diesel engine maintenance and powerboat seamanship 159
to the top mark. Any reading other than full indicates transmission problems.
Address this before using the engine.
Lubrication System Maintenance
Change the oil and filter twice a year. Follow these easy steps.
- Start the engine and run it for a few minutes; then shut it down. Th is warms
the oil and puts contaminants in suspension, and makes it easier to get all oil
and contaminants out of the sump. - Remove the oil fi lter and the oil sump drain plug, and drain the old oil into
a catchment container. (On some boats, especially auxiliary sailboats, the
engine installation makes access to the drain plug diffi cult or impossible.
In this case you may want or need to pump the old oil out through the
dipstick tube, and marine retailers sell various manual and electric pumps
for this purpose.) - Wipe the engine-block oil fi lter mounting surface clean. Smear a light coat
of clean oil on the sealing gasket of the new oil fi lter. - Spin the oil fi lter onto the mounting. Hand-tighten it, then tighten it down by
an additional half or three-quarter turn with an oil fi lter wrench. - Fill with new oil to the designated mark on the dipstick, run the engine for a
couple of minutes, and check the oil pressure and level. Top off with more oil
if necessary.
Transmission Gearbox Fluid
Change the transmission fl uid once a year. Drain the old fl uid in the same
manner as described above. Replace with new fl uid to the top mark on the
dipstick. Take care not to overfi ll the gearbox.
THE FUEL SYSTEM
Diesel fuel helps lubricate an engine’s internal parts too, but not as well as oil.
Most engine problems result from dirty fuel. All fuel must be squeaky clean by
the time it reaches your injectors. Water and dirt intrusions come from:
Q Leaks around your deck fi ll cap
Q Condensation on the walls of partially fi lled fuel tanks
Q Poor fuel fi ltering at the dockside fuel pump (some foreign ports)
Q Failure to change engine fuel fi lters when they are dirty or fi lled with
contaminants (see below)Fuel System Checklist
Fuel line and fuel shutoff valve inspection (before start-up). Start at the
tank and check the fuel line connections. Fuel tanks have three or four fl ex-
ible fuel lines on top.