Post by naughtyfox on May 22, 2016 14:25:48 GMT
The Secret Life of the Bukh DV10
We first borrowed our boat in June 2013 and took it from south Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon along, of course, the Stratford Canal. This was a six day trip out and back and then we were only aware that we should keep an eye on the engine coolant level and engine oil level. The engine had previously not had a coolant header reservoir and perhaps the temperature meter had not been working – and it had overheated with the previous owner, who consequently had a new cylinder head and new valves fitted. He warned us against thrashing the engine for long periods, so that overheating wouldn’t occur again.
I borrowed this boat again on my own for six days in October 2013, took it from south Birmingham to Tibberton on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, and had no problems with coolant or the engine.
We bought the boat in Spring 2014 and picked it up in June and off we went to Hanbury Junction on the W&B. Back up the Tardebigge flight (’42 locks in a row’) and on to Warwick and Banbury and Aynho, starting the long process of tidying the whole boat up as it was a little neglected. On this month long journey I changed the engine oil once, opening the sump plug and draining it from there, as is usual.
When we knew we were going to buy the boat I wrote to Bukh in Denmark to ask about our engine’s age and they replied and said it is from December 1985.
We have the owner’s manual and the workshop manual for this engine.
In October we made a run from Cropredy to Lower Heyford and back to Banbury, and were again working on the boat the whole time. I changed the engine oil again – it holds 1.6 litres – but when I tightened the sump plug this time, although carefully, I could feel it just turning and turning and knew the thread had gone! Curses! Luckily oil did not drip from the plug.
In December/January 14/15 we finally made it all the way to Oxford and back to Banbury. The exhaust had always been somewhat smoky, and I think I had earlier topped the oil level up a little now and then, but on this journey back from Oxford it began to consume about half a litre of engine oil per day. I decided to phone to T W Marine, specialists in Bukh engines, and ask if they thought it was worth replacing the piston rings and cylinder. They say yes, as these kind of engines aren’t made any more, and as they are good tough solid little engines it would be good to have a go at some open-heart surgery. And so it was arranged that they would come to the boat and take the engine out and whisk it up to their workshop in Furness Vale beside the Upper Peak Forest Canal. As they had three months to do this task they attended to this when they had less busy moments, so the whole operation was performed in an unhurried manner.
I had suggested that when they had the engine open if they saw anything else worth doing, then it might as well be done in the name of efficiency. T W were polite, courteous, and interested in our engine, and were informative and happy for me to telephone to them weekly so that they could explain what they had done and what they thought needed doing. The first thing they said is that we were really lucky to have made this decision as the governor bearings were about to drop out – these are ball bearings that sit in cups held in a ring, and if these fall into the innards of the engine they can wreck havoc. I have these bearings here at home and it’s true, they’re like little dried peas rattling around in their cups! The engine is now 31 years old.
A long story shortened, the outcome was that they ended up taking everything off the engine all the way down to the last block of metal, and rebuilding the whole thing, apart from the Bryce fuel pump which had been re-conditioned earlier, and the starter motor which was new in January 2013. Here’s some of the things they did:
new Iskra (Czech) alternator 50 amp (old one was also 50 amp and worked, but very dirty) + new alternator belt
new piston + rings + cylinder liner
zinc anode renewed (this is inside the engine and is really for the use of the engine in sea water, as this is a ’proper’ marine engine)
injector tested (and found to be OK)
new engine mounts (all of them)
new centrifugal governor shaft & bearings (and new case)
new oil pump (rotor + shaft kit)
new water pump + chain
new valves (inlet & exhaust)
new bearings for crankshaft (the crankshaft itself did not need re-grinding as journals were within tolerances)
new engine oil filter
new fuel filter
gearbox oil changed
engine painted five coats
Aquadrive renovated – new grease and rubber boots, new thrust bearing race, four new rubber mounting bushes
internal waterways descaled
fuel lift pump stripped and inspected
new engine wiring harness
new pre-heater glow plug
The engine was to have been put back before our arrival to the boat last June but it came a week later, and we found ourselves with no electricity from the batteries as it turns out our internal circuits all come from off the engine itself, rather than (as is normal) straight from the batteries via the main switch! We had 240v mains from the marina, so we could use the vacuum cleaner and hair dryer. On our arrival to Manchester airport, with rental car we went south via T W’s workshop and saw our engine there running, and Nick and Steve showed us what they had done and the old parts they had removed.
