Unexplained Diesel Leak Near Genset

[RanAmok]

A puddle of fuel has appeared in the port stringer under the Onan generator just aft of the AC seacock. It was cleaned up once and reappeared. The Cummins tech searched and could not find the source. There are no trails of fluid or residue leading to the puddle. Need help to determine the source. '07 44DA w/ twin Cummins 8.3 500 QSC and 9kw Onan Genset.

Thanks in advance.

 

[endless seas]

Do you have a Racor filter on the other side of the bulkhead near the Genny? Ours is out of site!

 

[RanAmok]

Do you have a Racor filter on the other side of the bulkhead near the Genny? Ours is out of site!

All primary fuel filters are visible and have been checked and found to be dry. The filters for the Genset and port engine are located on the bulkhead forward of the port engine. The puddle is aft of the engine below the generator.

 

[bmac]

Did you check the drain plug for the generator on engine fuel filter?

 

[RanAmok]

Did you check the drain plug for the generator on engine fuel filter?

If you are referring to the filter on the generator (secondary), I believe the technician checked it.

 

[Robski97]

Are we 100 % sure its diesel fuel ? Can u post a picture... I have same boat. I know that ER pretty damn good. I had all kinds of stains in ER that we pretty much tracked down over 4 years. There are still 2 remaining ...

Rob

 

[Lazy Daze]

Just a thought... I've seen liquid dye's that you can put in a system. Then use an ultraviolet light with tinted glasses to see where it comes out. Doing one system at a time would tell which system it's coming out of.

I can't remember brand names. Probably saw it on TV shows like Motorweek or Two Guys Garage.

 

[tobnpr]

Was the gen run in between "clean-ups" (IOW, is fuel leaking only when running, or when sitting...)?

 

[RanAmok]

Are we 100 % sure its diesel fuel ? Can u post a picture... I have same boat. I know that ER pretty damn good. I had all kinds of stains in ER that we pretty much tracked down over 4 years. There are still 2 remaining ...

Rob

I will attempt to post two pictures. The area had been cleaned and only appears after the generator has been running underway. Leak did not appear when running at the dock.

Thanks

 

[Lazy Daze]

Unless you're running offroad diesel, that looks more like tranny fluid or power steering fluid.

 

[Four Suns]

Are you sure that is diesel fuel and not hydraulic fluid?

 

[Four Suns]

Unless you're running offroad diesel, that looks more like tranny fluid or power steering fluid.

Diesel boats run offroad diesel... unless the owner likes paying taxes.

"offroad"... let's break that down...

"off" = opposite of "on"
"road" = pavement, gravel, or other carved out areas on LAND for LAND vehicles to travel on.

 

[bluebelly]

It looks like the hydraulic fluid from the Teleflex Seastar power steering system.

 

[Four Suns]

Here's a picture of steering fluid in my bilge:

That ain't diesel...

I can't really tell from the picture what you have but you need to make sure it is diesel and not hydraulic fluid...

I had a hose blow up:

The hydraulic hoses installed on my boat during construction did not meet the Seastar/Teleflex documented requirements... Some dork put the wrong hoses on the boat and they blew.. I replaced all of them with the correct hose. Long story but the guy at Sea Ray in customer service I talked to (in TN) said "the safety factor on those hoses allows them to handle more pressure than what is printed on the side" or something like that... I didn't push it... spent about $2K replacing all of them. You can see from the pictures how they were bulging at times...

 

[Lazy Daze]

Diesel boats run offroad diesel... unless the owner likes paying taxes.

"offroad"... let's break that down...

"off" = opposite of "on"
"road" = pavement, gravel, or other carved out areas on LAND for LAND vehicles to travel on.

Ohhhh.... Thank you. It's a good thing you explained the difference bewtween "off" and "on". :smt001

But, honestly, I never knew that the diesel being used at marinas was offroad. I thought they still had to pay all the normal taxes. Aren't all the normal taxes still required on gasoline?

Makes sense what you're saying... I guess I just never thought about it much.

 

[Four Suns]

post_count++

Here in Virginia (and many other coastal states) we don't have taxes on marine diesel (it's off road).

It's not really for the pleasure boaters but the fishing industry...

 

[Lazy Daze]

I will attempt to post two pictures. The area had been cleaned and only appears after the generator has been running underway. Leak did not appear when running at the dock.

Thanks

At the dock, you're probably not doing much steering.... Try keeping the genny off and just sit there and have someone steer back and forth for a while as you look for the leak.

 

[RanAmok]

Thanks gentlemen. I will take a look at the power steering hoses. It would make a lot more sense since I don't see the fuel coming from anywhere. I will look at the port lines.

Thanks again.

 

[BonBini]

I don't know alot about the layout of your specific boat, but I do alot of trouble shooting with my job every day. When I'm trying to pinpoint a pesky fluid leak I will tie some paper towels around hoses and place others in suspect areas to home in on the leak. good luck with it. ...Ron

 

[Four Suns]

Ohhhh.... Thank you. It's a good thing you explained the difference bewtween "off" and "on". :smt001

But, honestly, I never knew that the diesel being used at marinas was offroad. I thought they still had to pay all the normal taxes. Aren't all the normal taxes still required on gasoline?

Makes sense what you're saying... I guess I just never thought about it much.

Sooooo.... am I the only person wondering WHY you are posting in this thread when you don't know what color the diesel fuel is at the fuel dock?