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Old 05-15-2019, 06:16 PM   #21
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My Lehman Head Gasket

This thread is very helpful. I have twin Lehman 120s and on my starboard engine, have continued white smoke at low to mid RPMs and black smoke at 2k and above. Found oil under my coolant cap after 6 hour trip (after cleaning cap before trip). I think this is symptomatic of a blown head gasket. Engine runs rough and had previously tested/serviced injectors (they were fine) and checked valve clearances.
Was wondering if anyone has the 120 (2715E) service manual in .PDF?
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Old 05-15-2019, 06:32 PM   #22
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Greetings,
Welcome aboard Mr. Matty.
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Old 05-15-2019, 06:41 PM   #23
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Funny thing though ..100 hours after my head job, the bubbles and oil returned to the coolant. No other symptoms, but I never run my engine above 1800rpms.

800 engine hours, 2 near round trips to Florida from Jersey and 6 perfect oil analysis later and the engine is still running fine.



Giving it one more chance this summer, having a trusted engine shop try another new head gasket.
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Old 05-15-2019, 10:17 PM   #24
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When did you last replace your coolant? If its holding pressure, that doesn’t sound like s gasket to me but the manual does say to retorque the heads at (500? 1000?) hours. Try that first?
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Old 05-15-2019, 10:54 PM   #25
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Thanks for post. I replaced my coolant last year and retorqued my head bolts last month at the same time I pulled the injectors.(before cleaning the inside of the coolant cap and subsequently finding oil under the cap). The torque specs were all good (no movement at 105 LBS).

The injectors were tested by Seattle Injector Co. and they said there were all consistent and right at spec.
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Old 05-15-2019, 11:04 PM   #26
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Have you talked to Brian at American Diesel? 804-435-3107 He is a guru on Lehmans.
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Old 05-15-2019, 11:14 PM   #27
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Talked to Brian last month but not since finding oil under the coolant cap. Perhaps I should link up with him again.

Other symptoms... Starboard engine gets up to temp much faster than the port. Starboard settles at 195 deg....port settles at 180-85 F. Port runs quiet. Starboard runs rough at all RPMs, as if its not firing on all cylinders. I’m told that doing a compression test of the cylinders isn’t conclusive. Figured I’d pull the head off and take a look...already ordered and received a new head gasket.
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Old 05-15-2019, 11:25 PM   #28
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When you removed the injectors did you remove all the small copper washers on the injectors tips ? Have one or two been overlooked and left behind in the injector hole and then the injectors replaced with new copper washers. ?
That's caused many a scratched head and rude words, and will lead to rough running.
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Old 05-15-2019, 11:36 PM   #29
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Yeah, good call. I replaced all the crush washers, so no issue there.
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Old 05-16-2019, 12:06 AM   #30
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So complete disclosure. This boat was previously owned by a 96 year old, 3 War Vet. He was a B-26 bomber pilot over Germany...and he was German born, so imagine the internal conflict! He flew well beyond the normal 30 missions required (65 missions total), shot down twice over enemy lines and fought his way back back both times to Allied-controlled terrority. Then he flew in Korean and Vietnam (more heroics which I won’t go into). You can’t make this stuff up for the Greatest Generation. He owned the boat since 1978, hailing out of Gig Harbor, WA. Two years ago, the marina called and said his boat was listing 25 deg at his covered moorage. Engine room was almost completely flooded with the starboard engine completely submerged, and the port engine halfway submerged. I’ve known him my whole life (via my grandparents) and am military myself...so obviously I offered to fix his boat for him at no cost with the goal to get him back out on the water for his next birthday. A friend of mine and I pickled the engines with diesel fuel, hauled out the boat, and started the work. Long story short, we rebuilt the boat and got it back to working/cruising condition, and got him back on the water 6 months later (mission accomplished!!!). Included in the restoration was multiple oil changes, replacing the oil coolers on both engines and cleaned the entire coolant system incl the heat exchangers. But I’ve always noticed that the starboard engine has always sounded much louder the port, especially at start up and at lower RPMs.
So as you can imagine, much could have gone wrong after bringing these engines back to life. Even though I pickled the engines and hang cranked the engine and vacuumed the top end in the attempt to displace all of the water from the engine, perhaps I did some damage when I eventually fired her back up. I will say, the heat exchanger paticularily on the starboard engine was half clogged before I used wooden dowels and an acid solution to clean it out...so I’ve always wondered if previously this engine was run at hot operating conditions. I’ve also replaced the impeller as part of the coolant system reburishment.
So in summary, I’ve cleaned the coolant system, replaced the coolant, replaced the impeller, cleaned the heat exchanger, replaced the thermostat, verified valve clearances, verified injectors. The Simms injecton system hasnt’ been messed with as far as I can tell so I haven’t bothered to check injection timing. Seems like a head gasket issue given that I’m finding oil under the coolant cap, rough running engine, continued white smoke under low RPMs and black smoke at 2K RPMs and above. But I defer to you forum members’ advice as I’m not an engineer!