We were told that a new sump pan had been fitted and the sump plug firmly fitted, and because of ’issues’ with this arrangement of steel & aluminium it was not a good idea to drain oil via the sump plug but rather through the dipstick tube – as indeed the Bukh manual suggests. This we now do with a hand pump but can only get 1.0 litres of old engine oil out each time, which is why I think it’s good to change the oil ’three times in a row’ to get a proper change (or change 1 litre after every trip, something like that – the main thing is to have an engine’s bearings swimming in newer oil – oil is much cheaper than engine renovations!).
And away we went, out of Hillmorton Wharf Marina, up to Furness Vale via Tamworth Castle, Lichfield cathedral, Hawkesbury Junction (Sutton Stop), the delightful environs of Shugborough Hall, Harecastle Tunnel and the pretty Macclesfield Canal. We noticed straight away that the exhaust was no longer blue. At T W’s again the engine was re-checked, the stern gland was re-packed and a new morse lever and gear cables fitted (the old morse lever splines had worn out).
As it happens, T W were the people who actually supplied this engine to Delph Marine who built the boat in 1989. It looks like the engine was already four years old before it was put to use.
There may be Thunderboat members and viewers who may be interested in boat engines so I thought I’d post some photos of our engine undergoing its rebirth. The photos of the engine in the workshop were taken by Steve of T W Marine, and today I’ve taken photos of the various components I brought home in my rucksack last August; I explained at the airport what I had in my rucksack and they were quite happy to have me stand by whilst they had it in the X-ray machine. I don’t suppose many people have cylinder liners and pistons in their holiday luggage!
On the photo sets there’s an (i) at the top right – click on this for text which will also appear top right.
goo.gl/photos/unyasUG6B9MGWaJQ6
goo.gl/photos/Dm8QCktrfsvJ4aNYA
If you're wondering what the Bukh DV10 sounds like, this Youtube clip gives a fair idea:
We first borrowed our boat in June 2013 and took it from south Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon along, of course, the Stratford Canal. This was a six day trip out and back and then we were only aware that we should keep an eye on the engine coolant level and engine oil level. The engine had previously not had a coolant header reservoir and perhaps the temperature meter had not been working – and it had overheated with the previous owner, who consequently had a new cylinder head and new valves fitted. He warned us against thrashing the engine for long periods, so that overheating wouldn’t occur again.
I borrowed this boat again on my own for six days in October 2013, took it from south Birmingham to Tibberton on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, and had no problems with coolant or the engine.
We bought the boat in Spring 2014 and picked it up in June and off we went to Hanbury Junction on the W&B. Back up the Tardebigge flight (’42 locks in a row’) and on to Warwick and Banbury and Aynho, starting the long process of tidying the whole boat up as it was a little neglected. On this month long journey I changed the engine oil once, opening the sump plug and draining it from there, as is usual.
When we knew we were going to buy the boat I wrote to Bukh in Denmark to ask about our engine’s age and they replied and said it is from December 1985.
We have the owner’s manual and the workshop manual for this engine.
In October we made a run from Cropredy to Lower Heyford and back to Banbury, and were again working on the boat the whole time. I changed the engine oil again – it holds 1.6 litres – but when I tightened the sump plug this time, although carefully, I could feel it just turning and turning and knew the thread had gone! Curses! Luckily oil did not drip from the plug.
In December/January 14/15 we finally made it all the way to Oxford and back to Banbury. The exhaust had always been somewhat smoky, and I think I had earlier topped the oil level up a little now and then, but on this journey back from Oxford it began to consume about half a litre of engine oil per day. I decided to phone to T W Marine, specialists in Bukh engines, and ask if they thought it was worth replacing the piston rings and cylinder. They say yes, as these kind of engines aren’t made any more, and as they are good tough solid little engines it would be good to have a go at some open-heart surgery. And so it was arranged that they would come to the boat and take the engine out and whisk it up to their workshop in Furness Vale beside the Upper Peak Forest Canal. As they had three months to do this task they attended to this when they had less busy moments, so the whole operation was performed in an unhurried manner.
