Cat 3208 starboard engine quit

Moving our boat to the new slip today the starboard engine quit. Californian 42'.

I suspected and empty outboard starboard fuel tank. Called TOWBOAT US - best $160 I ever spent. We added 5 gal of diesel to tank but she still will not fire.

New to this engine so knowledge is minimal. Does it self prime or is there now air in fuel system? If air in system should I use the primer pump? Manual says there ought to be one. I want check all I can before I call mech.

Thanks!

Greetings,
Mr. frg. OK. First things first...Are you in the slip and securely tied up? Do you have cold beverages on board? Do you have power and water hooked up? Are the beds made? Have you had lunch? If no to any of the questions, do it now!
Yes, you probably have to bleed the air out of the lines and injection pump soooo....Have a cold pint, relax, perhaps have a nap, take Patrick for a walk on the beach and let someone who knows more about 3208's than I do talk you through the process. You're home. Chill man. Oh, and welcome to the wonderful world of boat ownership.
Pee Ass: I wouldn't be calling a mechanic just yet. Now's the time to learn troubleshooting 101. I don't hear the pshssst...of the beer cap opening yet....

What about that delivery captain you had on board? He should be able to bleed the lines to the pump with no trouble showing you at the same time how its done. Or better yet have you do it per his instructions. While at it change out the filter in your racor...good to know.

Yes, we are nicely tucked in, air is on and drinks are poured. In chill mode. It was a challenge on just port engine but i got her in just fine.

Agreed on not calling mech yet. I want to figure it out myself if I can.

Not all delivery captains are mechs.

frgeorgeh said:

Yes, we are nicely tucked in, air is on and drinks are poured. In chill mode. It was a challenge on just port engine but i got her in just fine.

Agreed on not calling mech yet. I want to figure it out myself if I can.

Click to expand...

Towboat didn't put you in the slip?

Cat 3308 starboard engine quit

"That delivery Captain". He was worthless as tits on a bull. He almost **** himself when engine alarm went off. I calmly told him to take the wheel and what course to steer. My son and I proceeded downstairs to insure no smoke or fire and to assess the situation. I'd been better off taking that 200 bucks and throwing it in the drink! Or better yet buying booze with it! ?

He told me once I had her docked, " if she was an outboard I could help. Don't know anything about diesels".

frgeorgeh said:

He told me once I had her docked, " if she was an outboard I could help. Don't know anything about diesels".

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Sounds one of those captains that can fix anything, as long the battery in his cell phone is charged up.

On secondary filter is a primer pump that you unscrew. Then plunger comes out and you can pump it. If it is airbound, plunger will act like it is doing nothing. If primed, plunger will be hard to push. Pump it til it gets hard, best to top up the racor first. Pump pump pump pump. Then pump some more. Once hard, use 3/4" inch wrench to crack loose injector line nuts right where they go into cylinder head, Crank til it spits, then tighten up. Motor should then start on a few cyl, run like snot, then clear up.

3308 or 3208?

Thanks Ski! They are 3208's Ol Deckhand

Ski has got the procedure covered. I was going to post a picture... but alas.. this forum is a pita to put pictures on unless you do it a lot...

Just a thought too... though 5 gallons should be plenty, depending on how big the tank, how the boat is sitting and where the fuel pickup is - you may need a bit more.

Also... depending on your primary filtration type - you will probably see air in the bowl. It is a good "watch point" to see if you are getting anywhere moving fuel towards the engine.

Welcome to the love-hate relationship of boat ownership, Fr. Geo!

It's all love for us. Of course when someone is in love there is also frustration,

Top of my list now is to figure out how to get a decent tank measuring system in this boat.

There is no way to know how much fresh water there is, no way to know how full waste tank is, and, as I learned the hard way, the original fuel tank gauges cannot be trusted either.

Not wanting to send this post of track so no need to comment on solutions to this thought. I know what they are. Just relaying my current frustration in my Brand new love affair with Ten Knots. It's not her fault. She just needs some TLC.

