Engine Rebuild.. What me? !!!!

When we bought the boat we knew the engine was not perfect and Paul King had advised us that whilst the compression was not 100% it could have been a lot worse. We ran that first season without any problems so last year we didnt think that matters would have deteriorated as we had looked after the engine and had another service. hings did take a turn for the worse when we discovered wood shavings in the fuel line ! yes it was me folks. " had used a wooden dip stick which upon e#traction had caught on the lip of the fuel intake and shaved a sliver off each time $without my noticing%. he shavings proceeded to slowly block the supply line& this in turn had been the beginning of the end. 't the end of our holiday 'ugust 1((( the engine finally died& fortunately we were back in )radwell& and we were one of the first to be craned out for the winter season* "ve never even looked at a diesel engine until we bought +,sprey-& so it was with some fear and trepidation that " embarked upon rebuilding my .olvo /01'. "ndeed& " would not have done so without some assistance& and that was forthcoming in the form of my friend& 'lan 2rouch a professional engineer. ,ur preliminary investigation involved taking off the head and the grim picture inside told even my untrained eye& that it was a mess& and would re3uire some serious work to put right. he back cylinder was full of water. )efore accepting 'lans offer of assistance " did make en3uiries as to the cost of a new engine or professional rebuild. ' new .olvo 4040 was some 56&700 +and that includes your discount-& said the cheerful man from .olspec. he man from 8rench /arine 3uoted similar prices for the 9anmar so unless " sold :an into slavery& a rebuild was the only option. /arinepower at Wro#ham advised me that they had ;ust completed the same ;ob on the same engine and that came out at 5<&700. 'lan was mortified at these prices and convinced me that we could do it. =o& having made him promise that " would do the work and that he would be the advisor& " made arrangements to have the engine disconnected from the sail drive leg by Paul King and craned out. >ot an easy ;ob when it is p.. ing down with rain and everybody is getting very wet. he engine did fit neatly in the boot of my car so from )radwell " drove to Ware to 'lans work shop. ?pon arriving " realised the first problem. "d had a big crane at )radwell and 'lan did not@ how were we going to get the engine out of the boot onto the floorA Well& with a few large pieces of wood and a hydraulic ;ack of course. 2hock it up until it is level and then pull it across and lower to the ground. Basy* he engine remained in 'lans workshop covered over and protected until after 2hristmas. he work took place over four consecutive =aturdays. he first stage was to dismantle the whole thing to find out how far the damage had gone. We discovered in the head that there was a flaw in the casting which for years had probably been held by the head gasket. When this went& it allowed water from the waterway into the back cylinder. 0ue to the water which had got into the engine emulsified oil was much in evidence. he head was in good condition otherwise. he remainder of the fuel system was taken off and stored in a bo#. he fuel in;ection pump and in;ectors were taken to Wade 0iesels in Ware who for 5447 rebuilt the pump and reset the in;ectors. ' marine diesel agent would have charged you an arm& someone else would have the leg later. ,h& and " forgot to mention how you get the fly wheel off. ,n an /01' it is a real brute. 'lan rigged up this machine which simply pulled it off. Without this professional e3uipment the ;ob would not have been possible. he timing case was ne#t and this revealed all was well& and finally the sump. he sump filter re3uired a new feed pipe& otherwise all ,K. We could now get to the pistons which were duly removed. 's we had suspected the rings were gone& either broken or heavily clogged and stuck or both. )ut thankfully the bore looked in good shape and the ;ournals were declared perfect by 'lan. 'nyone faced with the prospect of new piston rings beware. 8rom a .olvo agent& even cut price& like Keyparts at Watford& you are still going to pay a lot of money. $ his is the leg part " was referring to earlier%. Cowever do not despair readers because there is a company in ottenham who did for me what " consider to be the deal of a lifetime. he head had to be welded and skimmed& the bore de! glaDed and the pistons cleaned and the rings re! placed. " had already priced an e#change head at 5700 and 5E0 per piston for a set of rings. When " was 3uoted 517 to repair the head and the final bill came to 5170 " was somewhat amaDed. he secret is the price of the rings

