Hi there,
I'm in Kitimat, BC. Can't wait to do the BC coast in "trawler style" as the last time my wife and I did the BC coast, it was by sea kayak. We're looking forward to heading north to your waters as well. So much to discover!
We're diesel rookies. As newbie as it gets. A quick google search about this engine and aftercoolers brought up this confidence boosting nugget from boatdiesel.com;
"I just had the opportunity to dissasemble an aftercooler on a 4JH2-UTE that I've been watching over(not in charge of)for about 6 yrs.. This particular engine is the 100 HP version but is re-governed to operate as a generator engine at 1800 RPM (kinda like running slow)..This engine has had a multitude of problems over the years but NONE of them have been Yanmar's fault.. About 2 yrs ago, a fitting broke or something and it lost all of the coolant.. The engine continued to run until it seized (or very close); the shut downs didn't work... This happened at about 8000 commercial-type hours.. Well, we freed up the engine and got it running w/o taking anything apart and the engine would run "so-so" but with lots of crankcase bypass and was using coolant.. After a few oil changes the engine seemed to heal itself and has operated well for the last 3000 hrs or so..Scuffed a piston/ stuck a ring/ cracked a manifold or blew a head gasket?? It really should have done a few of these things..Last week it started running crappy again and we dumped some "Rislone" in the oil and the owner put some stuff in the fuel... Anyway it's running good again but suggested that he service the aftercooler and heat exchanger for the first time.. All I can say is that these components are of first class design and are far superior in construction and design than the newer high HP propulsion engine and to anything my favorite manufacturer (Cummins) puts on their B's and C's..What really blew me away was how clean the saltwater cooled aftercooler was after 11000 hrs in a nasty wet environment... My hat's off to Yanmar on this.. Too bad they don't employ this type of design in the LY's and LP's...The (older?) 4JH is an incredible motor and just about reminds me of a 6-71 Detroit as far as reliabilty goes.....Yanmar and (Cummins) Are you listening?? Tony"
We'll get the fellow to fire it up, and see how it behaves. It'll also give us a chance to see if he increases the RPM's to burn off carbon after running it at low RPM's.
The trawler quest continues...