May 30, 2015 Engine testing at Elbow Cay

There is a cruiser’s net every morning here.  And they have an “open mike” segment where you can ask for assistance.  So Dave asked if anyone had any experience with a runaway engine and could give us any advise.  The boat Empty Pockets answered back and told Dave a few things to check.  He and his wife later stopped by to check on us.  He was an airplane engine mechanic.  They are different than diesel engines, but still an engine.  He had lots of recommendations of what to do to test things.  And ideas of what the problem could be depending on the results of the tests.  He also owns a sailboat.  So he was curious if the things he was suggesting were transferable to a diesel engine.  He looked at this as a learning situation for himself and was very helpful. 

Through checking things, we found oil in the air intake.  This oil was feeding into the engine and making it race.  Dave checked the oil level right away Friday and it was half way full on the dip stick, so that looked good.  He ran the engine again, and the oil level went over the high mark, which means the engine was “making oil” or oil dilution.  The oil level is increasing because something is getting into it.  He had a kit for analyzing the oil, but had to find it.

While Dave was checking the rubber seal of the air intake for holes, I said “you are so smart!”.  Dave’s reply was “If I don’t read it, I don’t know it.”  That is his version of “if you can read, you can do anything.”

I always like the sound of the engine running, because it means we are going somewhere.  Now I really liked the sound of the engine running, because it was acting normal and not racing. 

Dave worked on the outboard motor again.  It still isn’t running smoothly.  We went into Hope Town to find some Seafoam (thank you Ron and Libbo), but they didn’t have it at the Lighthouse Marina-only place we knew to check.  Dave spent the evening reading more and researching online.

this is why we don't have a cabin for guests, it is full of tools and parts

Dave wants to know where we can store a spare engine