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HappyBunny

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  1. Indeed, and I expect the misalignment and resulting vibration may well have led to the injector pump working loose and consequent loss of oil, and impacted on, or caused, the diesel leaks. Mistakes can happen. They shouldn't, but they do, we are all human beans. The reason I shared this experience was to demonstrate how a relatively straightforward engine exchange can become a complete nightmare and potentially very costly experience. Throw in a bit of unseasonably bad weather, on a fairly remote stretch of canal and even a hard core, liveaboard ccer can get caught out with no fuel, water or power for weeks. Add to that the fact that I am a roving trader, and have not been in a suitable location to trade for two months now and the whole thing becomes a little stressful. I was keen to get moving to attend events and trade. With hindsight, setting off without the oil pressure gauge was a mistake, which could have led to the engine seizing and catastrophic damage had I not checked the oil daily. Being advised I was ok to continue moving despite reporting the vibration possibly compounded the problems. Getting stranded when she dumped the oil in a remote location without good vehicular access to the towpath didn’t help. The moral of the story ... buy from a reputable company, like I did. Even then, I needed to have a basic understanding of how an engine works and is fitted, so that I could negotiate coherently and firmly for my consumer rights, and get problems sorted. I could easily have accepted some of the early suggestions, had further delays and got into more expensive trouble, Diagnosing the cause of engine problems, particularly it seems with BMCs, is a complex dark art and dishonest people can take advantage of this if you don’t feel confident enough to question them. Equally, you have to trust the experts and that is why I found this forum useful in my early boating days. However, not all experts are as expert as they think, and even the most expert expert can have a bad day or get things wrong. Patience also helps, as diagnoses can take time … but it's hard to be patient when you have no money coming in, no water or electrickery and full cassettes ...and it starts to snow This situation could have become even more protracted and difficult if the engine had been fitted by a third party, as the first one I had was, leading to buck passing. And always get things in writing, even a reputable firm can renege on a verbal agreement. .... luckily just being in a place called Oswaldtwistle had the capacity to make me grin do you want to sell it???? .... joke
  2. quick update, there was air in the system, and because my fuel pipes are, inevitably, a weird size, they were unable to replace, but eliminated a few potential problem areas .... she started with a bit of effort the vibration and juddering is now thought to be due to misalignment, i cruised for half hour and it is hard to tell if the rattles are from the engine or due to the excessive vibration but she doesn't smoke I'll see what tomorrow brings. The company is trying hard to resolve the issues, they have probably spent more than the engine cost trying to sort it out, and have now offered to replace this engine .... and I don't actually think they supplied a dodgy engine. the problem with asking for them to remove it and give me my money back is that I am then up the proverbial creek without a paddle .... but thanks for input
  3. Not been on here for a while, like a lot of folk i found some of the negativity tiresome ... but thought I would drop in and tell you a story on this wild and windy afternoon, and hopefully get some input from the engineers on here So, I finally decided to replace my knackered old BMC 1.5, with a reconditioned one, with a warranty, from a well known company. What could possibly go wrong..... The engine was fitted, and had major timing problems so after a bit of argy bargy, the suppliers agreed to replace it with another unit, to enable me to get underway ... all good. The replacement was fitted by one of their engineers, started and ran ... it was a bit noisier than my old engine, but no knocks or smoke. Next day I decided to get moving and it wouldn't start. Turned over lumpily, tried to fire, puffs of white smoke but just faded and died. The suppliers sent an engineer, diagnosed some residual air in diesel system, bled it, finally got it going ... and off I went. Next day, checked oil and water, topped both up ... about 1/2 litre of oil .... again it wouldn't start, same as before. Called suppliers, who told me I couldn't keep calling every time I couldn't start my engine and that I should join RCR. They finally agreed to send engineer, if I agreed to pay if it was not a problem with the engine, and same as