We just finished our very first over night on the hook at Dauphin Island. Sailed down, 30 miles or so, 13 to 16 knots S.S.West winds, sweet ride !!!! Love this boat.
However, three days later with a pending weather change and wind shift to due south, so we simply motored back.
As always, engine start oil pressure at cold was 40 psi. With short runs in the bay to cut off engine and sail, would get down to 25 or 30,,, This time, as she warmed and got under a load went to 30, then by an hour later, 25, then another hour to 20, all at a casual sweet spot of 1700 RPM where we were doing 5.6 to 6.0 knots steady while pulling our AVON behind, with following seas of 3.5 to 4ft. As we hit about a 3.5 under way hour mark I noticed my oil pressure now under 20 and 17. I got nervous except the engine temp was a steady 160 degrees and never moved. At almost dead idle at the dock, very little oil pressure... forgot to note exactly, wind, dock, wife, kids, need to bail dog from vet.....
When 'I read "P69 POSTs "it seemed his was there, but now seems running at 35 PSI? I would like to use the boat for a full summer and try to get by with these short day sail trips to local areas. But, I don't want to blow an engine either. I also have issues with knowing the correct amount of oil capacity for this engine. 5444 manual says 5.5 I put that at oil change this winter, dip stick says low, or better said, just not full. I added about 3/4 of a quart at anchor just to see what effect it had on the dip stick levels,,, not much.
Any comments here would be appreciated... love this site, very helpful, very informative. Verne - Deja Vu 367
If in doubt, refer to engine manual. Operations Rating was 17 psi at normal engine temp on a model 5444. Go figure. I will take notice though at slowest idle RMP seemed a little less but not 100% sure. I will check again next time I take it out for a short ops run.
I have the Westerbeke 50 so I can't comment directly, but what oil are you using? How old is the oil filter?
The oil filter or pressure regulator valve can cause low oil pressure.
Less than 20 hours on oil change, but a few months at dock to be fair and honest too. Also, I think I said 5.5 it is 7.5 qts oil from the Model 5444 manual.
I don't know how similar the w40 and 50 are, but in sorting out our oil pressure issues, I found the string helpful. http://www.pearson365.com/forum/index.php?topic=1580.msg8372#msg8372
Verne,
I've been really busy with life for the last few months. To answer your questions about our 5444s, i did have low oil pressure and replaced the oil pump (same pattern as you saw, higher when cold, lower when hot), but that made little improvement. It looks like the problem was an improperly installed rear main seal. After a few cumulative hours, it started leaking really badly. Replace that after observation clearly showed that the spring in the seal was not seated correctly. I have not run the engine since, so don't know what the pressure is running at. I will know in a few weeks
Oil capacity: my manual shows 8.5 qts. I don't know how much it really takes because when it's sitting at the normal forward angle, with level at top fill line of dipstick, that same quantity of fluid will show 1 quart higher when the engine is sitting level.
Don't know if the book's 8.5 qts is for level or angled measurements.
Also, I have a larger oil filter and a remote oil filter, so it takes more. When I do another oil change, I'll monitor how much I put in.
Your engine temp is too cold; It should run at 180 or 190 degrees, manual shows range of 165 - 195 degrees. Someone might have put a 160 degree thermostat in there. Mine had one. I replaced it with at 190 degree thermostat (or was it a 180?).
...
It was a 180 degree Tstat. Here is the Napa part number: Napa: THM 170 Part number is: THM115, 1.713" (43.5 mm) diameter flange
It was about $6. The THM 170 is 2.126" dia and that won't fit the Universal 5444.
Didn't mean to imply that your main seal is leaking, but check the underside of the bell housing. If you see /feel oil there, you might have a leak.
I don't recall what normal oil pressure was a couple of years ago when I took the engine out for rebuild, but don't recall it dropping to single digits when at hot idle.
Attached are some "manuals" that might be helpful
Verne,
Are you running straight 30W oil?
I don't pay much attention to what the manufacturer recommends for oil since the technologies have changed. Most important thing to me in a diesel is to make sure your using something that's CI rated (compression ignition). That means it has low ash. I've been running 15W-40 multigrade CI-4 rated oil in my Westerbeke W-58. My gauge reads 40 psi. The gauge creeps up from 20 PSI during the first 20 seconds of idle.
