Rapid fuel leak R27 classic 2015 d3 200

[Klepp]

Hello. We were bringing the tug up river to Urbanna from winter storage in Deltaville. While in storage mechanics changed the impeller, fuel filters and oil. About an hour into the trip started to smell fuel and opened the hatch to find fuel gushing from the top front of the engine on the starboard side into the bilge. Fuel stopped once we stopped the engine. Immediately stopped the engine and had it towed to Urbanna. Mechanic came today and we pulled about 15 gallons from the bilge. Now, of course, nothing is happening in the slip running the engine with throttle only. Took it out to the Rappahannock to place a better load and nothin happened with the fuel there either, well other than the drive belt falling off and shutting the engine down and another tow back to the slip.

The mechanic is kinda stymied. Any advice from anyone would be much appreciated!

Thanks so much in advance,
—Micheal

 

[Chimo]

My guess is a leak at the fuel filter but I'm sure your mechanic checked that. Was he the one who installed the new filter? 😳

One question: I'm glad your bilge pump didn't dump that fuel overboard but I do wonder why it didn't?

 

[dclagett]

Since the fuel filter on your engine is on the port side I would suspect one of the fuel lines to the injectors. They are at very high pressure and are on top of the engine. You will need to pull off a couple layers of cowling to see them. I would suggest this to you mechanic, my best guess. Also your aft bilge pump is probably not working, which in this case is probably a good thing, no oil spill. I also suspect both the water pump belt and alternator belt needs to be replaced after a good cleanup of the the area. In addition I would also pull the front cover from the engine to check if the timing belt also was drenched with fuel oil. If that comes off or breaks it’s new engine time.

One more thing, maker sure you close the raw water intake seacock to the engine while towing. If you are going to be towed far I would also pinch off the cooling line to the stuffing box and stuff a towel in the exhaust port on the side of the boat just to make sure your engine does not ingest water. Also once you get to your towed destination have a mechanic verify there is no water in the engine.

Good luck… Dick

 

[Klepp]

Chimo,
Thanks for your reply. Your thoughts are much appreciated. It was lucky the pump was not working. Supposedly the bilge pump was replaced during the winter as well. I'm hoping it was at least, and that the fuel stopped the pump from working maybe? Lesson learned I guess, never take things for granted and test on a regular basis.

 

[Klepp]

Thanks Dick. Great information! It's strange, when we took the tug out for a test run, we had pulled the top cowlings off and the mechanic was in the back watching the engine while I drove. The engine temp was up to 176, but maybe the pressure takes longer? Nothing was leaking. Also, great info on the tow and belts. I'm sending this to the mechanic. I did close the seacock, but did not do the stuffing box. Yikes! The tow was about 30 minutes in calm waters, but I'll have the mechanic check the engine for water. Again, great information. I really appreciate your time and will keep you updated.

 

[knotflying]

Nine times out of ten it is always the last thing that was done that is the culprit. I am not familiar with the d3. Did they replace the secondary filter? That filter, if not seated properly, is under high pressure and could blow out fuel as you described. Then as mentioned it could be a fuel line or perhaps the primary filter. Leaves don’t usually go away so the fact that you don’t have one now is perplexing.

 

[BB marine]

A few checks that I would make. (1) the fuel return line to the tank. This line returns all fuel not used. (2) There is a rubber gasket between the fuel/ water sensor ( secondary fuel filter) This gasket does not come with the fuel filter. Many times it gets stuck to the bottom of the secondary filter. If the Technician that changed the filter did not replace the gasket he may have forgot to look for it and installed the sensor/drain without the gasket. There is a fuel pressure switch and a pressure control valve Theses are located at each end of the fuel rail. Inspect them for leaks. With a leak on the pressure side of the system I would think a engine code would have flashed. For this reason it seems that it would be on the low pressure side. The low pressure side components are on the port side, fuel pump and fuel filters. The secondary filter can be a PIA to remove if over tightened. There are a fuel lines that screw into the stainless mounting plate that the filter is mounted to and sealed with small o-rings. If the filter was to tight and the gasket on the filter will not seal properly because of surface damage.

This is a photo of the stainless mounting block. In the photo you can see the Galling marks made from an over tightened filter. I had to lap sand the surface to regain a flat sealing surface. This happened after the first filter change. Volvo uses a robot to install the filter. I have seen mechanics get carried away tightening filters.


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Inspect all the fuel lines going into the fuel tank. Was the fuel tank fuel when you started the trip. Inspect all fuel tank fittings. If the fuel lines or fitting were leaking they can have been allowing the fuel to hit the drive belts flinging the fuel at the front of the engine. May not be leaking now because of lower fuel level. Inspect the tank too. Inspect the vent to confirm the tank is venting properly.

Good luck trouble shooting.