PS the Port Engine has no issues.
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Old 05-16-2019, 06:04 AM   #31
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If if anyone is talking to me, I am way past all that. With plenty of expert advice and all the usual remedies.


It was retorqued on schedule then several times to eliminate the leak and the coolant changed several times.
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Old 05-16-2019, 06:04 AM   #32
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"Any tips or suggestions?"

I would take the head to a good machine shop and have it trued.

This is not milling the head for a go fast , it is a tiny cut of a few thousands to be sure the surface is really flat.

Might even get the exhaust done at the same time.
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Old 09-15-2019, 10:41 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psneeld View Post
If if anyone is talking to me, I am way past all that. With plenty of expert advice and all the usual remedies.


It was retorqued on schedule then several times to eliminate the leak and the coolant changed several times.
are the bubbles and signs of oil gone with all that flushing?

I found this thread and hoped for a bit more detail, perhaps a few pictures. I will be doing a head gasket soon.
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Old 09-16-2019, 07:33 AM   #34
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Nope .....bubbles and oil/oily soot maybe arf back and still bubbles.


Never did the second head job.


Funny thing, the more mechs I talked to. Got completely different answers.


All the highly experienced with great reputations said don't worry about it, keep an eye on the oil analysis.....all the young hard chargers said my engine needed as immediate head job.


After 1000 or so hours after the bubbles returned, still great oil samples and seems to run fine.


What would you like pics of? They really don't show much except the obvious pieces you remove in a head job and some light carbon right at the fire rings of the old gasket.
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Old 09-16-2019, 09:28 AM   #35
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The unbolting part is sop. I read the head is 120lbs. As I have twins it is tucked under floor preventing direct up lift with aid. any pics of lifting head off and out may give me ideas.

Did you test or replace your oil cooler? Picture of oil and bubbles?
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Old 09-17-2019, 12:18 AM   #36
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Have you checked the rubber gasket between the exhaust elbow and the exhaust manifold? (This was recommended by Brian as an early T/S check when I got the sooty substance in my coolant.)

Btw, I ended up renewing the head on mine. Upon taking it off, it didn’t appear the head gasket was compromised. But the shop noted some of my valves were gummed up. At the same time, I replaced the above mentioned rubber gasket at the exhaust elbow and added 3M nbr 2 gasket sealer. Engine runs much better and now immediately starts, as if compression was an issue. Of course, it would have been better to do one t/s solution at a time.
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Old 09-17-2019, 01:28 AM   #37
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Isn't the exhaust manifold fresh water cooled and sealed from the elbow. That would leave a crack in manifold or the manifold gasket. I will be tearing mine down in October and will remember to look for that rubber gasket at elbow end
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Old 09-17-2019, 11:34 AM   #38
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Having read all the posts and suggestions may I just raise a point worth considering ?
Having checked all the usual joints, gaskets etc and not found the cause of the bubbles I would suggest a separate radiator and cylinder pressure test.

The same thing happened to me with a Volvo TAMD 6 engine, we discovered that the No 1 cylinder liner was porous.
The jet of water entering the block from the water pump was directed at No1 cylinder liner and because the previous owner only used fresh water in the radiator the tiny particles in the water had in fact 'water blasted' the cylinder wall.
Once we discovered it we simply replaced the liners and rebuilt the engine and it was perfect for years after.
If buying a s/h boat I always recommend cleaning the cooling water system and only using anti-freeze mixture all year round, even in the tropics !
I'm simply trying to explain what baffled me until by process of elimination the problem was isolated.
I hope I don't offend you by giving my experiences.
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Old 09-17-2019, 12:41 PM   #39
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Irish Rambler....were you not losing coolant or getting coolant in oil?


At some point there would be no pressure in the cylinder but pressure on the coolant side.


The hole(s) would have to be akin to GoreTex fabric size I am guessing to allow air but no water even under slight pressure.
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Old 09-17-2019, 02:25 PM   #40
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Yes I was losing coolant through the pressure cap, it started slowly and built up over 3 weeks. When the engine got very hot there was a slight oil film.
We used engine leak 'magic' fixes all no avail. Having checked every possible cause we just bit the bullet and stripped it down as we couldn't afford it out of service any longer.
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