Greetings,
Mr. frg. I hear ya brother. As I stated in post #2 and along identical sentiments expressed by Mr. FW "...welcome to the wonderful world of boat ownership.". There are several threads dealing with tankage measurement.
More to the point, have you succeeded in restarting that motor yet? What's the progress on that?

Cat 3308 starboard engine quit

RT, haven't touched it. I will get to her on Mon. Just gonna spend today cleaning and relaxing.

As u know I still am recovering from a broken back so, easy does it for me.

If I go down the hole Im gonna have a ll tools I need and a clear plan.

Tank Tender

I like this guage which the PO installed on our boat. Simple air pressure measurment. Works great.
Hart Systems - Home

Be very careful if you decide to crack the nuts to the injectors right at the heads. The tube going to the injector can be twisted if the nut is overly tight. You sometimes have to remove the valve cover to use a wrench in the backside. Best to start at the pump itself and crack those lines first to see if there is fuel.

If you have never done this before it maybe cheap insurance to hire a mechanic and watch.

Capt. Jon said:

If you have never done this before it maybe cheap insurance to hire a mechanic and watch.

Click to expand...

I have a friend in the industry and he knows a cat mech. I agree mainly cause I have no photos and no clear idea where everything is.

If I see it once I'll have it down

PROGRESS! I pumped and pumped and pumped. She now sounds like she want to crank.

After a little breakfast, more pumping!

Don't burn up the starter. Crank 5-10sec, then pump some more. Crank, pump, crank etc. Sometimes air in inj lines works itself out, sometimes need to crack the nuts. Helps to adv throttle to where about 1200rpm would be, don't push it full.

Thanks Ski. I'm on it!

My 3208s had a small priming valve just in front of the injection pump.

Usually they had plastic lines leading to the bilge to collect the fuel.

After the secondary filled...it was a couple pumps till solid fuel came from the priming valve...then every time the 3208 would start in less than 20 sec cranking.

I never ran them out of fuel but did starve on once because of filter clogging.

My friend who is a 3208 specialist said another 20 seconds or so past that for empty injector lines should do it or there are other issues.

all is right with the world again. Got engine started and running.

Bear with me for being just a little proud but the Admiral and I are so happy we figured out or first real issue and fixed it ourselves. Even better than that, zero dollars spent from our quickly dwindling cruising fund!

Thanks everyone for all your help. Could not have done it without you. God I am so glad to be part of Trawler Forum!

Isn't it a great feeling when you figure it out yourself and make the repair? Sorry to hear about that delivery captain...Now is a good time to practice changing out a racor filter (if you have one). If you loose prime you know how to solve it! Ya gotta love those cats, a fast spin of the starter and those engines come to life quickly.

Greetings,
Mr. frg. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! Now put on a shirt....

If after making certain that you have fuel and the line is bled, it still won't start, check the solenoid shut off. It should be a round vertical object about 2" diameter/about 4" tall just behind the fuel injection pump in the top middle of the front section of the engine. Tap on it. If still won't start, there are two bolts holding it down. Take it off. See if it will start. If it will start to shut the engine down just push the little lever down in the hole.

PSNEELD added the part that Ski-NC left out about the little bleed valve on top. Fr. G do you have an engine manual? If not PM me your address and I will send you an extra one that I have. My engines are 1988 3208T/As....Tom

Well done, Padre! Now "Rev" em up and go buy more fuel!! It's another "cha-ching", but it feels good having full fuel tanks.

Depending on your exhaust system setup you can ruin your engine by salt water flooding if you crank to much without starting. You need to know if you need to shut off the cooling seacock when needing to crank without starting.

Water-lift systems with the outlet above the highest point of the manifold will get you in trouble.

Good job on bleeding the engine, a task that you may need again and now it's easy peasy. You owe yourself 100 bucks an hour as a repair fee.