’s, AJS 7R’s and later classics like the Triumph 750cc triples and the BSA version. I mostly ran cheaper singles or twins though. Racing is great fun but it’s a good way to empty your wallet fast!!!

[@MVDirona]

All forms of racing share that attribute of draining wallets efficiency. The sponsor of one of the race cars I worked upon was a wealthy gentleman involved with horse racing. He explained to me the secret to becoming a millionaire racing horses was to start with 100 million :-).

[@j.walker3498]

Ahh ha, the engine hatch. pull cover, aluminum i beam on bottom something over top of hatch. temporarily bolt, clamp, strap together. make your own gantry. no holes.

[@MVDirona]

Nice solution but, unfortunately, the large hatches used to service the machinery are centrally located. The opening is big enough for the main engine so plenty for the generator but the generator is off to the side by about a foot preventing that opening from being used as you recommend. That would be a nice solution.

[@j.walker3498]

@@MVDirona yes top brace larger than hatch, longer piece on bottom cantilever over top of genset.

[@MVDirona]

Ahhh, good point. Nice design. I think that would work pretty well. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@j.walker3498]

@@MVDirona anytime, y'all have fun. Have y'all thought about N. Passage? Inside passage?(west coast Canada)

[@MVDirona]

We are super interested in the Northwest passage but it remains to be seen if we have both the courage and the time. It takes a lot of waiting to get exactly the right ice and weather conditions and you never certain that you'll get what you want. And, even if you do, things can change. We find the thought of doing the trip very exciting though. On the inside passage, we spent a decade cruising that area and racked up 4,100 engine hours doing it. We even wrote a cruising guide on the less traveled parts of it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ronMgKGjgaaMprc..

[@RBLVentures]

NO if you had waater in there ..POSS making injectors would have gone bad

[@MVDirona]

I'm sure you are right that there was never water in the engine while it was running. They may have been some water in it during very rough water operation while the engine was off that might have caused some corrosion. But, it might just be the case that we had an early exhaust valve failure at 6700 hours. We've run up 1,280 hours since the head change and it's running super well.