choking air to the universal m10..??

I have a 1985 Ericson 28 with a universal m10 two banger diesel.....so...the motor dies
out once warmed up after running for aprox one hour......It seems, if we open up the
engine compartment, by removing the stairs....or, open up the small door under the
sink...and allow fresh air in...the motor recovers...?? anyone ever run into this..??
weird.......:0

rbonilla said:

I have a 1985 Ericson 28 with a universal m10 two banger diesel.....so...the motor dies
out once warmed up after running for aprox one hour......It seems, if we open up the
engine compartment, by removing the stairs....or, open up the small door under the
sink...and allow fresh air in...the motor recovers...?? anyone ever run into this..??
weird.......:0

Click to expand...

Just going with the averages here.... but if it ran for hour I would guess that the fresh air supply is ok. OTOH I have seen engines very slowly stop due to air in the fuel due to a vacuum leak somewhere in the connections or the filter. Then again, if it stops due to air in the fuel it seems like it would not so easily restart either.

Or...... you open up the door and this joggles a loose wire to the electric fuel pump and it makes connection again!


Interesting mystery...

Loren

Fuel

It has to be something with the fuel. Have you pulled the engine mounted fuel filter and checked that? When it quits does it do so suddenly or does the engine cough and sputter then die? In the 28 there's enough air available for a bunch of engines. I assume that you have vents that feed into and remove air from the engine compartment.

did some sea trials with a mechanic today...for a few hours...seems like I may have just been
over reving it, or running it too hard...we synched up the tac and found it running at aprox 4k rpm's
at full throttle.....about 1k over recommended max...if we backed off to 3k...problem seemed tp go away...

could be pilot error.....engine taking care of itself and shutting down vs. burning up..........:nerd:

Indicated Revs seem high...

rbonilla said:

did some sea trials with a mechanic today...for a few hours...seems like I may have just been
over reving it, or running it too hard...we synched up the tac and found it running at aprox 4k rpm's
at full throttle.....about 1k over recommended max...if we backed off to 3k...problem seemed tp go away...

could be pilot error.....engine taking care of itself and shutting down vs. burning up..........:nerd:

Click to expand...

I am a bit skeptical that your engine will actually turn 4K rpm.
I would expect about 3600 max, and then the governor would limit it?
Perhaps a quick check with an optical tach would be a good idea??


Loren

Not satisfied. Mechanic said fuel and filters clean?

Could you get the motor to fail while he was on board?

just catching up with this thread, so something else to think about is a clogged vent/vent line.. Make sure that the vent to the tank is clear - running an hour and failing consistently makes me think of a vacuum scenario where your vent is clogged and you hit a point that you can't suck enough fuel. Meanwhile when you fail, you have time go by while you remove stuff/look around, and the vacuum clears and you can run again, but it's not cooling, it's relieving the vacuum in the tank. Also, running at a lower RPM would consume less fuel, and create less vacuum in the tank, so if it was partially clogged, it might run a lower RPM longer....

That aside, kinda extending on Loren's thoughts, 4K is pretty high. I can only imagine that if you were perhaps under propped. What type of speed do you achieve? Any smoke/what color?

Vacuum

The level of fuel in the tank would influence the duration it takes for the vacuum to cause fuel starvation. Fill the tank completely and see if that shortens the time it takes for the engine to quit. Certainly, the rate of fuel consumption would also alter the duration.

Air Leak?

Neighbor had similar symptons with loose engine diesel fuel filter. Air leaking in caused engine to run for awhile and then die.
Tightened filter rebled engine and solved problem. Took awhile for them to figure it out. Hope that it turns out to be that simple.

Pat O'Connell
E28+ 1981

I had similar symptoms. The standard Racor housing gets beat up over the years, and no longer mates well even with new screw-on filter cannisters.

You can't see anything amiss, even when disassembled and cleaned. The solution is a new Racor unit.

As was explained to me by a much respected boatyard guy*, you don't see a fuel leak. The issue is air getting in, not fuel coming out. And all it takes is a little.

*Peter Franzen, The Boat Yard, MDR

If this is a new issue, not happening before, I would definitly look to fuel problems. I had spiders set up housekeeping in my fuel vent. Similar results.
Harold MischiefMaker