Perkins Diesel has a very loud banging sound

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ChesapeakeGem

ChesapeakeGem

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Messages
138
Location
Maryland
So bummed! Our worst fears may have just happened. There were metals detected in the fluid survey, we hoped for the best and have had one season of pure joy with her.
Today when we started the port engine a very loud banging, sounded like a metal fan hitting something over and over.
Looking at videos hoping we can fix her ourselves.
Sour puss. Darn it! Sad sad day
IMG_3005.jpg
 
Not likely that you can fix from what you describe.
Make sure key is off, better yet, disconnect the battery and slowly turn the engine over with a wrench. Listen for the crunch sound and stop immediately.
That being said, now remove the head, this is a job for a mechanic. period.


Been there, done that.


CCC
 
ChesapeakeGem said:
We have done extensive mechanical work on our gas engines
Diesel is new for us.
Click to expand...
Accept for the fuel system, it's the same as gas only bigger and heaver. Sounds like a rod. Not insurmountable. Buy a service manual, maybe on ebay.
Another option is a short block.
 
Trans Atlantic Diesel in VA specialize in Perkins. Marcus, the owner, has always been there for me with good advice and parts I have needed for my older 6.354 engines. Give them a call.
 
There is a complete 6-354 for sale in the classifieds here on this forum. Hopefully you won't need another engine but just an FYI option.
 
Talk to your local Massey-Ferguson farm tractor dealer. Reman. Watch the video. It talks about reman engines. Fortunately all parts are still available for Perkins 6.354 engines.
 
Post a video of the noise.
 
charles said:
Not likely that you can fix from what you describe.
Make sure key is off, better yet, disconnect the battery and slowly turn the engine over with a wrench. Listen for the crunch sound and stop immediately.
That being said, now remove the head, this is a job for a mechanic. period.


Been there, done that.


CCC
Click to expand...



The biggest challenge is working on it while in the boat.
 
It could be a failed damper. Spring pops out and is stuck between the damper plate and block. Relative easy fix if you can slide the transmission back six inches.
 
Would not expect a rod/piston/bearing failure if engine was ok when shut down, then a bad noise on next start. I too would be looking at things like damper plate, etc.

Might check valve gear under the rocker cover. Could be a sticky valve.

Audio of the noise can be very helpful.
 
We shut it down immediately after hearing it. Possibly 10 seconds and then I had my wife start it while I was at the engine. I am reaching out to a local diesel mechanic who I hope will be able to give it a listen and we’ll record audio. We’ll send you a copy and would appreciate your opinion as well. Gonna try taking it out with just the 1 engine with the inoperable Drive in neutral. We have velvet drives. Should be okay to do so? Will be running slow, 5-6kts.
 
Yes velvet drives are ok to allow to freewheel at low speeds.

Ken
 
Ski in NC said:
Would not expect a rod/piston/bearing failure if engine was ok when shut down, then a bad noise on next start. I too would be looking at things like damper plate, etc.

Might check valve gear under the rocker cover. Could be a sticky valve.

Audio of the noise can be very helpful.
Click to expand...



Waiting for a few mechanics to take a listen before we run her again .
Not all is lost, we now have a name on her/him IMG_3051.jpg
 
Do a search on here and the Internet. Perkins 6.354 manuals are not hard to find. I think 1 is on here. Tractor or boat are the same internals. And you can use the same manuals to a point.
Find a cheap stethoscope (Harbor Freight maybe) isolate the noise. If there were metals in the fluids and banging I'd go with a crank or rod bearing. Piece of wood against the block and up to ear will work too. Don't run it a lot. You don't want to mess up the crank.
Rebuild kits are available. Sleeves, pistons, rods, bearings..
Now the bad... Almost a pull the engine job to rebuild. No way to get to the crank if it's a bearing. At the very least lift the engine and work on it. Under it... :(
Plus all the stuff you have to take off to do it. And a twin, less room...I'd pull the engine myself. So much easier to work on and do it right that way...
Or pull and replace with a rebuilt one. Keep that old one and rebuild it for when the other one goes.....
 
Hopefully your diagnosis proves favorable however, in the event of a big end rod bearing failure (or any other catastrophic failure), I'd pull er out for a proper rebuild. You want to get all the metal floaties out of oil galleries and clean any scale out of coolant passages as well. Old school hot tanks are going the way of the dinosaur but jet blast cabinets, soda blasting and baking blocks and heads will render same results. Good luck
 
What metals were detected in the oil sampling? In this engine with trouble or the transmission? I'm sure you gave this a lot of thought already, I'm just curious.
 
Just an FYI.........I just finished a rebuild on my port engine......Engine was running well when Bang! and the engine seized. The other poster is correct. If it's lower end, the engine will HAVE to be pulled! You can't even get the pan off any other way. Once we got the engine out, I sent it to a perkins rebuild place north of Houston. Getting the engine out and then reinstalling was actually more than the rebuild. Part of that was finding worn peripheral parts, IE: raw water pump, motor mounts, etc etc etc.......but believe me, on my Mainship, getting the engine up from the engine room then out the sliding door is NO EASY TASK. Most external parts had to be removed. The ultimate cause was the rod cap fell off and the rod went through the block. OUCH! Is yours seized?
I have posts here of the pics of removal and reinstall of the engine if you can find them.
 
Thank you for all of your wisdom. My husband helped a local watermen this past winter , he recommended an old salty mechanic. It was our starter! Praise God!
 
Wow, great! Happy you found the starter issue, and not :thumb:an engine issue
 
Outstanding. Did you get a picture? I'm curious what exactly was making noise.
 
Boat said:
Outstanding. Did you get a picture? I'm curious what exactly was making noise.
Click to expand...



The starter gear tooth that is attached to the drive shaft of the starter, became disengaged and was hung up in the engines starter flywheel .
 
ChesapeakeGem said:
So bummed! Our worst fears may have just happened. There were metals detected in the fluid survey, we hoped for the best and have had one season of pure joy with her.
Today when we started the port engine a very loud banging, sounded like a metal fan hitting something over and over.
Looking at videos hoping we can fix her ourselves.
Sour puss. Darn it! Sad sad day
View attachment 80077
Click to expand...

Good ID on the very first post!

Any word on the metals in the oil? Was it engine or tranny? Sounds unrelated to a starter issue.
 
Congrats............That's Great that it was just the starter......I'm sure your heartbeat is close to back to a normal rate now?
 
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