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Lister engine leaking coolant

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Felt553:
Hi all I am hoping someone may be able to help me with regard to a leaking Lister engine.

Last year my sister who lives in Ireland bought a narrow boat. The engine in the boat is a Lister  liquid cooled engine with a 150 LH gear box attached. I cannot find a plate telling me the model of engine only a long number which I'm guessing is a serial number.

Recently I noticed the expansion tank was dry so it was filled up with coolant.  Within a few days it was dry again.  Yesterday  filled it again and looked for a leak and found one which is a constant drip.  This gets worse when the engine is run.  It looks like a gasket is gone as in the attached picture you can see the rusted bolt where the bras fitting attaches to the engine.

The part has two pipes, one goes off to a tank where the other goes into the engine. 

I am hoping someone may be able to advise.

1. What the part is.
2. How I find out the model of engine
3. Where I would get a replacement expansion cap as the one on it has seen better days.

Thanks in advance for any help on this.

dieselspanner:
Hi 'Felt' and welcome

It's not too clear from your photos, but that looks like the 'Jabsco' water circulating pump.

It's job is to circulate 'Raw' - canal - water to cool the engine, or to cool the 'Fresh' water in the engine via a heat exchanger, in the same way that air cools the radiator, that cools the water in your car. If you have a pressure cap then yours is probably the latter.

Check out this video for details of how it works

https://www.xylem.com/en-us/support/video-library/jabsco---how-does-an-impeller-pump-work/

If the leak is between the pump housing and the cylinder block then it's the rear seal, looking at the setup it'll be hard for a novice to sort it out in situ, there are service kits and spares available on the web but be aware there are umpteen different sizes and as many different drive shaft types.

The pump will leak more with the motor running, mainly due to the pressure it's creating

Best bet is to get someone in a boatyard to sort it, whilst it may seem expensive, given the longevity of the pumps and the aggravation of 'learning as you go' it'll be cheap at twice the price! Jabsco impeller pumps (and their clones) are used worldwide and are almost infinitely rebuildable.

As for the motor it's hanging off, I have no idea! With a bit more information and a few more comprehensive photos I'm sure someone on here will identify it. Which ever yard to choose to do the repair will certainly know. Once you have that information, along with pump and impeller details fan belts, filter types and makes record it in the barges log. It'll save hours later.

Same as above for the pressure cap....

Cheers
Stef

dax021:
That long serial number should tell you what model Lister you have.  Post that number here and I'm sure someone will give you all the details.

dieselspanner:
Thinking further, the pump could be circulating water between the engine and a 'skin tank' a sort of radiator welded to the hull - skin - of the barge, or a keel cooler, pipes under the barges hull, to transfer the heat generated by the engine into the canal without bringing canal water in to the hull. These are good systems for small engines, as they have no risk of blockage from weeds, poly bags, etc. associated with the raw water cooling intake.

None of this will affect your problem!

Cheers
Stef

Felt553:
Stef,

Thanks ever so much for the advice. I am heading over to the boat this evening to see if I can get a number off the pump and the serial number off the engine.

I will do a bit more like investing as how the water cooling on the engine is set up. I assume me it’s not good to run the engine with this leak which drains the expansion tank?

Alan.

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