Sainte Maxime

Warning! One for the engineers out there ;-)

A decides to deal with the engine issues, and gets plenty of advice from Martin at Lancing Marine, the UK based gurus for the Ford Lehman engine; the results are perplexing and frustrating.

Ford (port engine): has always worked a treat on our trip through France, although a small leak on the fuel pump meant A ordered a replacement pump, good preventative maintenance - except the pump did not have a seat to receive the olive on our rigid fuel pipe, and so was unusable without some modification. In a bit of a rush to set off, A replaced the leaking pump with another from a different supplier, and all seemed fine, except the engine keeps cutting out. Investigation shows the second fuel filter is bone dry – and testing the pump shows that although it works, it doesn't when it is fitted to the engine, as the operating arm is too short, missing the cam. Basically the engine had been getting fuel via the injection pump siphoning directly from the tank. The supplier of this pump, which is not compatible with our engine, is happy to refund or replace, but their replacement would be the same unit, so that’s not an option. Therefore, we are back to our first supplier, in the desperate hope that their newer version will now have the correct fitting for the fuel pipe.

Lehman (stbd engine): it seems what both the engines are lacking is a pressure relief valve from the fuel filters back to the tank return line, which would prevent the sort of pressure build up that has caused the fuel filter gaskets to be pushed out while under way. According to the diagrams we have, these valves have never been in place, and we know we ran at low speeds for months without incident, but we’ll add these relief valves as soon as possible in the hope of solving the problem.

 
So, we’re sheltering from the weather and waiting for a parts delivery in the lovely Sainte Maxime, where the shops are running end of season sales, there is plenty to see and Roxy is breaking hearts daily... 

No real complaints, in the grand scheme of things!!