Creme Brulee's black beard--inside and out

[Joe Myerson]

It's me again, with a question about my trusty 1GM:

After bring Creme Brulee to the mooring (and spotting the leak around the rudder post that's mentioned in another thread), I decided to check the bilge, to be sure that the stuffing box had been repacked successfully.

The bilge was pretty dry, as was the pan underneath the engine. However, the port side of the engine (the right side as you look into the engine compartment) was covered with a layer of black soot.

Then, as I rowed away from Creme Brulee, I noticed that her transom had a diesel mustache, plus a full beard. I had been towing the dinghy, and kept it very close to the transom, which probably deflected more exhaust than usual onto the transom.

But after seeing the soot, I'm wondering if something else is going on.

The engine seemed to run well enough. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

--Joe

[Bob Ohler]

Joe, The black on the transom is diesel exhaust. I was always fighting it on my 25D. That little Yanmar did all she could to push that boat, but it still left exhaust on the transom. Of course it was worse if I pushed the engine harder than it wanted to be pushed, which resulted in unburned fuel in the exhaust. As a special effort, I kept a sponge mop and bottle of spray cleaner handy and I always addressed it when I tied-up in the slip or when I was swimming.

The beard means you have probably been in dirty water. I would jump in the water or the dink and using same spray bottle and a sponge, go to work. Hopefully it will come right off, especially if you waxed the hull this year.

F/W

Bob O.

[Klem]

I would suggest taking a look into the engine compartment at different speeds next time you run it and trying to see what is causing the mess in there.

Regarding the soot on the transom, watch your exhaust if you run. If you have restricted airflow to the engine (dirty airfilter or plugged exhaust), it will burn pretty sooty. It could also be that you are just running it really hard and need to back off on the throttle some.

[Russell]

The black inside the engine compartment could be from a slipping belt, I would check that.

[Ray Garcia]

I also had a very noticeable mustache after towing our dinghy this past weekend. I also had a full crew which had the stern squatting a bit. The exhaust pipe was submerged at times which probably added to the buildup. I guess the motor may have been overloaded with the towing and the additional crew. I was not too worried about it though. I checked the engine oil level and it was fine.

Your 1GM, as our YSM8 has the exhaust riser on the left side as looking at the front of the engine. If you had an exhaust/soot problem you would have seen plenty of soot all over as well noticeable smoke in the cabin. I would suspect the soot may be coming from the accessory belt (alternator/water pump). Could you have over tensioned the belt?, or maybe its due for a replacement. Check the smell of the soot, if it has a rubbery smell and gritty feel, I would say it's the belt. Does not sound too serious a problem but it should be looked into before it becomes one.

[mattlydon]

If not, you are overpropped, and will get lots of black exhaust

[Oswego John]

Joe,

These guys are pretty savvy.

I think you might have to log in or join up to read it.








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Sent: Wed, Jan 6, 2010 11:15 am
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[House]

Joe-

The Volvo MD7-B in our 28 runs like a top, but invariably it left the same kind of soot mustache on our transom. Check your engine as the other posters have suggested, but to save yourself some cleaning, you might try this idea we picked up from another boat in our marina. Take a short piece of exhaust-grade hose - 3 to 4 inches should be enough - and attach it with a hose clamp to the outside of the bronze exhaust flange. You'll then have an extension that carries the exhaust (and cooling water) just past the transom where it can be blown away, instead of just recirculating in an eddy, over and over.

We put this on Miss E's exhaust last summer and have not had to clean any soot of since then. Good luck!

Richard

[Steve Laume]

My last short haul was hectic as are they all. Far too much to do and it was in the middle of the sailing season so it hurts to be on the hard.

One of the last things I did was wax the hull. It might have been a day or hours before splashing. I don't quite recall. I do know now that it was not enough time for the wax to thoroughly harden. I got a nice black exhaust stain right away and it did not want to come off.

I only bring this up because of the time of year. If you did wax right before launching this might have something to do with the staining.

I would love to be worried about that right now as Raven is still high and dry, Steve.

