[C320-list] ENGINE FUEL PRIME

[Troy Dunn]

John-

Free advice in no particular order.

1) There are copper crush washers between all the banjo fittings.   These
are super cheap and throw away.   Attempting to reuse and/or tighten them
down rarely works out, or if it does only for a little while.

2) Change the smaller filter on the engine once a year.   Is it 100%
necessary, no but it's super cheap and super easy.  Do not attempt to reuse
the oring.   Seat the filter by hand then just gently put the oring and
filter housing in place, tighten that little band by hand and then gently
(very gently) tap the band home with a flathead acrewdriver.  You just need
to snug it up, do not over tighten.

3) bleed seal is a nylon like material.   It is reusable so long as you
simply get it snug and then gently 'nip' it a fraction of a turn like maybe
a tenth of a turn.  Overtightening will turn that seal into a once and done
as well.   Definitely replace it this time since you probably don’t know
how it was abused in the past.

4)I’m a tad concerned that you are losing as much prime as you are and that
you aren’t finding diesel somewhere on your engine or in your engines
special little self contained bilge area.   The fact that you hear air
escaping is not a good sign.   Are you sure it isn’t the diesel return line
you hear?   Probably not since you are saying the noise is on the starboard
side.    The fuel filter is a good candidate for leaks but generally it
will be very ‘oily’ with diesel and should drip noticeable.   Another item
that can leak is the fuel lift pump.   There are two possible mechanisms at
play.    There is a diaphragm that can leak at the seal.    Check that for
sure.  It’s  easy to simply replace the lift pump.  The lift pump diaphragm
can also fail and that can be bad news because it could potentially be
leaking fuel into your engine.   I think you can check the oil to see if it
looks funny.  If it does look funny,  I’d get a real diesel mechanic
involved.  You can easily replace the lift pump and contaminated oil but I
have no idea how one 'rinses' out the engine of fuel contaminated dirty
oil…

Good Luck

Troy Dunn
Hull #514