you see they are >issan rings and from a >issan dealer they are 540. +When you check the siDe and make& mate& you find they are made by >issan-& said the man& +" e#! pect you pay a lot more than that for those parts in a .olvo bo# ehA- " declined to say anything as the smile on my face prevented any further comment on my part. We could now commence the rebuild having re! paired or replaced everything that was wrong. 't this point you do have to buy some .olvo parts which you cannot do without& gaskets. Fots of them. < sets in fact. op& middle and bottom& as )ruce says& and they are not cheap when you consider that they are nothing more than bits of paper. 'nd whats even more galling you dont use them all. 9ou must also have $steal or obtain% a work! shop manual& .olspec supplied mine& it was a photocopy and was priced the same as a proper book. >o comment* "f you can imagine a surgeons operating table then this is what 'lan made me use. "t was clean and needed to be as you have to be scrupulously clean at this point. Bverything was cleaned twice before assembly. he first task was to replace the pistons complete with new rings. " learnt a trick here& a cylindrical device which holds the rings in tight to the piston to enable insertion into the pot. he sump and filter were replaced and the block sat upright.

running out. 'lan decided that the solution was to grind the edges flat on a sheet of glass using grinding paste. he last bits to be fitted were the fuel filters& do not be confused by their siDe& long or short it is the end that screws on to the body which is important. " was convinced " had been supplied with the wrong ones and gave the man at Keyparts a hard time. " was still convinced " was right until " offered them up. "t would appear that .olvos are shorter than other makes. Gleaming from its new coat of paint the engine was craned back into the boat& in the meantime Paul King had checked the saildrive leg and refitted it complete with a new Hdoughnut $no& this is not something that is supplied by the local baker but another .olvo part which seals the saildrive leg%. 'gain& please do not ask the price of this piece of rubber& it is ;ust unbelievable. "t was bolted back together and the moment of truth arrived& would it startA he answer was no.

he more technically minded will immediately spot the deliberate mistake. 9es " had fuel. 9es " had bled the system. 9es everything was connected. ?nfortunately there was no electricity in the batteries ! they were flat. "n all my enthusiasm " had forgotten all about them and assumed that they would maintain their charge over the winter no matter what. =tupid boy* >ew batteries in place she 0uring this time " had also taken the started& albeit reluctantly at first and with opportunity to paint everything in .olvo green& the aid of some H;ungle ;uice. ,nce in obtainable from your friendly agent 51(.(7. the water " could try for real. >ot bad really as it does give your efforts a new appearance. We were craned back into the water in 'pril $?nfortunately the tin lid does not fit back very and things were not much better& she was readily and " have since painted a few other still a very reluctant starter. " was a little things green& including the floor of my dinghy disappointed to say the least. "t then when the tin overturned.% occurred to me that the travel of the cold start lever was not the same distance as 8uel in;ector pump ne#t but dont forget those previously. " checked the travel distance and timing marks& so important if you want the found that this didnt seem to make any thing to start when youve finished. he difference. Gerry 'skham arrived and manual gives good illustrations so even an manned the in;ector pump and bang off she idiot& and that includes me& can set it up went first time. "t proved to be the cold correctly. start lever. he travel needed to be slackened off so that it could pull at (0 We were on the home straight now& ;ust the degrees rather than Hin line. "t was water pump& in;ectors& primary fuel filter reassuring that my instincts were correct. " and lifting pump to fit. ' new diaphragm was ;ust lacked the courage& or technical needed for the lifting pump. 0ont ask how knowledge or both& to carry it through. much& you dont want to know what a small piece of rubber costs. his was subse3uently he engine now runs like a sewing machine dismantled once the engine was back in the and ;ustifies the money spent. he effort boat as the two halves of the casing had was well worthwhile. he cost was 51&I00 become distorted. 8uel was easy to detect

which was a substantial saving. he other benefits were considerable ;ob satisfaction and knowing everything about my engine. /y thanks to 'lan 2rouch for his technical and spiritual guidance and not least for the loan of his workshop and professional knowledge. Ce taught me the virtue of

patience and of being methodical. Gerry 'skham for his inspired appearance at the right moment and to Paul King for having the least glamorous& but by no means unimportant& part. :ohn Pepper