Westerbeke Governonr - Drain Plug Blow Out

Stee6043

Stee6043

Well-Known Member
Jun 1, 2015
6,733
West Michigan
Boat Info
1997 Sundancer 400
Engines
7.4L Gassers
My Westerbeke saga continues. I thought I had my intermittent shutdown issue solved via new fuel filter and cleaned arrestor. After running for an hour the weekend after I had it "fixed" I heard a slight over-rev and then it quit again.

So this weekend I check the governor. Yup, low on oil. I begin filling with oil and notice after an ounce or two that it begins pouring out of the back side of the governor. There is a plug missing! Based on the paint it's clearly a recent development. On the one hand I'm glad I found this "easy fix" but on the other this plug/screw isn't shown on any of the Westerbeke diagrams. I'll have to call today. I used a temporary screw in this photo just to make sure it would run again once full (which it did).

I hope this is the fix!!!

 
On my generator I have 2 bolts and a screw which are used as part of the drain/fill procedure. The bolt on top of the governor is the oil fill, the bolt on the bottom is the drain, and the one you mentioned that was leaking oil is the tell tale which lets you know you have enough oil in the governor.

Doing the yearly governor oil change I remove all three screws. Once the oil is drained I replace the bottom screw (drain). Next I start adding oil to the screw on top (fill). As I'm filling the governor I watch the third screw hole and once oil starts to run out that hole the governor is filled to the correct level with oil. I then replace the tell tale and the fill screws.

Replacing the screw will undoubtedly cure the low oil in the governor issue.
 
Boater420 said:
On my generator I have 2 bolts and a screw which are used as part of the drain/fill procedure. The bolt on top of the governor is the oil fill, the bolt on the bottom is the drain, and the one you mentioned that was leaking oil is the tell tale which lets you know you have enough oil in the governor.

Doing the yearly governor oil change I remove all three screws. Once the oil is drained I replace the bottom screw (drain). Next I start adding oil to the screw on top (fill). As I'm filling the governor I watch the third screw hole and once oil starts to run out that hole the governor is filled to the correct level with oil. I then replace the tell tale and the fill screws.

Replacing the screw will undoubtedly cure the low oil in the governor issue.
Click to expand...

Very good info. Any chance you could tell me which model gen set you have? I've got the 4.5BCGTC. There are quite a few versions of the 4.5 out there. I checked a bunch of them to see if any showed a schematic from the back of the governor and I didn't find a single one.

Hopefully Westerbeke returns my call. I'll be sure to ask them about oil fill as well. I would have assumed I fill it until it comes out the top fill hole! Nice tip...
 
Stee6043 said:
Very good info. Any chance you could tell me which model gen set you have? I've got the 4.5BCGTC. There are quite a few versions of the 4.5 out there. I checked a bunch of them to see if any showed a schematic from the back of the governor and I didn't find a single one.

Hopefully Westerbeke returns my call. I'll be sure to ask them about oil fill as well. I would have assumed I fill it until it comes out the top fill hole! Nice tip...
Click to expand...

Mine is the 4.5 BCG but I believe they all have the same mechanical governors. Here is the manual for mine, page 26 (of the manual not the PDF) has the diagram of the governor and the screws in question:
https://www.westerbeke.com/operator's manual/44200_4.5bcgb_7.0bcgb_oper_man.pdf

Filling the governor until it runs out the top is not advisable.
 
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I'm looking at the book now for servicing mine. The Gov only uses 3oz of oil, do not over fill!
 
I'm looking at the book now for servicing mine. The Gov only uses 3oz of oil, do not over fill!

After reading all the posts I wanted to see how Westerbeke wants us to change the oil in the gov.
 
I don't know if you guys are seeing something I'm not. I have the manual and do see reference to the fill level plug but no part # nor a description of the type of screw it is. I also don't see any schematics showing the rear of the governor with a part # for the plug in question in the parts list above (which is the same exploded view you get on Westerbeke's website search).

And no return call from Westerbeke yesterday. Perhaps a piece of chewed bubble gum will have to suffice. It's something "close" to a 1/4" machine screw but the threads are not matching what I found off the shelf...
 
I looked for a part number as well and found nothing. I use an allen wrench to remove mine. It's almost like a set screw, maybe a 1/2 inch long.

The process I described in post #2 is how a Westerbeke technician told me to change the oil.
 
dwna1a said:
3oz. 10/30w I just looked it up
Click to expand...

I have looked across the internet and could not find a suitable answer to this question. I am going to do a GOVERNOR OIL change on my Westerbeke 7.0 BCG, and am reading through the Westerbeke manual and came across the above spec for Governor oil i.e. "10/30W". Elsewhere in the manual when discussing ENGINE OIL it says "5W-30", "10W-30","30", etc... I understand all these terms and what they mean.

Is the manual saying to use a straight 10 weight OR a straight 30 weight oil for the GOVERNOR OIL? Or is it saying 10W-30, and if so wouldn't it have said "10W-30" like it says in the engine oil recommendations??

LONG STORY SHORT - Do i use 10W or 30W oil or do i use 10W-30 for the Westerbeke GOVERNOR OIL?

Thanks
 
When I refurbished my 4.5 kw BCGB gas generator in 2019, I changed the oil in the governor as well. I used the same weight oil in the governor that is specified for the engine, which is 10w40 or 15w40. I believe I used the former. In any event, I've had no issues with the generator as a whole or with the governor over the last 50 or so hours.
 
Last edited:
I do the same. When I change the oil in the motors I change the Governor oil. I use 30w Rottela
 
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