This past week we were out cruising in the San Juan Islands of Washington and our starboard engine failed to start. Pushing the start button elicited no sound whatsoever. So...problem solving began. I tested the battery for low voltage-12.4, not the problem, tested the starter switch, not the problem, checked the wiring for breaks-nada, removed the ground wires and cleaned all contacts-nope. Then I tried jumping the solenoid as per photo instructions in Nigel Calder's book, bad choice as I touched a wrong terminal and smoked the solenoid compounding my problem. Then I called a nearby marina on Lopez Island to see if they could said sure, come on in. So we motored on one engine after I locked down the starboard shaft. Spent the night and got up to go talk with the next morning and was told they really don't think they could help diagnose the problem. �� Went back to the boat and decided to motor back to Anacortes where there are more resources. I went to Cap Sante Marine to try and find a new solenoid and they located one out of Bellingham. A friend in Bellingham drove the part to us, I installed it and still nothing. Talking with Allan in parts at Cap Sante it seemed to point to the starter being bad. The engine was not seized because I could still turn it with a wrench easily. He was going to call around for a starter. I called Brian at American Diesel and he thought it might be the starter as well. I asked about using a Ford tractor starter and he said would be fine and did not need to worry about marinerization for that part. So I called a New Holland tractor dealer in Mt Vernon and lucked into talking with the regional parts manager who happened to be there. He was very knowledgeable about Lehman engines and thought they had a new starter in stock. Two calls later he said he was driving it out to me. The new one was $200.00, marine parts departments I called could source them for $485 to $505.00. Dave at Brim tractors in Mt Vernon was the best in service, price and knowledge. He arrived with the starter and 15 minutes later my engine was running again!
So the moral of this story is some parts for the Ford Lehman engines do not have to be marine parts. Careful consideration can save hundreds of dollars!
http://www.brimtractor.com
Tractor dealers make field deliveries all the time so coming to a boat was easy for them. I remember taking the FL class from Bob Smith and he recommended sourcing parts from tractor dealers to. New Holland bought out Ford tractors so that is why I called a New Holland dealer.
So the moral of this story is some parts for the Ford Lehman engines do not have to be marine parts. Careful consideration can save hundreds of dollars!
http://www.brimtractor.com
Tractor dealers make field deliveries all the time so coming to a boat was easy for them. I remember taking the FL class from Bob Smith and he recommended sourcing parts from tractor dealers to. New Holland bought out Ford tractors so that is why I called a New Holland dealer.
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