[Public-List] Diesel Help

[Jonathan Adams]

Well I finally have a question that I really need an answer to - versus one 
where I am looking for an opinion!

I have a Yanmar 2GMF. It is between 20 and 25 years old, and for the last couple 
of years has been having a hard time starting - I might have to crank the engine 
for a number of extended periods - minutes. This spring, I had Bayshore Marine 
look at the engine, and they checked injectors and performed a compression test. 
The injectors are fine, and the engine once started runs well. If it is warm, it 
starts immediately no problem. Once running, it can hit its top revs (~4k+) 
under no load - which indicates that the fuel pump / timing is good.

The result of this visit - other than lightening my wallet - was that the lack 
of compression was creating the problem. It is meant to be 469lbs and is 400 in 
#1 and 415 in #2. The only way to deal with this is to check either the head or 
the piston rings. Either way it is an expensive proposition. can I get it to 
last the season? It is only a matter of time before I burn out the starter motor 
and / or drain my batteries.

The mechanic recommended:

1. release the compression on the cylinders, and crank the engine to warm things 
up, and then start

2. While doing this close the water intake valve, as the  muffler has no exhaust 
to speak of when you are cranking and will fill up with water which could back 
into the engine.

3. He recommended putting CRC into the air intake to help seal the pistons. He 
did not recommend starting fluids as these damaged seals. Someone else has 
recommended putting in heavier oil.

Any advice from the crowd? If I send the engine to Bayshore, I essentially get a 
new engine, as they will warrenty it, and totally overhaul it while it is out. 
However, this is sure to seriously impact the boat fund. Any recommendations for 
a good mechanic that is not a crack head? The reason I went back to Bayshore was 
I kept running into crack head mechanics.

Jonathan
197