Not doing anything about it

[Keeping Up]

While we were coming up the Nene last week we developed a slight diesel leak. One that used up about one sheet of kitchen roll per hour to contain it. I wondered about tightening up the leaking connection but decided against it.

 

At Braunston today our favourite engineer tightened the nut for me. It appeared to stop the leak. BUT we are now broken down about an hour from Braunston with diesel pouring out from the connection whenever I start the engine. In the morning I have to try and reverse back half a mile and turn back to Braunston (all the while dropping quantities of diesel into the bilge).

 

I am just so glad I didn't try tightening the nuts while we were in the remotest part of the river. It's only a minor inconvenience being broken down here, but it would have been very different (and an expensive call-out) on the Nene.

[soldthehouse]

While we were coming up the Nene last week we developed a slight diesel leak. One that used up about one sheet of kitchen roll per hour to contain it. I wondered about tightening up the leaking connection but decided against it.

 

At Braunston today our favourite engineer tightened the nut for me. It appeared to stop the leak. BUT we are now broken down about an hour from Braunston with diesel pouring out from the connection whenever I start the engine. In the morning I have to try and reverse back half a mile and turn back to Braunston (all the while dropping quantities of diesel into the bilge).

 

I am just so glad I didn't try tightening the nuts while we were in the remotest part of the river. It's only a minor inconvenience being broken down here, but it would have been very different (and an expensive call-out) on the Nene.

One should never put of tightening his nuts whenever possible

[MrCJ]

am i see double or has this thread been put on here twice

[Theo]

am i see double or has this thread been put on here twice

 

Keeping up's dongle threw a wobbly he says. Threads merged.

 

Nick

[Radio-Ga-Ga]

Keeping up's dongle threw a wobbly he says. Threads merged.

 

Nick

That wiil teach him to tighten his own nuts in future

[Gibbo]

Is this not the sort of very basic repair that you should carry spares and tools for?

[Keeping Up]

Unfortunately it's not as simple as that.

 

The connections to each end of the pipes, at the injectors and at the pump, can be tightened easily enough. The problem is that the pipes connect to a sort of an adaptor which screws into the pump casing, and the leak was from the base of this adaptor. Unfortunately, and the reason it was a good thing not to try and tighten it, this adaptor (which turns out to be also an actual part of the pump assembly) relies on a rubber O-ring to make the seal, so tightening the nut makes no significant difference to how hard the O-ring is compressed but can - and did - damage the rubber.

 

So yesterday it was all fixed for the second time, and it didn't leak. For a few hours. Now it's leaking again, and we're stuck until tomorrow when he'll come out to us and try it with a slightly different size of O-ring.

[Keeping Up]

Replacing the O-rings again didn't work, so a complete strip-down of the injector pump assembly was the next step. This did reveal some copper washers, but after reassembly with new washers everywhere the leak was still exactly the same as before.

 

We now have a complete new pump assembly which was hideously expensive but at least it seems to have cured the leak.

[pamaloon]

Replacing the O-rings again didn't work, so a complete strip-down of the injector pump assembly was the next step. This did reveal some copper washers, but after reassembly with new washers everywhere the leak was still exactly the same as before.

 

We now have a complete new pump assembly which was hideously expensive but at least it seems to have cured the leak.

 

Thanks for posting this. I'm still totally new to all of this and havn't got a clue, half the time, as to what people are talking about... so getting words of advice through articles such as yours - and other users' two'penneth is gratefully received - so thank you.

 

Dare I presume that all is totally now AOK for you and the Missus?

Cheers,

Pamaloon

[Keeping Up]

Thankfully yes, all seems to be OK. The diesel is staying just where it ought to stay (inside the engine)