25 Hours On New R21 & Engine Died On The 4th

[somebody]

Advice please from more experienced R21 owners. Took Tootsie out on Mission Bay - San Diego on 4th and after a few minutes the engine sputtered and stopped. Tried unsuccessfully to start again. Dropped anchor and took a swim. After about half hour engine started successfully and made it back to my slip. What happened!? What to check so doesn't happen again?

 

[SlackwaterJack]

With diesels it's usually a fuel related problem. It started and ran after sitting for a while, so it's probably not due to air in the fuel lines. Could be a plugged tank vent causing a vaccuum to build up in the fuel tank...if it happens again try opening the fuel fill right away and try to start the engine immediately.
How far were you from the slip? what marina?


🙂 At least you can most certainly rule out the sparkplugs and ignition system 🙂

 

[somebody]

Thanks. If happens again I'll do exactly as suggested. Only about one mile from slip at Driscoll Mission Bay Marina. I had two teen boys with me on the boat so they liked jumping into the bay while the boat was anchored. File this as turning a problem into an adventure.

 

[SlackwaterJack]

I don't think I could find a better place to have my engine quit than on Mission Bay...warmest water in SoCal, almost no current other than tidal flows, sandy beaches all around, perfect weather, not much wind, easy anchoring, and depending on where you are, you can "walk" the boat along the shore.

 

[johnniethek]

How long did you let your engine warm up?

I usually give it a 5-10-minute warm up, and have never had a problem such as yours. Not saying the warmup factor is the cause but it might be something to consider.
J

 

[Andrew Custis]

As mentioned earlier, this is usually a fuel issue. First thing I would do is change the fuel filters and run it again. Depending on how long it sat can be an issue as well. I would even go as far as removing the fuel pickup at the tank to check to make sure you didn't get some bad fuel or something clogged on that side.

Diesels are pretty simple. They use a fuel feed and return. You have two lines coming off of the tank and the one with the shutoff valve is the pickup to the engine. You can see a diagram in your owners manual but if I was you, I would contact the dealer you purchased the boat from to take a peak at the issue to ensure you do not have this happen again.

The other thing that can happen is if you are in rough seas and run the tank it a bit low, it can slosh and suck air.

 

[somebody]

A local boater suggested the problem might be the fuel pump. Is that likely given that my R21 is new with only 25 hours on the engine?

 

[rt11002003]

I seem to recall having running problems at about that number of hours. Not enough to completely shut down the engine, but enough to get my attention; it would barely run.

In my case, the primary fuel filter, the one mounted on the bulkhead in the tank/storage compartment, was loaded with trash. I replaced the filter, checked the secondary filter, the one on the engine (it was clean), bleed the system and had no more problems.

gene