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Combustion Air

Discussion in 'Viking Yacht' started by DougO, Aug 5, 2010.

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  1. DougO, Aug 5, 2010
    #1
    DougO

    DougO New Member

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    Aug 2, 2010
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    Morehead City NC
    I just bought a 1985--35 foot Convertible. I brought her up from SC and after running for 2 hours at 2000 rpm in a nice cruise the air filters clogged and the engines started sooting. The boat has twin turbo charged Cat 3208 300 hp diesels.
    All the time I was examining the boat the engine hatches were open and this was the first time I ran it all closed up.
    Any ideas?
  2. NYCAP123, Aug 5, 2010
    #2
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Sounds like you have an exhaust leak. Check the connecting bolts first then work your way down the line. You're probably very close to having an unholy mess to clean up.
  3. K1W1, Aug 6, 2010
    #3
    K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Hi,

    What were the filters actually clogged with?
  4. DougO, Aug 6, 2010
    #4
    DougO

    DougO New Member

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    They were full of soot when I finally got to them. Some one has said this vintage Viking with Cat's had problems with a lack of combustion air to the engine room. Ever heard this before?
  5. jhall767, Aug 6, 2010
    #5
    jhall767

    jhall767 Senior Member

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    NYCCapt is probably right. The engine will pull air straight from the exhaust leak right into the filter. Once the filter clogs you get tons of soot. My friends boat just had this happen. Slight leak at turbo. No evidence anywhere else. Eventually clogged air filter. Engine went to major soot producer. Soot everywhere:(

    There's a simple check to see if you have enough ventilation into the engine room. Run the boat at cruise or WOT with all the hatches closed. If it's hard to pull a hatch because of the suction you probably don't have enough ventilation.

    If there seems to be too much suction the proper way is to use a manometer and check the reading against the engine's specifications.
  6. NYCAP123, Aug 6, 2010
    #6
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Several years ago I brought a Sunseeker down to Miami. Upon inspection in NY I noticed rust and soot around the bolts on an exhaust coupling behind the turbo and showed it to the owner. Long story short, as we pulled out of Charleston we lost a motor and barely limped in on the other. We got a 5 day vacation waiting for parts. Much of it was spent cleaning the soot in the engine room.:(
  7. DougO, Aug 6, 2010
    #7
    DougO

    DougO New Member

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    Location:
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    Will check all the above over the weekend and thanks to all