Sonny IV is down...

[DougSea]

Hey all,

Since I like to share information and conversations I thought it was about time to clue you in on the challenges I'm currently facing. Because I'm lazy (efficient!) I've copied my post from Boat Diesel below:

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I have a 2006 Albin 35TE with twin D6-370´s. About 250/hrs.

On a recent trip I had gone into neutral to take some photos. Shifted back into forward and began to throttle up. Noticed that the boat wasn´t accelerating properly and looked back to see what I recall to be black smoke. Brought throttles back to neutral and noticed STB engine had shut down. No alarm. Hit the starter and she started puffing out white smoke. Shut her down, checked engine room, no obvious problems. Started her again, same result.

Back at the dock I started her again and immediately noticed fuel in the water and could smell the unburned fuel in the smoke. Did some reading (including BD) and came to the conclusion that I probably had a bad injector.

Fast forward to this week when mechanic finally gets to start digging into the issue. Injectors appear to be fine but #6 cylinder is not firing. He pulled the dip stick while she was running and got "smoke" puffing out of the dip stick port. He believes piston #6 likely has a hole in it.
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The boys at BD.com are filled with doom and gloom...it's not sounding like the engine has a great prognosis. Of course we won't know about that until after the engine comes out. That's a whole other story. I love everything about the 35 EXCEPT for the access to the engines for anything but routine maintenance! To get the engine out will involve removing most of the galley, carefully removing the teak and holly sole and crossing my fingers that it fits through the door (unlikely).

Anywho... I've got a call in to my insurance company to see if any of this is covered (fingers and toes all crossed) and I'm still waiting on estimates based on worst case scenarios.

One of the most interesting things to come about from this so far are the comments on the Racors and their NOT being sufficient for CR diesels. I'll be looking into that further, along with the care and feeding of the fuel in my tanks.

It is a BOAT after all...or should I say BOATT.

[Nancy]

Well Doug, that's just awful. I'm no mechanic, so I'll ask the question - how does a piston get a hole in it? Do I understand correctly that it could be bad/contaminated fuel? Or is the filter thing a completely separate discussion? I know the BD guys want a lot more filters than the Racor and the primary. It's quite the plumbing job.

[DougSea]

Until we get the engine opened up we won't know for sure, however the way I'm told it normally happens is contamination jams an injector open which then either floods the cylinder and overheats it, melting the piston or apparently on a common rail engine it can drill a hole through it!!

The more reading I'm doing the more I think I'll be changing my primaries...

[Nancy]

Well, that is extremely rude. Good luck and keep us posted.

[RobS]

Good but gloomy info, you got your $25 worth from BD on this one. Only stuff guys either in the industry or with direct experience would know.

With the compatability issues btwn the 2 motors, high cost of rebuild, improvements to new model and extreme dismantling of the galley it seems you cannot ignore the port engine. I guess pricing and pocketbook will determine if this becomes a repower...

[abellch]

Doug while your mechanic was checking out the engine did anyone perfore a basic compression test or cylinder leakage test. It probably doesn't change your course of action but it should be possible to isolate the issue to piston/cylinder (lower end) vice head or valve issue (top end). Assume injector was not hung open when checked and you do not mention any noise associated with failure. Odd circumstance to burn a piston given what the engine was doing at time of failure.

[rcornejo]

Hi Doug,

Sorry to hear about Sonny IV. I know, I have been there. Not as bad as your situation but bad enough. Fortunately, my brother and I were able to tackle it and get it working without having to install a new engine. I hope that is the case for you.

You brought up a great point regarding pulling the engine on your boat. As you know from our previous conversations, I am thinking about upgrading to a bigger Albin, the 32+2. I am going to check to see what is involved should I have to pull that engine. I know that 28 is a breeze to pull out should I have to. I hope that is the case for the 32+2.

Sorry to hear about your problems and I hope they can fix that for you quickly. I know you would much rather be on the water than at the dock!

Take care,
Roland

[ScubaPete]

Doug,
I've been following your saga on BoadDiesel. Sorry for your troubles. Apparently common rail engines have a very high pressure fuel system, and any contaminants or water in the fuel are more critical. Hope it can be repaired in the boat, and you don't have to have the engine(s) pulled.

[DougSea]

Thanks for the responses guys,

New filtration is in my future for sure. Still at the early stages of research. Giving serious consideration to these guys: http://www.sbmar.com/Products/SM-FF_Main.php

Headed down for a conversation with the yard on next steps. I'll keep you posted!

[jleonard]

Thanks for the responses guys,

New filtration is in my future for sure. Still at the early stages of research. Giving serious consideration to these guys: http://www.sbmar.com/Products/SM-FF_Main.php

Headed down for a conversation with the yard on next steps. I'll keep you posted!