before ... diagnosed air in system, bled through, checked for leaks, got her started ... and I went on my way. The engine vibrates more than I am used to and is noisy, no knocks, just sounds like a doggy old BMC, no smoke. Stopped a couple of times, and started fine when warm. Next day, checked oil ... nothing at all showing on dipstick, no sign of oil in engine bay .... engineer is sent, checks it over, tops up oil and eventually gets it running so that I can charge batteries etc and says I'll probably be ok to cruise and someone will be in touch. I stay put. the company get in touch and say it is not unusual for a new engine to get "gunked up" and this causes piston rings to stick and they would come and put some oil treatment in. I asked if the term "gunked up" was a technical term as I had not come across it in the context of a reconditioned engine. Another engineer comes out, does compression test, which he says is fine, fixes a few alleged leaks in my fuel system, removes bell housing and .... hey presto, there is the missing oil. He diagnoses that the engine has overheated, and melted the crank seal. There was nothing to suggest it had overheated, water in header tank fine, temp gauge steady .... he points out a slight kink in one of my pipes, which has allegedly been there for ages as they don't bend easily and this is the cause of the overheating luckily I have photos of offending pipe, without twists, prior to the fitting of the second engine The company then decided they need to investigate all "environmental factors" that could causing these issues. So next, there must be a problem with my gearbox, PRM160, They come and remove it, scratch their heads, put it back, go through everything possible, including my fuel system .... and find a possible breach in the injector pump gasket ... it's not unusual for them to "work loose" apparently after an engine has been bench tested .... but surely all the oil would be in my engine bay if this was the case ... apparently not. What about the oil in the bell housing? ... gearbox overfilled (it wasn't) So, it all went back together, they eventually got her to fire up, it vibrated and juddered to such an extent that stuff was falling off shelves, there was some black smoke .... then it settled down, a bit ... problem solved, apparently air in the system can cause excessive vibration on start up ... I can now continue my journey i am told Next day, wouldn't start ... same as before ... called company ... must be a fuel leak somewhere in my system letting air in over night. There is an engineer currently replacing all my diesel pipes as I type this. I have suggested that perhaps the problem lies in the engine, but they refuse to consider this until all "environmental factors" are eliminated. I asked if they could arrange a tow to enable me to fill up with water, empty loo and charge batterys ... no, let the engineer sort out my dodgy fuel system first So, here I am, in Oswaldtwistle, on the L&L, in the snow, low on water and coal, have had no power or hot water for weeks, and indeed no income as I have been unable to trade, on the friday before a bank holiday weekend feeling as if I have slipped into some Kafka-esque nightmare. I have not discussed this publicly till now, and been as reasonable as i can be BUT .... i have omitted some details, like their failure to supply a copy of the warranty in writing until yesterday .... Now, I'm no engineer ... and there may well be a leak in my diesel system, my gearbox may have dropped some oil into the bell housing, all the engine oil may have been lost through the injector pump gasket ... but could there may be a problem elsewhere, maybe with the crankshaft? it seems to me that this would explain most of the symptoms ... and would only have manifested when the engine was first put under load by the engineer after fitting Any thoughts? ... I'm not looking for sympathy, and not naming and shaming at this point, as the company are still trying to resolve the problem .... just looking for some light entertainment and genuinely trying to get my head round this situation and understand what is going on ... also concerned that this engine was run without oil for some time. The oil pressure gauge was left off when it was fitted as it was "missing a splitter" ... I was told it would be ok to move, as it was a new engine, but to get it sorted at next boat yard ... I haven't got there yet ... and if anyone is heading west on the L&L and could offer a tow to rishton / water / drop me some coal ? or suggest boat yard between Oswaldtwistle and Wigan that might come and tow me ... cheers bunny
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  7. and in the afternoons ... and evenings
  8. I love the smell of two stroke in the morning
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  10. Marvelous .... and I do like your dashboard ....
