Cummins and other drivel

[Levitation]

Well, the famous Cummins parts curse got me today...
First, Levitation is sitting at her slip for the summer, on the Saginaw River... A perusal of the Cummins smart panel and the engine manual revealed that the engine is due for oil and filter... So, armed with jugs of Rotella T and the filter info from these pages we proceeded to get the oil warm...
Took a spin a few miles up the Saginaw from near the mouth of the river to the center of Bay City and back... As we pulled out of the marina my son and I were discussing the engine/cabin heat exchanger, so I turned the fan on to test it... We immediately got a strong engine oil odor so Tim stepped out the door and raised the engine cover to see if there were issues...
Now, be aware that I am a regulation abiding person but I was aware that we were short a couple of required safety items for the boat, like a throwing buoy and a distress flag - but hey, this is just a short sashay up and back to warm the engine, what can go wrong, right?
Well, I am looking back at Tim to see what he has found, and of course alternating looking ahead as we enter the river to be sure there are no deadheads or boats... As soon I started my turn to starboard there was a boat coming down river, not on a collision course, but right there in front of me, and it has those big, orange diagonal stripes on the bow and is passing me on the one... I look back to tell Tim not to be hanging over the rail without his PFD and he has the door closed and his head down near the engine and cannot hear me... I look up and the boat load of Coasties are all eying the R25 with great interest, including binoculars... Ahhh great, just great... And then the CG boat starts to slow and begin a turn to port... Tim comes back in the cabin and I point out the CG boat and tell him to watch and let me know when they come up to board us... But, they turn into the marina and disappear - whew....

So up the river we go, discussing the engine and systems and Tim has a thought and pops back out to raise the engine cover again... As soon as he is halfway upside down there is another oncoming boat, and it is the County Sheriff Water Patrol... Ah jeez, is my karma out of sync today, or what?
They, of course, slow way down and give the R25 the long looong look... But, again they partly turn, then continue down the river leaving us... Again, whew.... So we continue up the river, happily making 6 knots and sight seeing... About 3 minutes later there is the whoop, whoop, whoop of police sirens and the Sheriff Patrol is flying back up the river behind me, blue lights flashing - and goes on by - be still, my pounding heart....
The rest of the cruise goes without my heart being stressed again - or I may have needed CPR...

So, back at the marina we dive into the oil change... We used a vacuum canister hooked to the hose coming out of the bottom of the oil pan for an easy, no drip, drain job... Pulling the filter was a bit more involved and we had to run up to the parts store for a 1-1/16 inch socket and an extension to get better swinging room for the wrench... As soon as we got the filter out we knew the Cummins Parts Curse had us - wrong filter... So, Levitation is sitting there with a big note over the key switch warning 'NO START - NO OIL'...
Monday I will give Cummins NW a call for a MAHLE filter (arghhh)...

However, there was the pleasure of working on an engine that is clean, no drips, no grease, no grunge, the bilge is shiny and actually smells halfway good... New boats are nice...

 

[j&lgray]

I am not saying that this will work for you, but it work for us with our Yanmar: we found a really good parts guy who had all the right parts catalogs and he found the alternative oil filters (NAPA and WIX) for us. There is a cautionary note that some manufacturers say that they will not honor their warranty if other parts and filters are used on the engine.

 

[Levitation]

John,
Thanks for the comments... Read the technical archives about the Cummins Parts Fairy - like the tooth fairy but not as friendly.... Not as simple as it would appear... Only one source for that filter, and they may not have on on the shelf...

 

[sparky]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Cummins! At least you are spared paying $127 for the engine "zinc assembly" now that we know you can use a pencil zinc costing a few bucks (if that) and cutting it to the right length! I bought two of those assemblies before the facts came to life.

And you are correct, many of the parts are available from Cummins only, because we don't have a Cummins engine but a Mercruiser (the Cummins QSD is really more Mercury than Cummins), as my Cummins dealer keeps reminding me when I complain about their pricing. May as well order your primary fuel filter from Andrew while you are getting your parts together, because we have not been able to source that part anywhere. The Racor filters are easy, from Andrew or West Marine, as is the impeller wheel, but the impeller service/rebuild kit is another $506 kit from Cummins as I painfully learned.

 

[lbrown]

Hi Gang--The Cummins 150 raw water pump is a Sherwood P-1016 and is available new from Marine Parts Source,phone 800-680-0389. Paid $292.00 for complete pump they also have repair parts. At that price I keep one on hand as it would be difficult for me to make repairs to bearings and seals on the water, changing the entire pump is not that hard.---lbrown