absorbent pads, nappies & paper towels
We spent hours being contortionists, leaning over and around the engine mopping up the oil which had managed to find its way into all sorts of hard to reach places. Knowing that we needed to start the engine again we placed lots of absorbent pads and nappies beneath the engine.
Whilst Bruce lay over the engine with his head as far down as possible (not easy as there isn't much room) the engine was started. Suddenly I heard him shout "Off, off, off, turn it off!" which I duly did. I heard some cursing and looked down the companionway to find him splattered with oil - all over his face, glasses and hands as well as the table leg and woodwork! Trying not to laugh I handed over some paper towel grateful that I wasn't the one standing there covered in oil.
He still couldn't determine where the oil was coming from so whilst he cleaned himself I decided to take a look. Armed with a small vanity mirror I could see the problem but describing it was a different matter. "It's coming from a small cylinder thing that's green which is hidden under a large cylinder thing that's also green"! Useful? Well, with the aid of a few schematics (thanks to marinepartseurope.com) he was then able to determine that the leak was in fact coming from the oil cooler and that to obtain access meant removing the heat exchanger.
A cuppa followed before deciding if we wanted to undertake the task or call in the experts. We looked at the engine and the schematics in more detail before deciding that we would tackle it ourselves given that we had nothing to lose as the engine was now officially out of action anyway.
The engine coolant was drained followed by the sea water circuit before we started to remove the thermostat, cooling pipes, heat exchanger and oil pipes which then gave us access to remove the oil cooler. Notes and photos were taken as we progressed.
As you can see from the photo the oil cooler is badly corroded and has split open.
A quick Google search revealed that this is a common problem for our model and age of engine and can also affect the heat exchanger (see A volvo 2003T story (or saga)) so we took the opportunity to separate the heat exchanger and check for corrosion. We were relieved to see that it was in good order because this part alone from Volvo costs over £2,000!
All that now remains is for us to source replacement parts, put the engine back together and give it a test. We could be here for a while!!
Whilst Bruce lay over the engine with his head as far down as possible (not easy as there isn't much room) the engine was started. Suddenly I heard him shout "Off, off, off, turn it off!" which I duly did. I heard some cursing and looked down the companionway to find him splattered with oil - all over his face, glasses and hands as well as the table leg and woodwork! Trying not to laugh I handed over some paper towel grateful that I wasn't the one standing there covered in oil.
He still couldn't determine where the oil was coming from so whilst he cleaned himself I decided to take a look. Armed with a small vanity mirror I could see the problem but describing it was a different matter. "It's coming from a small cylinder thing that's green which is hidden under a large cylinder thing that's also green"! Useful? Well, with the aid of a few schematics (thanks to marinepartseurope.com) he was then able to determine that the leak was in fact coming from the oil cooler and that to obtain access meant removing the heat exchanger.
A cuppa followed before deciding if we wanted to undertake the task or call in the experts. We looked at the engine and the schematics in more detail before deciding that we would tackle it ourselves given that we had nothing to lose as the engine was now officially out of action anyway.
The engine coolant was drained followed by the sea water circuit before we started to remove the thermostat, cooling pipes, heat exchanger and oil pipes which then gave us access to remove the oil cooler. Notes and photos were taken as we progressed.
As you can see from the photo the oil cooler is badly corroded and has split open.
A quick Google search revealed that this is a common problem for our model and age of engine and can also affect the heat exchanger (see A volvo 2003T story (or saga)) so we took the opportunity to separate the heat exchanger and check for corrosion. We were relieved to see that it was in good order because this part alone from Volvo costs over £2,000!
All that now remains is for us to source replacement parts, put the engine back together and give it a test. We could be here for a while!!
Comments