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From: Rich Gano (no email)
Date: Sun Feb 03 2008 - 11:46:22 EST
Poor Microship, so sad to hear of your troubles, Ken. Lucky you are in
fresh water.
In saltwater, I have been informed by more than one knowledgeable source
that you have 24 hours to get Diesel oil circulating in drowned diesel
engines before they are ruined - maybe you have a bit longer in fresh.
Forget anything now but the machinery because it cannot wait - in saltwater,
the saving of machinery is a round-the-clock operation. Get started wkith
dowsing the externals top to bittom with WD-40. The fact that you didn't
mention oil in your bilge water makes me think there was none? This could
possibly be good news in more ways than just the fact that you don't have it
all over the place outside the machinery.
Trannies: In a recent conversation with Brian at American Diesel I learned
that about the only way to get all the water out of drowned BW gears (if you
have that brand) is to remove and disassemble them. Since you can't do
everything at once, drain them in place checking for water. If you see
water, refill with Diesel a couple of times before putting whatever fluid
back in there you originally used. This will hold them until you can get
back to them after triage of the engines.
Starters: Good advice on T&T. Remove/rinse contaminants out/spray with
water dispersant/bake. I saw numerous LARGE frame pump motors saved this
way in the Navy after floodings of pump rooms.
Engines: Watch whatever "professional" is engaged for the job. Because
they weren't submerged, I wouldn't let them immediately start ripping out
the injectors so they can easily spin the engines with some air-operated
drive to push Diesel oil through the engine (the normal engine salvor's plan
of attack). Things MAY not be that bad. I just ran down to the boat to
look at my Lehman 120s and found that if water were half way up my starters
there are at least three possible sources of water intrusion into the sump.
They are the dipsticks and the air breathers (if yours were not blocked off)
and around the starters' gear - assume the worst, BUT check it out first.
If you don't have oil in the bilge water, MAYBE you got lucky and have very
little water in the sumps. Only way to find out is dump the oil and look
for water in it. If you don't see any evidence of H2O, I'd consider
refilling with lube oil and spinning the engines for a bit before dumping
the oil again looking for evidence of emulsification. Change filters too
this time. Add new oil and run the engine when starters and trannies are
reattached, rechecking for any signs of water.
OTOH, if you see signs of water in the first lube oil dump, go to General
Quarters and commence full blown engine salvaged by removing the injectors,
attaching an air drive to the center nut of the crank pulley on the front of
the engine, filling the sump with diesel, engaging fuel shut-offs, and
spinning the engine for a bit. Drain Diesel and repeat a couple of times.
Fill with lube oil, change filter, spin again to distribute oil, reinstall
injectors, and restart engine for a minute or so as soon as you get the
starters back on. Dump oil, change filter, refill, and enjoy the engine for
years to come.
Battery cables: Were they susceptible to water intrusion? Are their ends
sealed? Sounds like maybe they were mostly clear.
Good hunting for the leak. Lots of great suggestions on T&T. Given the
fact that nothing is now obvious, I like the idea put forth that something
like a slowly accelerating siphon caused your problem, meaning that you will
have to return to the trim and liquid load conditions before sinking to
allow you to hunt this one down. Contributing to the issue is/are the bilge
pump(s). I am sure we'd all like to hear your explanation of what you think
of that situation.
In sympathy (gladly not empathy),
Rich Gano
CALYPSO (GB-42 #295)
Southport, FL
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