I own a 28 CD powerboat with a volvo TAMD 40 engine with a turbocharger.
The other day my mind went on vacation and I forgot to open the
raw water seacock. It wasn't until the alarm sounded that I
realized that the engine had begun to over heat.
The temperature of the engine reached 220 F and of course the
impeller was a bald tire. I have a couple of questions, what if any damage could have been done, where should I look for the little pieces of the impeller, and is there anything else that I should be looking at?
jndauster@aol.com
impeller swallowed
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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D. Stump, Hanalei
Re: impeller swallowed
John,
I'm not familiar with your particular engine, but, if I lost the impeller, the first place I would look, after the engine cooled, would be at the radiator/heat exchanger fill cap. If the rubber of the impeller floats, the small pieces should float in the tank. You probably don't have any big pieces stuck in the coolant passages, the impeller probably self-destructed. But, if you think there is a posibility, you could drain all the antifreeze, open both the heat exchanger and block drains, hook a garden hose to the outlet side of the antifreeze pump and blow fresh water through the system at high pressure and hook the garden hose to the seawater side and do the same thing to it. You would probably need a pressure flush attachment to do the antifreeze side (Prestone makes one for autos, don't know if it will work on a diesel). Hey, I just thought, did you loose the raw water pump impeller, or the freshwater(antifreeze) impeller? At any rate, the fix I would think would be about the same. Remember when you install the new impeller, do not pull the shaft out of the pump. Some pumps would then be required to be disassembled to install the new impeller and align the shaft to the pump. Check your owner's manual!
Of course, the other alternative is to replace the impeller, and run it! You will know shortly if you have a problem! This may be the simpler and easier of all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei (CD-30)
I'm not familiar with your particular engine, but, if I lost the impeller, the first place I would look, after the engine cooled, would be at the radiator/heat exchanger fill cap. If the rubber of the impeller floats, the small pieces should float in the tank. You probably don't have any big pieces stuck in the coolant passages, the impeller probably self-destructed. But, if you think there is a posibility, you could drain all the antifreeze, open both the heat exchanger and block drains, hook a garden hose to the outlet side of the antifreeze pump and blow fresh water through the system at high pressure and hook the garden hose to the seawater side and do the same thing to it. You would probably need a pressure flush attachment to do the antifreeze side (Prestone makes one for autos, don't know if it will work on a diesel). Hey, I just thought, did you loose the raw water pump impeller, or the freshwater(antifreeze) impeller? At any rate, the fix I would think would be about the same. Remember when you install the new impeller, do not pull the shaft out of the pump. Some pumps would then be required to be disassembled to install the new impeller and align the shaft to the pump. Check your owner's manual!
Of course, the other alternative is to replace the impeller, and run it! You will know shortly if you have a problem! This may be the simpler and easier of all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei (CD-30)
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Matt Cawthorne
Re: impeller swallowed
John,
Change your oil immediately. Overheating your engine can really kill it's lubricity.
Matt
mcawthor@bellatlantic.net
Change your oil immediately. Overheating your engine can really kill it's lubricity.
Matt
John wrote: I own a 28 CD powerboat with a volvo TAMD 40 engine with a turbocharger.
The other day my mind went on vacation and I forgot to open the
raw water seacock. It wasn't until the alarm sounded that I
realized that the engine had begun to over heat.
The temperature of the engine reached 220 F and of course the
impeller was a bald tire. I have a couple of questions, what if any damage could have been done, where should I look for the little pieces of the impeller, and is there anything else that I should be looking at?
mcawthor@bellatlantic.net