We have been called few weeks ago on a diagnosis for a diesel engine not starting on a beautiful 30ft wooden boat in Sydney Harbor. The boat was not used for more than a year, recently refueled and after few hundred meters/few minutes engine died and wouldn't start. Sounds familiar?
Is it worth it? Will it start? Does it have good compression? Will it push my boat? How much the maintenance costs? This are just a few questions you should ask yourself before deciding to buy a seconhand outboard. In the article below we will help you making the right decision.
Have you noticed recently that the engine temperature gauge is reading a little higher than normal? That is probably because your cooling system needs attention. An engine does not have to overheat in order to be a problem, when an overheat occurs it is usually too late for proactive actions and good money must be spend to fix the issue. Let me explain what an increase of only 5 degrees in temperature means because although it might not seem much for it makes a great deal for your engine: When an engine is designed, a certain tolerances (clearances) between moving parts are calculated in order to allow for heat expansion. Engines are made of metal parts and when heated (by the internal combustion) the parts expand and the clearances become smaller than in cold condition. Somehow we need to cool the engine because if the parts continue to expand beyond acceptable values, the engine might seize. That is why any internal combustion engine has some sort of cooling: air cooling or water cooling in general. When an engine is water cooled, that water also needs to be cooled as well after absorbing the heat from the engine and thus it is circulated trough a heat exchanger. In your car for example, the heat exchanger is the radiator.
According to studies performed by one of the most reputable marine engine manufacturers, around 75% of engine repair work can be directly or indirectly attributed to lack of proper care for the engine and this is especially true for the care (or lack of) during the off-season. Without proper off-season storage procedures applied at the end of your season, there is no way on Earth for a mechanical engine to be sitting idle for say six months or more and then be ready for instant, satisfactory service. Just try to leave your car sitting for that long and then one morning just expect to start, run as usual and go to work… You will be taking the bus that day!
There are so many things that can go wrong in a car sitting for that long and twice as much for a boat. Just to mention a few, the battery will go dead flat, the fuel will lower the octane rating to the point that upon restart will damage your engine, the moisture left in the engine could potentially seize it and the list can go on.
