Marine diesel engines need routine maintenance to run smoothly for longer. Even though almost all marine diesel engines will need to be repaired at some point, performing maintenance on them prolongs their overall lifespan and prevents you from being blindsided with a major (and expensive) repair. Check out these marine diesel maintenance tips to ensure your engine remains in tip-top shape.
Top 5 Marine Diesel Maintenance Tips
#1. Run your marine engine regularly.
It doesn’t matter if you have a small craft, a yacht, or even an exotic car – if you have an engine and want it to last, you need to run it regularly. This is especially true when it isn’t being used (since that is when it is usually neglected.
#2. Warm the engine up before using it.
Putting a boat in the water, cranking it, and taking off can drastically harm the machine. Even though no boater likes to wait in idle lines, long idles are great for ensuring the engine life’s longevity. Just like a car engine, crank it and slowly increase the power to give it time to warm up before opening up completely.
#3. Flush, flush, flush….you get the idea.
Any fisherman or boater knows how exhausting a day out at sea in the hot sun can be. Whether you leave before dawn or go out for a leisurely sunset stroll, flushing your engine after use is necessary – especially when it is being used in saltwater. The salt causes fast erosion and, without flushing, will quickly lead to more trouble than impatience. If you get bored easily, go ahead and flush your trailer brakes, too.
#4. Cruising speed isn’t for losers.
Unless you have a money tree, you probably don’t want your engine to burn out. Yeah, we all love the feeling of open-throttle speeds, but the joy you feel is being stolen from machine responsible for making it happen. Cruising speeds might mean you take an extra 10 minutes to get to your destination, but they’ll also ensure you don’t get stranded at sea.
#5. Learn from common mistakes.
Take a look at the top 10 list of the most common problems found in engines.
- Growth or sludge build-up in the fuel system.
- Clogged sea strainers.
- Damaged or broken impellers.
- Old and unchanged antifreeze.
- Loose belt issues.
- Plugged or clogged mufflers.
- Clogged primary or secondary fuel filters.
- Losse alternators.
- Corrosion on the electrical connections.
- Blown fuses.
As minor as some of these might seem, big problems are caused by ignoring small ones. If you want to save yourself from spending big bucks on engine repairs, stop bad maintenance practices to prevent these problems from happening.
Stay tuned for more marine diesel maintenance tips or read more helpful articles here!
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Marine Diesel Maintenance Tips
