Fortier, Sauerkraut, has been out of water since Oct. 2012, while I was deployed from home and heritage for work. How would you handle a safe restart after all this down time? Engine is a Perkins ST6.3544.

I was cautioned to NOT put the starter to this engine before "manually rolling it over with a wrench on the center flywheel nut". I would risk bending a rod if one of the cylinders had fluid in it, and the engine was "hydro locked".

Great. Placing a wrench on the two obvious 5/16" center nuts of either the alternator or the freshwater impeller does not budge the flywheel because the belt slips. The flywheel has what appears to be a heavy flywheel cover held on with 12 bolts. There is no center nut immediately visible for this maneuver. And what a massive PITA to access the front of this engine in the confines of the boat hold.

I would appreciate advice how to handle this issue. Am I making a problem out of a molehill? Thank you from a non mechanic.



I winterized this boat and engine carefully with fresh water/antifreeze flushing both seawater and freshwater cooling sides. Changed engine oil and all new fuel and oil filters. Boat and engine looked great on uncovering now, despite the interim of time. The boat sits in my driveway, and not close to a marina or a diesel engine mechanic.

Hold the kill switch in while you crank the starter for 10 -20 seconds so it won't fire and can get some oil presure, then let her rip.
You either winterized it correct or not. The starter doesn't have enough balls to bend a rod in that . If it's locked you'll know the second you hit the key
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My worry would be the 4 year old fuel.
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try posting on downeastboatforum.com there are some members here also. There is a large knowledge base there.

Fortier, Sauerkraut, has been out of water since Oct. 2012, while I was deployed from home and heritage for work. How would you handle a safe restart after all this down time? Engine is a Perkins ST6.3544.

I was cautioned to NOT put the starter to this engine before "manually rolling it over with a wrench on the center flywheel nut". I would risk bending a rod if one of the cylinders had fluid in it, and the engine was "hydro locked".

Great. Placing a wrench on the two obvious 5/16" center nuts of either the alternator or the freshwater impeller does not budge the flywheel because the belt slips. The flywheel has what appears to be a heavy flywheel cover held on with 12 bolts. There is no center nut immediately visible for this maneuver. And what a massive PITA to access the front of this engine in the confines of the boat hold.

I would appreciate advice how to handle this issue. Am I making a problem out of a molehill? Thank you from a non mechanic.



I winterized this boat and engine carefully with fresh water/antifreeze flushing both seawater and freshwater cooling sides. Changed engine oil and all new fuel and oil filters. Boat and engine looked great on uncovering now, despite the interim of time. The boat sits in my driveway, and not close to a marina or a diesel engine mechanic.

I went through something similar last year with my Cummins 6BTAs. I knew the engines couldn't be hydrolocked because, like you, I had winterized them myself before the layup and the boat had been sitting in the yard for the 4 year layup. So I just fired them up, with no problem. One word of advice though, get her new fuel. The stuff in the tank is garbage by now, and will only complicate your life.

Thank you for all of the responses... especially not to worry about a starter bending a rod (in other words, making an issue out of a non issue).

I put a giant C-clamp across the front pulley lip of wheel, and used that as a pry bar to turn the engine over manually. Having done that, I hit the starter as advised above... released the stop button after 20 seconds, and the engine sputtered to life... crappy fuel and all. In fact, it purrs like I remembered it four years ago.

About that crappy old fuel... is it still crappy after going through a Racor, and then two additional engine filters in series before it heads to the injector pump? I'd like to burn the fuel rather than pump it. Inshore, of course, with extra filters aboard in case of a clot or a pulmonary type embolus. I won't head off shore in two months this way... but for now ??

You shold at least pump it through some filters and into a container first. Go get a plastic 55 gallon drum from the car wash
Filter it into the drum then filter it back into the boat. You don't want to run it through the fuel system. If it's really bad you will be pulling string like slime out of your fuel system for a while.
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Really doesn't pay to try and save the fuel. I thought the same way and went through numerous issues because of it, in the end I wound up emptying the tank and steam cleaning it and putting in new fuel with injector cleaner. I wish I had done that to start with. the fuel issues cost me most of last season.