Lee
Newbie
I have an old Westerbeke 4.4 generator and can't find the exhaust leak that is filling the engine room with carbonmonoxide. Does anyone have a suggestion of where or how to search for the leak?
Exhaust Leak
- Thread starter Lee
- Start date
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RT Firefly
Enigma
Greetings,
Welcome aboard. CO? BAD stuff...
Welcome aboard. CO? BAD stuff...
Ski in NC
Technical Guru
No real secret technique. Start engine and crawl around and look for leaks. Anything downstream of mixing elbow will not only leak exhaust, but water.
Make sure blowby tube is going to air intake, too.
Diesel should not be making much CO unless it is sick.
CO can also be drawn back into vents from tailpipe.
Be careful, don't troubleshoot alone!!
Make sure blowby tube is going to air intake, too.
Diesel should not be making much CO unless it is sick.
CO can also be drawn back into vents from tailpipe.
Be careful, don't troubleshoot alone!!
Xsbank
Guru
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I thought my Onan was making exhaust but it turned out that the fuel pp seal had failed and the motor and points were submerged in fuel. Only mentioned that because there might be another cause. Acrid smell.
Particulate matter from diesel exhaust is very bad for you, wear a mask! Like Ski says, don't do it alone!
Particulate matter from diesel exhaust is very bad for you, wear a mask! Like Ski says, don't do it alone!
Lee
Newbie
Thanks for the responses! I will have another look around this weekend. That's good info about checking only upstream of the mixing elbow. unfortunately it's not too easy to get aground the generator where it is located.
gwkiwi
Guru
Check your exhaust manifold if it's a cast iron one it may have cracked with age and need replacing. I had the same issue on our Northern Lights gen and replaced it with a stainless one and no more smell.
Hammond Eve
Member
I have a Kohler gen. exhaust leaks. it is under the side deck, with about 3 inch clearance on top, cannot see the exhaust side even with a mirror. might be the mixing elbow or gaskets or something else. It seems impossible to get at that side of the engine to fix anything. No normally sized human being can get in a position to even reach the places that would need to be undone to replace anything over there. Does anyone have any experience as to how to get at that area?
Comodave
Moderator Emeritus
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Hammond Eve, welcome aboard. I had a generator in a previous boat that was installed similar to yours. I couldn’t imagine anyone being able to work on it for major things. It was still under warranty and the stator opened up. I thought they would have to pull one of the engines but they sent out their smallest technician and he was able to fix it in place. Anyway, good luck with it, hope you are able to find someone.
Hammond Eve
Member
Thank you Dave. i thought a reply would take a week at least. The instant help makes me glad my wife insisted that i put this question out there. I am going to try to find the very small but strong technician. As it was i was just going to abandon the generator.
Comodave
Moderator Emeritus
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Yes, whenever I called Cummins and told them who I was, they said they drew straws to see who got stuck working on my genset. When I told them it was the stator based on my troubleshooting they said it had to be the little guy. I feel your pain and hope it works out for you.