[Joe Myerson]

Steve,

This is one heck of a time to be on the hard! Hope you get her back into the water soon.

Yes, I did wax her thoroughly this year -- so I should be able to get most of that stuff off the transom. At least that's my hope.

And Ray, I'm going to check out that soot on the engine to see if it smells like rubber. If so, I guess it's time to replace it.

--Joe

[moctrams]

I use a product called "ON/OFF" to remove the soot and waterline scum off of Gabbiano. Works great and does no harm.

[bottomscraper]

I use Mary Kate On & Off for removing the waterline scum
and it works great. I have found that automatic dishwasher
liquid works best for exhaust soot. I have only used Costco house
brand but I suspect Cascade will work well also.

[Joe Myerson]

Got to the boat late today, so I didn't get to sail.

First, I tried to clean the transom using vinegar and water. It was almost a total failure. Looks like it's time for On/Off.

Second, I looked closely at the black stuff I called "soot" in the first post of this thread. While it did not smell of rubber, it just didn't seem like real soot. I could pick it up on my fingers, squish it around, and my fingers were easy to clean. It was also kind of "puffy," so I suspect Ray's theory about the abrading belt might be true.

Third, I ran the engine on the mooring (in neutral, of course) with the engine cover off. I couldn't see the belt abrading. But that might only happen under load.

I'm wondering if I'm ready for the adventure of replacing the belt myself. So far, the only engine work I have done on my own was install a "Speed Seal" cover for the raw-water impeller. (I did install a new cable and single-lever control, but a friend's son, who is a mechanic, helped me.)

Thanks, all, for the tips and diagnoses.

--Joe

[barfwinkle]

Joe this is a straight forward fairly simple task on my 1GM. The alternator has two bolts, one on the block (upper left) and one on the support bracket (lower right). The support bracket is slotted so that the alternator can move (actually pivot on the upper left bolt) up and down and so it can be tensioned with some kind of prying device (i.e. big flat tipped screw driver).

On my engine the bolt on the support bracket is screwed into the alternator from the aft side AND there is "backing" nut just for kicks I guess on the forward side of that same bolt AFTER it is screwed into the alternator. I don't recall if the two bolts are 12MM or 13MM but its one of the two. Its hard to explain (at least for me) in writing, but literally remove one nut; loosen two bolts; lift/slide the pulley cover out of the way; remove/replace belt; re-tension alternator; tighten bolts;replace cover; replace nut!

I have did this about four times last week as I installed a new alternator wire for my Echo Charger. Should be a 10 minute job if nothing goes wrong and your engine is like mine. Getting the tension on the new belt and tightening the bolts at the same time will be the most difficult part. All you have to do is tighten the lower right bolt, it will hold the tension. And the good news is you cant hurt anything and you can save a boat unit.

While on Chesapeake Bay last summer my belt worked itself loose. I COULD NOT get it tight and had to hire a mechanic from Point Lookout to help me (yes help not do the work) and it cost me $80 for 15 minutes.

You CAN DO IT Joe.

Fair Winds

[Noel Heslop]

Hi Joe,

Did you have any abnormal white exhaust fumes when motoring?

If so, then definitely check your cooling system. My raw water intake had a semi block, which finally did fully block, motoring home last New Years Eve. All's well that ends well, but I was very worried of possible 1GM damage at the time. Luckily, I noticed the red warning light while I was motoring.

I did not realise in my inexperience, that my white smoke issue, and black moustache, was caused by restricted water cooling. A little white smoke I was told was normal, but I had a lot, so I had previously changed the oil, replaced impellor, replaced zinc. I have now cleaned the cooling system intake valve (the problem) added new rubber hose and cleaned the raw water filter.

The following day, in desperation, I disconnected the hose from the inlet valve, and no salt water flowed in to Breezy. I had my answer. Inside Breezy, I gently fed a piece of wire down the inlet valve outlet spout, and finally water flowed in, then it spouted up nice and neat. Blockage cleared. Breezy was in the water at the time.

Hope this helps.