  11. You know that 40 is the new 60 ... or something like that I would have liked to join you but got Cropredy ticket ... hope you have a marvelous time
  12. I have a morso squirrel with back boiler, at the front of my 53 foot narrowboat, and a gravity fed system taking pipes down to the bedroom and twin calorifier .... it is marvelous ... takes the chill off the bedroom without getting too hot, keeps the living room sensibly warm and cosy (as opposed to oppressively hot) and plenty of hot water ... the pipes run through the back of my wardrobe and the cupboard where I keep my sheets, so no damp problems there .....and I can dry my woolly socks on the pipes too .... it's all good
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  16. Hmmmm I have probably the most passionate, difficult, rewarding and frustrating love affair of my life (and I have had a few over the years ) with my BMC 1.5 .... but love it is Mine has been "unreliable" .... but mainly for the reasons alluded to above .... inadequate / dodgy cooling and previous long term neglect / bodging ..... that said, the parts are available, relatively cheaply off the cut, and people are happy to work on them. This is my first boat, and the unreliability has, in some ways, been a bonus because I have learned a huge amount and met some wonderful people along the way, who I might not have met without my numerous breakdowns. I have had to part with a fair amount of cash BUT the boat was cheap in the first place and I reckon I have spent less, learnt more and made more friends with the BMC than I might have done with a more expensive boat and a newer engine ..... well, that is what I tell myself to ease the pain .... swings and roundabouts. Also, every time I have broken down, I have met someone else broken down nearby with a newer, shinier boat with a newer, shinier engine .... just keep away from the Berkhamsted triangle and Marston Doldrums Doles I have a friend who ripped out the bulk head between his BMC engine and his bed so that the last thing he sees / smells at night and the first thing he sees / smells in the morning is his engine .... now that is love, bless him
  17. Um ... not sure what you mean? ... some sections of towpath have gates to stop naughty boys and girls hurtling along them on motorcycles and, presumably, those other bizarre two wheeled contraptions without an engine .... these gates are accessible for wheelchair / mobility scooter users via a radar key. Sometimes one of these gates will be in between where I have moored and the nearest road access. So I unload the bike, push it to the gate ... unlock and push it through the gate and onto the road to go off and buy supplies or just have a little explore. Getting back to the boat is a reverse of the above. I downsized to a small trialy to make all this easy on my poor old back ... and have huge amounts of fun on my little KE100 ....( but keep some bigger bikes on land too when I need to travel long distances or faster than 60mph ... flat out, on the tank, with the wind behind me ) Gosh .... that must have been scary ....I have fallen victim to the "ooops I forgot the panniers" scenario on a couple of embarrassing occasions, involving bollards or filtering through motorway traffic jams .... again a lightweight small bike is easier to keep upright on an uneven towpath .... dropped my old XS1100 ("The Sex Pest" as she was affectionately known ) a couple of times and that needed three people to get back up again, once she started to go down, there was no way you could argue with her ...... my other Top Tip is to always load or unload alongside the boat, especially heavy stuff like bags of coal or starter batteries (yes, I have done it ) so if the bike does start to go it will hit the side of the boat and not go splash
  18. another Top Tip for anyone with a motorsickle on board is to get a RADAR key .... I bought one at Fradley Junction ... then you can get your bike off the towpath (pushing it of course) even on gated sections
  19. No, I'm not a "sheepy" as the researchers are called up there, but have been lucky enough to go over twice with the National Trust ... the flock on St Kilda are left entirely to their own devices now with no intervention ... and yes, I find primitive species interesting too ... my MA dissertation involved the measurement and analysis of many hundreds of prehistoric sheep / goat metapodia ...
  20. Don't encourage me ... but if it is horny rams you are after, go to St Kilda ... outer outer hebrides .... there is a feral herd of seaweed eating soay sheep there, who are left untended, but subject to various research programmes .... of course you can't remove anything from the island as it is a world heritage site and massiely protected, but the skulls are amazing .... and no mammalian predators ... and it is the best place in the world
  21. I once wrote a short cook book, in the early 80's ... "101 tasty treats with roadkill" ... but failed to find a publisher .... too far ahead of the times methinks good parenting I was, and still am, a massive fan of dead things. My half of my bedroom as a child, much to my sister's dismay, was a shrine to decomposition .... though animals and birds later had to be consigned to behind the garage. I developed an unhealthy fascination with skeletons BUT went on to have a brilliant career as an archaeologist for many years, thanks largely to my parents actively encouraging my "hobby" I know it;s not in a lock but Number One in my Top Ten Best Dead Things Ever was this whale that washed up on Skinningrove beach when I lived in the north east.
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  23. Get your motor running .... get out on the towpath .... joke ... of course you mustn't do that ... ever I downsized, found a boat with a big front deck, took advice from a boat builder of some repute, had some reinforcing put in and a section cut out from each side that lifts out .... just wheel her on and off .... and regard it as an investment for future as i could also get wheel chair / mobility scooter on and off The prophets of doom on here said I would sink without trace or that it would be like the zeebrugge ferry all over again .... but it hasn't happened ..... yet And I can get a bag of coal on her and light enough to push .... and you can get 65mph out of her .... downhill, with the wind behind etc etc etc happy days
  24. As a single hander I try and keep my roof clutter to the absolute minimum .... so just have a few plants No ... I can't see a thing just do it and remember ....
  25. I got some excellent stuff called Winterblaze from Gary Slater (coal and diesel boat on the GU) was £9 for 25kg ... or maybe even £8.50 ..... and is good slow burner with very little ash and stays in for hours and hours... went out to play one saturday morning about 10am and got home sunday eve about 7pm and it was still ticking over nicely .... thoroughly recommend it
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