For Lehman seized/solved

Just a quick note on our Ford Lehman 120 seizing on the Sacramento River last summer. After a bilge pump hose burst and filled the bilge with water, causing us to shut down the engine and bail out the water, we spent five hot days of 112 degree weather trying to get the boat running again. We talked to five different Deisel guys and shops all telling us we need to remove and rebuild engine!! Big trouble, big expense and not worth it on a GB 32 woody. A couple weeks ago we met Bob Smith of American Deisel at the GB Rendezvous and he told us to check the transmission to flywheel damper plate springs. They have been known to break and stop an engine cold! Sure enough, that was the problem
Wow! A few hundred in parts and some of our own labor and it looks like it will be running in another week. Thanks Bob! We will be posting some more info on this one as we get things back together. It has been a good lesson in mechanics. I guess that is part of boating

Nice that it worked out to something RELATIVELY simple

Great info! Thanks for posting it here. I'm sure it'll save someone lots of blood, sweat and grief.

You, my friend, should go buy lotto tickets now!

Randall,

Did you do a lot of slow running like trolling for fish ect?
Slow running kills damper plates.

Baggiolini said:

You, my friend, should go buy lotto tickets now!

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+1

Glad you got it sorted out. I was there for that conversation with Bob Smith. The rendezvous was fun.

Yes, it was very fortunate to find out it was a relatively minor problem. In the process we pulled the head and injectors and exhaust manifold. Hopefully the reinstall will go well.
As for Monroe, we are in a holding pattern
Hey Rusty, I'm so glad we had the opportunity to make that talk by Bob. We took the broken plate to Trawlerfest and he used it for show and tell at his short class.

Here is a picture of my brothers garage. Notice the Borg Warner transmission from the Ford Lehman. He decided to rebuild the tranny just for fun

How did some water in the bilge cause the drive plate failure?

Now that is a mystery. Why did the damper plate springs break, seize engine, just because a bilge hose broke and filled 10" of water in bilge? Mechanically, it makes no sense as I can tell.

Randall B said:

Now that is a mystery. Why did the damper plate springs break, seize engine, just because a bilge hose broke and filled 10" of water in bilge? Mechanically, it makes no sense as I can tell.

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Corrosion would be my first guess.