When is the engine going to fire up?
It's been running for a couple of weeks, but I've been flat out at work and I've had a few dramas with the rebuild which has also kept me busy. The first lot of run in oil I put through had low oil pressure (10-15psi), so the mechanic advised to put some 20-50 through during run in, which brought the pressure up to about 20psi, which is still under spec. He didn't seem too worried, but I wasn't impressed. I have put about 700km on the engine, and changed out the oil for some Penrite 20w60 (today). I haven't gone for a long drive, but it seems to be holding 28psi, which is spec.
The other issue I've been having is with the engine pushing coolant again and subsequently overheating. This was originally the main reason why I chose to rebuild the engine, and it has come back again... I've tried retarding the injection pump timing (started at 1.19 BTDC (according to FSM for the marinized version of the 14BT), then 1, then .9, then .8, then .7, but it hasn't fixed the issue like it did last time, so I'm a bit lost as to the cause.
One part of the problem I feel is the current cooling system setup, so I have decided to do some work to this next. I am replacing the radiator this week, as well as the thermostat housing because I think the current setup is exacerbating the issue. Currently the upper thermostat housing (blue tower in the photos) is almost level with the height of the radiator, which means that if a small amount of coolant is pushed, the flow across the top of the radiator is significantly reduced. I discovered this by using an infrared thermometer, which recorded 95 degrees where the coolant enters the radiator, but literally within 5 cm across the top tank the temperature had dropped to 50-60 degrees meaning there is virtually no flow across the top of the radiator, and therefore, not much of the radiator is doing its job. I still think that the pushing of coolant is a separate issue, but the current setup with the radiator certainly isn't helping.
I will be pulling the radiator this week and having a new 4-row copper core put in (the current one has had some damage to fins at some stage and I see this as a stitch in time sort of thing). I'll also be getting the radiator cap moved to the top of the radiator so it is the highest point in the system. I'm also getting a turbo coolant return line point plumbed in next to the upper radiator hose, and the lower exit for the radiator I'm having moved further towards the side of the tank because currently there is an awkward double 90 degree bend made of stainless which isn't helping with flow on the suction side of the system. I'm hoping this will all help the radiator to see more water flow. Currently, I think it is easier for the system to push coolant because of the heights associated with the radiator and current radiator cap on top of the thermostat housing. I have already purchased a replacement upper thermostat housing and a new thermostat (hi flow type).
After the rebuild I put some Liquid Intelligence 115 Coolant in as I felt it was a good opportunity since I knew that there would be zero water content in the engine after the rebuild. I don't know if this has had any impact on the issues I've been having and I am in two minds as to whether I should save it when I pull the radiator this week and reuse it, or if I should just go back to the normal red coolant I had in previously. Talking to the bloke who runs the company he suggested I might need to use a hi flow thermostat with it... I don't know about this aspect at the moment...
Anyway, so there you go... Not very happy about the whole situation at the moment, but I'll keep persevering until I figure it out...
Cheers.
pistons, and specifications should be available. As long as you measure and compensate by using thicker gaskets you will be OK. In extreem cases , pistons are cut down "topped" or rods shortened, but normally the gasket does it. something to do with the high compression ratio's, me thinks.
