Cummins 6bta - first start in five years?

[BlindHog]

I'm looking at a boat that has been sitting for 5-6 years and looking for a consensus on what to do for the first start-up. I know with an outboard I would put oil in the cylinders let sit for a few days, slowly try and bar over the engine and repeat but not sure about a big diesel. I only plan on doing this after servicing the motors especially the raw water side.

 

[KnotYet]

What were the conditions of storage?
In the water or on the hard?
Was it running when stored?

As a general rule, don't put any fluids in the cylinder unless you have a means to remove them.

 

[twistedtree]

I think I’d bar it over to be sure it can do two full rotations. Then check fluids and start it. It will probably fire right off. Then watch oil pressure and coolant temp closely.

 

[BlindHog]

What were the conditions of storage?
In the water or on the hard?
Was it running when stored?

As a general rule, don't put any fluids in the cylinder unless you have a means to remove them.

On a boat lift actually and it was running fine - owner just got busy with other life projects. Cosmetic condition is below average - hoping for maintenance costs and then a lot of sweat equity.

 

[lwarden]

What is the HP version of the engine? Higher HP versions with raw water cooled aftercoolers like 370hp you may want to look closely at them and determine when they were last serviced. If they've been sitting with salt water in them for that long you might expect to have to replace them and they aren't cheap.

 

[DavidM]

If it is a Cummins 6BTA (the A indicates after cooler) as noted above, it does have an after cooler. And yes it may be fouled and the tube sheet stuck in its shell and may require a complete replacement. At the very least it will require a full disassembly, cleaning and reassembly. Tony Athens has articles specific to the 6BTA on this procedure at Sbmar.com/Tony's Tips.

David

 

[BlindHog]

Thanks for the replies. It’s the 6bta 5.9M3 330hp. I fully expected to service aftercoolers and heat exchangers in addition to all pumps and belts right off the bat. I’m just curious if anything special should be done internally before trying to hit that start button.

I have read as much as I can in Sbmar.com and Tony’s tips are awesome.