I had suggested that when they had the engine open if they saw anything else worth doing, then it might as well be done in the name of efficiency. T W were polite, courteous, and interested in our engine, and were informative and happy for me to telephone to them weekly so that they could explain what they had done and what they thought needed doing. The first thing they said is that we were really lucky to have made this decision as the governor bearings were about to drop out – these are ball bearings that sit in cups held in a ring, and if these fall into the innards of the engine they can wreck havoc. I have these bearings here at home and it’s true, they’re like little dried peas rattling around in their cups! The engine is now 31 years old.
A long story shortened, the outcome was that they ended up taking everything off the engine all the way down to the last block of metal, and rebuilding the whole thing, apart from the Bryce fuel pump which had been re-conditioned earlier, and the starter motor which was new in January 2013. Here’s some of the things they did:
new Iskra (Czech) alternator 50 amp (old one was also 50 amp and worked, but very dirty) + new alternator belt
new piston + rings + cylinder liner
zinc anode renewed (this is inside the engine and is really for the use of the engine in sea water, as this is a ’proper’ marine engine)
injector tested (and found to be OK)
new engine mounts (all of them)
new centrifugal governor shaft & bearings (and new case)
new oil pump (rotor + shaft kit)
new water pump + chain
new valves (inlet & exhaust)
new bearings for crankshaft (the crankshaft itself did not need re-grinding as journals were within tolerances)
new engine oil filter
new fuel filter
gearbox oil changed
engine painted five coats
Aquadrive renovated – new grease and rubber boots, new thrust bearing race, four new rubber mounting bushes
internal waterways descaled
fuel lift pump stripped and inspected
new engine wiring harness
new pre-heater glow plug
The engine was to have been put back before our arrival to the boat last June but it came a week later, and we found ourselves with no electricity from the batteries as it turns out our internal circuits all come from off the engine itself, rather than (as is normal) straight from the batteries via the main switch! We had 240v mains from the marina, so we could use the vacuum cleaner and hair dryer. On our arrival to Manchester airport, with rental car we went south via T W’s workshop and saw our engine there running, and Nick and Steve showed us what they had done and the old parts they had removed.
We were told that a new sump pan had been fitted and the sump plug firmly fitted, and because of ’issues’ with this arrangement of steel & aluminium it was not a good idea to drain oil via the sump plug but rather through the dipstick tube – as indeed the Bukh manual suggests. This we now do with a hand pump but can only get 1.0 litres of old engine oil out each time, which is why I think it’s good to change the oil ’three times in a row’ to get a proper change (or change 1 litre after every trip, something like that – the main thing is to have an engine’s bearings swimming in newer oil – oil is much cheaper than engine renovations!).
And away we went, out of Hillmorton Wharf Marina, up to Furness Vale via Tamworth Castle, Lichfield cathedral, Hawkesbury Junction (Sutton Stop), the delightful environs of Shugborough Hall, Harecastle Tunnel and the pretty Macclesfield Canal. We noticed straight away that the exhaust was no longer blue. At T W’s again the engine was re-checked, the stern gland was re-packed and a new morse lever and gear cables fitted (the old morse lever splines had worn out).
As it happens, T W were the people who actually supplied this engine to Delph Marine who built the boat in 1989. It looks like the engine was already four years old before it was put to use.
There may be Thunderboat members and viewers who may be interested in boat engines so I thought I’d post some photos of our engine undergoing its rebirth. The photos of the engine in the workshop were taken by Steve of T W Marine, and today I’ve taken photos of the various components I brought home in my rucksack last August; I explained at the airport what I had in my rucksack and they were quite happy to have me stand by whilst they had it in the X-ray machine. I don’t suppose many people have cylinder liners and pistons in their holiday luggage!
On the photo sets there’s an (i) at the top right – click on this for text which will also appear top right.
goo.gl/photos/unyasUG6B9MGWaJQ6
goo.gl/photos/Dm8QCktrfsvJ4aNYA
If you're wondering what the Bukh DV10 sounds like, this Youtube clip gives a fair idea:
