Detriot Deisel 8V71 engine coolant in oil broke down in Central Florida

[LordFamily]

We are a traveling family ministry team broke down here in Sebring, FL with our 1982 partially converted Prevost LeMirage bus.
The bus started overheating 220-230 degrees and we pulled off put water in and let engine cool down.
It still continued overheating as we repeated the above for the next 20 miles where we could park and plug in at an RV park.

The next day we discovered coolant in oil pan and on dip stick.  When I filled the radiator with water it appeared to be almost empty taking about 10 minutes of steady flow to fill.

We then drained the oil pan getting about 15 gallons of coolant before seeing any oil.

We dropped the oil pan to see inside the bottom of the engine.  A car mechanic brought over a pump so we could pressurize the cooling system and see where it might be leaking from under the engine. There is a steady flow of coolant/water seemingly on the right side of the engine coming from the front and back cylinders.

We then removed the head cover over the injectors/head and found coolant on the injectors.

We did turn engine over to see if any fluid pushed out on top of the injector area and found none.

A diesel mechanic in Massachusetts has been walking us through these procedures over the phone.

If anyone knows of a 2 stroke mechanic near us, please pass this info along.

Also if anyone has any suggestions, we're all ears! <grin>

Ken from this board saw our post on another board and suggested we post here.

Thanks so in advance!
Kerry

[bobofthenorth]

There's another thread running here right now about a MC7 with an 8-71 in Florida.  You might want to read that thread and see if there's some opportunities there because it sounds to me like you are about to spend a lot of money.  There's a good bus garage in Lakeland but I can't remember the name of the place - no doubt somebody else will chime in with the name pretty soon.

(edit)
John Silver
Central Florida Bus Repair
102 Burbank Avenue 
Lakeland, FL 33801,
(863) 665-8155

Its been bugging me all morning and it finally came to me.

[oldmansax]

Bob is right. An engine swap for a good 8V71 is probably going to be way cheaper than fixing yours. Not sure about what needs to be changed from MCI to Prevost.

Clifford will probably chime in here. Do whatever he says. He's the best.

TOM

[hargreaves]

I would pressurize the cooling system while observing the area around the injectors. If the coolant is coming from this area you have an injector tube failure which means the head has to come off. There is a tool that re swedges the top of the tube if it is coming from that area but it works only sometimes.

If the coolant is not coming from around the injectors it generally means the head has to come off to check for cracks or bad coolant o rings around the water jacket holes. There will be a dark area around the white o rings if this is where the coolant is coming from.  Good luck      Gerry

[artvonne]

  My heart goes out to you, I hope you get this resolved economically.

 One thing I noted, and im not sure this is what actually occurred or that its even the case, but you said you put water in and THEN let it cool. If you poured cold water into an overheated engine, it is quite possible to crack the block, head, or a liner.

 On a bright note, you seem to be in an area where your able to work on it and have some good mechanical help available. If there is any hope or interest in saving that engine you have to at least pull the head on the side you see leakage from below. It has to come off to fix any leak regardless. And whether the engine is junk or not, pulling the head wont hurt anything at this point.

[Busted Knuckle]

John Silver's shop in Lakeland is FL Bus Repair or FL Bus Sales & Repair. (I don't recall what it is now) It used to just be Central FL Bus when they ran charter buses I believe.

Anyway his shop is probably THE BEST independent shop in central FL if not ALL of FL!
 BK  

[eagle19952]

It appears that the source of the coolant by-pass has been identified.

A car mechanic brought over a pump so we could pressurize the cooling system and see where it might be leaking from under the engine. There is a steady flow of coolant/water seemingly on the right side of the engine coming from the front and back cylinders.

[Timkar]

Had that happen to me a few years ago on an 8V71 I had .
Turned out to be O rings at top of cylinder. Hope yours is that easy.

[RickB]

regardless of where the coolant is coming from you were into main bearings, cam bearings and rod bearings the moment you noticed coolant in the oil pan. You have to pull at least one head so you're in your wallet deep already.sorry for your troubles. did you specify in your post what motor you currently have?

[Alan Baker]

Central FL Bus is the right place to go. But its 100 miles north of you. In Seabring Big John is the man. His shop is on 27 north accross from Highlands Regional Hospital. I have a hunch you are very close to him. I don't know if you have towing ins but if your in Sebring you can't be more than 10 miles away.
I have used Big John and have had only good experiences. Email me and I can pick you up and take you over to see him.

Alan Baker
84 Eagle 10
Sebring, FL
baker4106@aol.com
seven 5 seven 2 one 8 five 4 7 0h

[buswarrior]

Hold on.

Until someone opens up that engine, it may only need some gaskets/seals.

You don't need all those bearings unless they've been damaged.

I think they are under enough stress now without all of us piling on with more untimely doom and gloom.

Ask around the transit garage, fix the leak, short change the oil, live long and prosper.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[bevans6]

RE: water damage to bearings...  There is a story about a car that won the Indianapolis 500, (or at the least raced in it, but won is a better story) that had an oil leak and was running out of oil.  When pressure started to drop, the driver brought it in to the pits...  The rules didn't allow oil to be added, but they were allowed to add water - so they kept topping it up with water, and at the end it was running a bit of oil and a lot of water!  The little teardrop shaped tank on the sides of the old roadsters was the dry sump tank!

I agree with BW - find the problem then worry about fixing what is broken.  The pan is already off, inspecting things is easy, replace what is needed.  99% of what can cause this is related to the head, so taking that off and having a look is the obvious first step.  If something in the block of an 8V71 (dry liner, remember) is causing such a water leak, the fix is usually a different engine.

Brian

[artvonne]

  Yeah the idea antifreeze instantly destroys bearings is greatly exaggerated. Not a bad idea to check them for wear, but if they look alright a few oil changes will clear out the gunk. If its leaking at opposing ends of the engine its most certainly seals. Could be a cracked head but that would generally be more localized.

 If you get the head off and find blown liner seals, I would argue to do the other side as well. If you blew two on one side they are all probably the same age?? And that you ran the temp that high they will be the next weak link in the chain.

[thomasinnv]

Paul, the 8V71 is dry liner. Kerry, just pull the head, therein you will find the problem.

[luvrbus]

Water damage to bearings is common with aftermarket bearings for a Detroit 

It goes back to you get what you pay for genuine DD bearings have more silver in the shells than the aftermarket bearings water and antifreeze will spin a aftermarket bearing in a blink of the eye in a 8v71 or a 8v92,that much water he will need to tear down to the bare block they will never be able to flush the galleys clean.

With the leaks on each end somebody probably left the block to head shims out and the head broke just guessing