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TWL: Re: Uneven RPM

Jose Sousa

Mon, Sep 22, 2003 11:29 PM

Jim
Yes. RPM oscillation gets sightly reduced after running the engine a few minutes.
Still, the engine will die if I throttle all the way down to 600 RPMs too
quickly.

I just called Caterpillar. The person I spoke to gave me a few more ideas on what
to check. He also said that if I send the fuel injector pump assembly to them, it
could run up to about $1,000.00 to fix!!... I hope it doesn't come to that...

Jose

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 19:03:42 -0400, Jim Alexander wrote:

Yes, it would. Does this continue after the engine comes up to operating temp?

At 12:04 PM 9/22/03 -0700, you wrote:

Thank you all for the quick replies.
So far everyone seems to think that I have air leaking
into the fuel system. Tomorrow I'll be checking that
theory and let you know of the outcome.

However, would an air leak produce such a regular
up-and-down in RPM?
This isn't an occasional drop in RPM but a very regular
cycling between 700 and 800 RPM's.

Thank you again,
Jose Sousa

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Jim Alexander, Realtor
Vista 43
Port Charlotte, FL

Jim Yes. RPM oscillation gets sightly reduced after running the engine a few minutes. Still, the engine will die if I throttle all the way down to 600 RPMs too quickly. I just called Caterpillar. The person I spoke to gave me a few more ideas on what to check. He also said that if I send the fuel injector pump assembly to them, it could run up to about $1,000.00 to fix!!... I hope it doesn't come to that... Jose On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 19:03:42 -0400, Jim Alexander wrote: > > Yes, it would. Does this continue after the engine comes up to operating temp? > > > > At 12:04 PM 9/22/03 -0700, you wrote: > >Thank you all for the quick replies. > >So far everyone seems to think that I have air leaking > >into the fuel system. Tomorrow I'll be checking that > >theory and let you know of the outcome. > > > >However, would an air leak produce such a regular > >up-and-down in RPM? > >This isn't an occasional drop in RPM but a very regular > >cycling between 700 and 800 RPM's. > > > >Thank you again, > >Jose Sousa > >_______________________________________________ > >http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/trawler-world-list > > > >To Unsubscribe send email to trawler-world-list-request@lists.samurai.com > >Include the word "Unsubscribe" (and nothing else) in the subject or body > >of the message. > > Jim Alexander, Realtor > Vista 43 > Port Charlotte, FL

Paul Goyette

Tue, Sep 23, 2003 12:11 AM

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003, Jose Sousa wrote:

Still, the engine will die if I throttle all the way down to 600 RPMs
too quickly.

I just called Caterpillar. The person I spoke to gave me a few more
ideas on what to check. He also said that if I send the fuel injector
pump assembly to them, it could run up to about $1,000.00 to fix!!...
I hope it doesn't come to that...

I had the same thing on one of my twin 3208TAs (port side). I broke
down and had the Caterpillar man come out and remove both injector
pumps, bring 'em back to the shop, rebuild 'em, and come back out and
reinstall. I did both sides, figuring that if one was going, the
other wouldn't be too far behind.

After the rebuild, the problem went away! So it just might be that
that's your problem, too.

Total cost, including travel, parts, and labor, came close to $4000
($2K each). Of course, I probably increased the total by sticking my
nose into every step of the operation, but I figured I'd better learn
something about these beasts so I can do at least part of the work
myself next time.

BTW, while they were at it, I had them install a manual shut-off on
the injector pumps. The originals had only the helm-switched
solenoid, with no way to kill the engines from within the engine
room. Now there's a big old push-rod sticking out of the top of the
injector pumps - press it in and fuel is shut off. This, too, most
likely added a few bucks to the total cost.

Paul Goyette
m/v Gentle Wind
1983 61' Cheoy Lee LRC
Sausalito, CA

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003, Jose Sousa wrote: > Still, the engine will die if I throttle all the way down to 600 RPMs > too quickly. > > I just called Caterpillar. The person I spoke to gave me a few more > ideas on what to check. He also said that if I send the fuel injector > pump assembly to them, it could run up to about $1,000.00 to fix!!... > I hope it doesn't come to that... I had the same thing on one of my twin 3208TAs (port side). I broke down and had the Caterpillar man come out and remove both injector pumps, bring 'em back to the shop, rebuild 'em, and come back out and reinstall. I did both sides, figuring that if one was going, the other wouldn't be too far behind. After the rebuild, the problem went away! So it just might be that that's your problem, too. Total cost, including travel, parts, and labor, came close to $4000 ($2K each). Of course, I probably increased the total by sticking my nose into every step of the operation, but I figured I'd better learn something about these beasts so I can do at least part of the work myself next time. BTW, while they were at it, I had them install a manual shut-off on the injector pumps. The originals had only the helm-switched solenoid, with no way to kill the engines from within the engine room. Now there's a big old push-rod sticking out of the top of the injector pumps - press it in and fuel is shut off. This, too, most likely added a few bucks to the total cost. Paul Goyette m/v Gentle Wind 1983 61' Cheoy Lee LRC Sausalito, CA