Engine update

Having been towed 2 miles off the river into the local (bloody expensive) marina for a mere £360 and have not made much progress in the past 10 days.

Entering the Marina on Tow

 The engineer spent 4 hrs diagnosing the problems and decided that there was a faulty fuel injector pump which needed replacing.  This was not the only fault but he felt it best to start with the small stuff. He returned a few days later to spend another 5 hrs fitting the part and to be fair the engine run a bit smoother but when we took her up the river for a test it was quite clear all was not well as the oil pressure began to fall and there was a distinct big end knock.  Clearly the engine needed to be removed and stripped to identify and repair the fault. Having already run up a £1,500 bill with the prospect of a further £3000 for a rebuild at the Thames hourly rate of £80 I spent the weekend contemplating my next move as I could see this quickly becoming a money pit.

I had lots of advise from the canal forum but of course much of this was conflicting. I basically had 3 options: repair this engine, buy a new engine or buy a second hand engine.  I quickly discarded the new engine option as they are around £9,000 which is a bit outside my range. Used engines ranged from around £1,500 to £7,000 depending on age and model. The boat could be fitted with a range of engines but each would require some modification to the boat to match it up with the drive shaft which of course is more time and money.

I have opted to go ahead with the engine rebuild but instead of using the maria the engine has been collected by a  fellow boater who runs his own engineering business repairing Lister engines. The engine was collected today, as you can see it being lifted into the trailer below.

The engine sees the light of day 

The engine will be stripped over the next couple of days and I should have an idea of costs early next week when they have quantified the work required but I'm expecting it will be below £2000. I have the peace of mind of knowing that the engine is in good hands with a Lister specialist who will not rip me off and does not charge the earth.  I'll update again when I have news.