Jump to content

Oil leak from Amal Fuel Lift Pump


Marpessa

Featured Posts

Hi all.

 

I would really appreciate your advice.

 

I have a 1956 Gardner 2LW.

 

Over the last few months the AMAL fuel lift pump has been spraying oil from around the Fulcrum Pin. I obtained a gasket and seal kit from Peter Slater and replaced all gaskets, diaphragm and a new Fulcrum Pin. However I still have the problem. The higher the revs the more oil sprays.

 

Does anybody know if this is a common issue?

 

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Spraying" seems excessive. When you overhauled the pump was the pin a good fit in the case?

 

The crankcase should be at more or less atmospheric pressure. Is the crankcase pressurised?

 

You would see/feel air/fumes blowing from the oil filling point and breather.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi

 

Thanks for your reply

 

The replacement pin is not as tight as I would like and so it's quiet probably the cause of the problem.

The crankcase is pressurised: if I open the oil filler cap there are definitely fumes/air.

 

I have to confess to not knowing where the engine breather point is. Is there a standard position for Gardner LWs ?

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The engine was rebuilt by tony redshaw in 2005 when the boat was new. Built by roger fuller.

We bought the boat 2 years ago. There are other minor oil leaks - I assume this is fairly normal??

Any advice is most welcome.

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there a filter mounted on the oil filling point (looks like a car oil filter)?. Could this be blocked? Post some photos of the engine and maybe we can locate it for you. The breather I have looks like http://www.inlinefilters.co.uk/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=13294, though yours may be a different colour.

 

Does the oil spray out of the pump if the filling point is left open? if so this would indicate a pressurised crank case. If it stops spraying, put your hand over the breather and see if you can feel pressure.

 

Some fumes/air from the filler is normal, a continuous flow or pressure is indicative of a problem, e.g engine wear as Steamraiser2 has said above.

 

Have you changed the breather filter when servicing the engine?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 1950 3LW was built as a marine unit and has a wire gauze filter in a cylindrical, screw on, filter/cap. The filler manifold contains a coarse mesh filter where it attaches to the chain case.

 

Looking at images on the MPS site an LW, maybe the road/traction versions, may have a hinged filler cap and must have alternative provision for a crankcase breather. However, despite my best efforts to clean the breather my engine emits oil from a defective crank oil seal. I guess the fuel pump is the next higher egress point.

 

On a worn engine with high crankcase pressure a temporary reduction of the problem is to keep the sump oil level near to the minimum. Ideally we would both fix the cause of the problem, not the symptom. Running a diesel engine at maximum power/revs/load occasionally may avoid bore glazing and may even remove some of the glaze.

 

Another option is to make an oversize fulcrum pin and drill/ream the pump body to fit.

 

HTH, Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi all.

 

I would really appreciate your advice.

 

I have a 1956 Gardner 2LW.

 

Over the last few months the AMAL fuel lift pump has been spraying oil from around the Fulcrum Pin. I obtained a gasket and seal kit from Peter Slater and replaced all gaskets, diaphragm and a new Fulcrum Pin. However I still have the problem. The higher the revs the more oil sprays.

 

Does anybody know if this is a common issue?

 

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Have a look at the rocker covers in this image GardnerLW6.jpg

The rocker covers form part of the induction system, the air flow picking up crankcase fumes as it passes over the rocker gear en route to the inlet manifold.

Should cure most crankcase pressure problems. They weren't fitted with air filters, just the brass gauze that can be seen in the photo, but no reason not to fit one if you feel it necessary.

Only seen two of these; installed as emergency steering pumps on HMS Ark Royal (the one laid down in the 40s).

The rocker covers on the 4LW fit the 2LW, you just need one of them rolleyes.gif

Edited by Eeyore
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have a look at the rocker covers in this image GardnerLW6.jpg

 

Only seen two of these; installed as emergency steering pumps on HMS Ark Royal (the one laid down in the 40s).

The rocker covers on the 4LW fit the 2LW, you just need one of them rolleyes.gif

Did Royal Navy ships of that era have Gardners for emergency steering pumps in general?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did Royal Navy ships of that era have Gardners for emergency steering pumps in general?

I guess that Eagle (decommissioned in '72, the year before I joined up for my apprenticeship) had the same equipment.

Beyond that I wouldn't know/didn't see any.

Edited by Eeyore
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Recently found my pump was leaking and I thought I had the same problem as the OP. However it turned out to be a degraded diaphragm causing a very small amount of full to leak out to the tell tale holes in the flange. I had not noticed these before as the face towards the engine.

 

The pump has never leaked before (we have had the boat 3 years). When I took the pump apart all the bolts were sealed with silicone or similar as was the fulcrum pin.

 

. Edited to correct text (D'Oh!).

Edited by jonesthenuke
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

In the recent spirit of keeping these older threads coming back, I have just recently noticed a small amount of fuel coming out of the tell tale whole in my lift pump. As it comes out between the lift pump and injection pump it is not obvious but did notice a small leakage.

 

Have got hold of an overhaul kit so will be taking the lift pump apart and wondering if there any tips or things to look out for?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.