Pete
Gentlemen,
Please be careful when running elevated temperatures with salt water. When salt water gets over 165 degrees, the salt will begin to precipitate out of the cooling water and begin to stick to surfaces and could clog up your cooling system. Yes their are many advantages of running warmer on the engine side, but be aware that you must keep a close eye on the raw water cooling system when doing so.
Dale
I do recall a lot of discussion about Universal Diesels running hot so there seems to be a connection with that problem and 175-200 degree thermostat. I'd be inclined to run the 160-180 thermostat like most other marine diesels use. Why not?
Personally I get nervous when I see the gauge go above 180. My Westerbeke 58 (it's actually a Mazda Diesel) will go above 180 on warm up at idle until the thermostat pops open. At around 1100 RPM it will then drop down to 180 or less. At cruising speed 1500- 2300 RPM in the cooler water this time of year in the Pacific (70 degrees) it holds around 160-165 degrees F. I am perfectly OK with that.
Did some extensive motoring this week to commission an autopilot and get some hours on the engine and drive train. I have to say that the new motor mounts, high deflection damper plate and perfect as I could achieve V drive alignment seems to have paid off. Other than a pleasant hum from down below and absolutely no vibration the only sound that I could hear was a woosh every 8-10 seconds. It took awhile for me to realize that the loudest noise that I was hearing for the first time ever was the hydro-flush muffler.
By comparison and prior to that my teeth would be chattering from vibration sitting behind the wheel.
Pete
Engine temps:
Isn't the salt precipitation issue with raw water cooled engines, where the salt water is running through the hot block? With freshwater cooled engines, the raw water is only in the heat exchanger and, although hot, the hot end of the heat exchanger is relatively cool (well, I can't keep my hand on it for long, but not even close to the block or exhaust manifold surface temps). Even if the sea water were to get over 160-ish, it is only in the heat exchanger, not the hot block.
Verne,
Installed the engine back in the boat this weekend and ran it for an hour tied to the dock, in gear, about 2200 to 2500 rpm. Temp stayed a hair under 180 (175 maybe?) and oil pressure readings were:
Tach was not hooked up, so rpm values are guesses
Idle: about 800 rpm (engine shook and rattled, throttle pegged at minimum)
Mid rpm: about 2400 rpm (engine sounded like it was in the groove, throttle midway, )
High: about 2800 rpm (engine sounded like it was running fast, a lot of prop wash, dock lines really tight, throttle lever near max)
Back when I reinstalled the first time a few months back, I confirmed that the tach was correct with an optical tach and adjusted the set screws on the throttle so that max. pegged out rpm was 3100 and idle was 850 or so.
On to oil pressure...
-- Cold engine, temp < 150 degrees --
idle, 40 lbs
mid rpm, hair under 60 lbs
high, not tested
-- Hot engine, temp ~175, after about 40 minutes running around 2000 rpm
idle: 10lbs
mid rpm: between 35 and 40lbs
High rpm, 45lbs
I checked the electric pressure gauge with a mechanical that was connected directly to the block and found that the electrical reads about 2 lbs lower than what the mechanical oil pressure gauge showed when connected directly to block, so add 2lbs to the above readings.
the electric oil pressure gauge is connected to an aluminum manifold that is indirectly connected to the block with at 5" piece of hydraulic hose.
When the electric and mechanical oil pressure gauges are connected to the same aluminum manifold block, they read about the same, but the electric gauge needle bounces around more.
When hot, with pressure around 10lbs, as soon as I give a tiny bit of throttle, the pressrue jumps to the mid 20s, then climbs up to upper 30s as rpm goes up.
oil is the 15W40, RotellaT
Thanks for the replies - ..if all else fails, read the manual??? In the Universal 5444 engine manual, it suggests / reads / that normal oil pressure at normal operating temp, running, can be 17 psi. I am running Shell Rotella T 15w40 Synthetic. A local 70 year old diesel marine mechanic at Middleton Marine, named Ray, suggested using a straight 40 weight for "older engines like mine" that it never really gets cold enough in Mobile to worry about viscosity issues. He also said, unless it gets below 10 psi not to worry about it, that some of his larger Cat engines run as low as 7 psi... Well, in my opinion, which is worth about .02 cents, the mfg. made a recommendation for a reason. So I am following those guidelines. I am not sure I have a problem at all, if I am at those published numbers. I just used to race short blocks and low oil pressure usually was followed by a nasty exit of a push rod or something fun like that... On the other side of life, I found one more leak in the small storage area, next to the MAST and table area... I think it is coming form the cutter rig traveler? You think? Anyone want to come help me fix hat one?