Ford Lehman 120 issues
I am not having problems; I am just holding this horse for a friend who
asked me to solicit opinions.
One of his FL120s (starboard) was emitting black smoke, and it died a twice
on a day's run. It restarted each time. Other engine overheating.
Limped to a marina on the eastern side of Mobile Bay and had to leave boat
in the care of the local folks for a return to his home. They resolved the
overheating engine's problem (new impeller pump I think), but the
mechanic/marina operator ("mechanic" for short from here on out) calls and
says the starboard engine has no oil pressure (supposedly checked with a
manual gauge). Owner tells me he thinks the low oil alarm was functional,
and that he had not placed much confidence in the oil pressure gauge
(meaning it was non-functional??).
Mechanic hauls starboard engine and finds "discoloration" on connecting rods
1 and 3 and pronounces engine dead and in need of replacement/rebuild. Oil
was in sump and not obviously contaminated. Engine was not seized up. No
blistered paint on engine exterior.
Owner gets a replacement engine and hauls old one home to be examined by
various trusted agents. He says it almost looks like those two connecting
rods were spray-painted with cooper-colored paint. The crank bearings are
disassembled and found to be OK, despite the mechanic's statement to the
contrary. People tell him that severe overheating would have been indicated
by a bluish color and that the color the saw there does not indicate
problems. The mechanic tells the owner that he called American Diesel and
they concurred with his estimate of overheating - owner wonders if he really
called and what he told them IF he did. Charge for all these services -
$8,000. Mechanic charged $300 to come to boat and start the replacement
engine one day for the owner while he was visiting the boat. Initial
estimate to pull and replace the engine (owner bought and hauled the
replacement engine to the mechanic) was $5,000.
Last Sunday, the owner pumped 15 gallons of black sludgy fuel out of the
starboard tank (he finds it interesting that the mechanic would not have
suggested investigation of fuel supply before starting a "new" engine in an
old boat) and moved the boat from one side of Mobile Bay to the other. Boat
ran fine.
The diagnosis of the original engine continues back home, and he will
probably have it on a test stand and running soon to check this "no oil
pressure" thing out. The owner begins to think the only problem he had with
this engine was poor fuel.
I have expressed no opinions here and relate this as best I can recall from
30-40 phone calls/emails about the situation. I have never been aboard the
vessel. I have briefly met the marina operator/mechanic but have had no
work performed by him.
Rich Gano
CALYPSO (GB-42-295)
Southport, FL
Does your friend have a history of oil analysis results? Do they show anything
out of line?
Ted G
DeFever 44, Amici
Block Island, RI
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:06:01 -0500, Rich Gano wrote
I am not having problems; I am just holding this horse for a friend who
asked me to solicit opinions.
One of his FL120s (starboard) was emitting black smoke, and it died
a twice on a day's run. It restarted each time. Other engine overheating.
Good question, and I doubt it. We are talking about a relative novice -
until now. He has learned much and will be paying lots of attention to
stuff like that in the future.
-----Original Message-----
From: tands [mailto:tands@gravefamily.org]
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 12:15 PM
To: Rich Gano; Trawlers-and-Trawlering
Subject: Re: T&T: Ford Lehman 120 issues
Does your friend have a history of oil analysis results? Do they show
anything
out of line?
Ted G
DeFever 44, Amici
Block Island, RI
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:06:01 -0500, Rich Gano wrote
I am not having problems; I am just holding this horse for a friend who
asked me to solicit opinions.
One of his FL120s (starboard) was emitting black smoke, and it died
a twice on a day's run. It restarted each time. Other engine
overheating.
...with new blue Local Knowledge markers...
Last night I released the Local Knowledge marker type for ActiveCaptain.
Although there are more than 30 different categories of markers, only
bridges, locks, dams, and ferries have been enabled right now. I want to
make sure everything works before turning on the bulk of the categories.
We've pre-loaded more than 1,000 bridges, locks, dams, and ferries. Most
contain information of interest to cruisers: restrictions, bridge height,
VHF contact channel, etc. Of course, as restrictions change, anyone can
update the info and it is instantly available to everyone.
Access to the web site is completely free. There is no advertising (which
accounts for real reviews of marinas - now over 1,900 reviews worldwide).
You have to be registered in order to get the detailed information or change
any of it. The registration is to cut down on spam edits (it works).
Feel free to write me offlist if you have specific questions.
If you'd like to see a quick display, here's the beginning of the Atlantic
ICW. Marinas are red, anchorages are green, and the new Local Knowledge
markers are blue:
http://www.activecaptain.com/OTW.php?lat=36.816&lon=-76.286&zoom=5&type=1
---=
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53PH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine
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