Doug,
My heart (but not my wallet) goes out to you.
Hopefully the mechanic is wrong, and it's just a stuck ring that is a (relatively) easy fix.

[Denis]

Im not a mechanic but I am betting on a broken ring or something wrong with the valve train. I like to think about easier/cheaper problems before the more expensive ones. I hope it works out that way for you.

[DougSea]

Thanks again guys. I've got my fingers crossed. It's going to be painful either way. The interior is being removed; stove is out, refrigerator is out, cabinets come out next. At least I got a great look at the main wiring chases on the starboard side!!

She'll be hauled on Monday and then they lift the engine. Once I know more I'll keep you all posted.

[rcornejo]

Wow Doug, sounds like a lot of work to get to the engine. Are all 35's the same? Hope your insurance company helped out.

Good luck.
Roland

[Marcy K]

Hey Doug,

It has been a while since we learned about the problems with Sonny IVs engine. What is happening? I think that many of us want to hear and perhaps learn from your experience. Will you be back on the water this season? We are wishing you all the best!

Marcy K
A 34 Paumanok 1986

[DougSea]

Well, since you asked...

First - "The Destruction"

Here's Sonny at the dock. She seems to be listing...

1-SonnyListingAtTotal.jpg

It doesn't seem like she's tired. I mean, these engines are practically new!

2-Hours.jpg

Oh! Now I see! Nothing's where it belongs!

3-GallyFwd.jpg

4-CabinetOnSette.jpg

ANd look! More stuff forward!

5-ViewOfMaster.jpg

So, as you can see, the entire starboard side cabinetry all had to come out, along with the refrigerator, the stove, countertops, drawers, everything.

Once that was done the yard got to work. They pulled the hatch and were finally able to get a good look at the patient, and really get their first chance to do some additional diagnostics. What I don't have right now is a photo showing just how little clearance there is above the engine.

6-OverheadOfStella.jpg

With the ability to get to things they decided to do a quick experiment. They pulled the injector from #6 cylinder (the bad one) and took a look at it. No visual evidence of damage.

7-StellaTopOfEngine.jpg

They then pulled #5 and swapped the injectors - 6 into 5 and vice versa. Fired the engine. Cylinder 6 is now running, 5 is not.

Prognosis - cylinder is NOT blown!

Next step was to order a new injector. As these are apparently made of gold and washed with baby tears it costs just shy of $900. Which I'm going to have to eat if it doesn't fix the problem.

8-Injector.jpg

But - It DOES! They take her out for a test run and she turns full RPMs. (Just over 3600 if you're wondering). She's still smoking a bit but they attribute that to fuel in the crankcase and exhaust system. They bring her in and button up the engine. Change the oil to get the diesel out, test run her some more, and she's all good!!

So now the interior is going back in....

9-GallyBackInFridge.jpg

10-GalleyBackInStove.jpg

...and with luck we'll have her back this weekend!!

Lessons learned:

1 - Care and feeding, mostly feeding, of CR (Common Rail) engines is very important. I will be adding an additional stage of primary filtration and will be super anal about my fuel. Also am considering having the existing fuel polished to help make sure there's nothing living in my tank.

2 - Stay positive

3 - When buying a boat - understand how you are going to perform not just minor and routine maintenance, but MAJOR repairs as well! Boat builders are mostly mean, evil people! Seriously!! The process of getting access to the engine was incredibly painful and non-intuitive! I'm not saying I wouldn't buy a boat just because of access issues, but I'd sure be aware of them. (And no, I don't REALLY think they're evil. Maybe.)

4 - Stay positive

5 - Have a good mechanic who will take the time to really look over the situation. The guys at Total Marine in Norwalk, CT, were great to work with. You might ask why they couldn't figure out what was wrong without ripping the boat appart, but really, that just wasn't possible.

6 - Stay positive

7 - Check your insurance! I'm not yet certain but I believe insurance will be picking up a portion of this repair. And had it turned out as badly as it was looking ($40,000+) they'd have picked up a major portion.

8 - Did I mention staying positive?

Part of the staying positive was taking advantage of the vastly improved access to run some wires, capture some more storage (a new post will feature that another day), clean up some weird behind the scenes stuff. Also pulled some lines to allow new cable runs in the future when she's all back together. Plus staying positive kept my family happy! Now Kathy's telling me we have a case of FUD. Fuel Usage Deficit. She's insisting a trip to Block is the only cure! I think I agree!

I'm sure I'll add more latter, but for now I need some food!

If you have any questions - fire away!