Ok, here is a bit of our story…
When we bought our boat of the previous owner, she had some problems. One of the problems was the engines were really really smoky. The starboard engine was the worst.
Now, the previous owner had maintained the boat as well as he could, however from all the work I have done on the boat, I can tell you he was virtually sabotaged by really really bad work. It’s not like he didn’t spend money on the boat, the fact is the workmanship was just so bad. The starboard motor was the worst, and he had that overhauled for the sale. So the port engine was the smoky one now.
The engine gauges didn’t work, so it was very hard to fault find. I replaced oil pressure senders and temperature sensors. I got the oil pressure gauges working, but I couldn’t get the temperature gauge to work.
This was Covid, and our window to cross the pacific was closing, so we set off.
A few months into the trip, I decided that the engines were not getting warm. The gauges still didn’t work. In the boat’s spare parts there were several brand new thermostats. I decided to replace a thermostat. When I opened the housing, I couldn’t believe there was no thermostat in the housing. I put one of the brand new thermostats in, and tested the engine…
Well, the temperature gauge was working. It was just reading completely cold as the engine was never warming up.
The reason the engine was smoking was because it never warmed up to operating temperature, it was completely glazed up. So it needed new rings and a hone.
I decided to check the new overhauled engine… well there was no thermostat in that one either. So even though it had an overhaul, it was installed without a thermostat. Which means it was probably half glazed as well. I was so angry.
When I got back to Australia, I spoke to some friends that I was going to get to repair the engines. I was convinced to try this fuel additive. I was super sceptical, and the additive was quite expensive. But I gave it a go. Well, I can’t believe the difference. It has cured the smoking, and the engines are running much smoother. As you can see, I’ve just run out of the additive. It also stops diesel bug.
Well, I’ve got another container on order.
I just thought I’d share this story.
So, if you decide to pull your thermostats out and glaze up your engines, this might help you 