Much to our delight we were told that the gearbox would be back in the marina/yard today. Whoohhhooo.
Patrick and the engineers had a final chat about the oil leak, as that needed to be resolved before the gearbox went back in.
The engine had leaked oil ever since she had been rebuilt and returned back into the boat. Patrick thought it might have been the sump plug leaking, so before we set off on this leg of the trip (which feels like 200 years ago), Patrick raised the engine as much as he needed to in order to seal the sump plug. Unfortunately oil kept leaking into the bilges.
Now with the gearbox off, the engineers were able to raise the engine even more and check out that sump plug. They confirmed that the sump plug fitted by Patrick was not the problem. The oil was coming from the gasket around the sump. And all the bolts around the sump were loose! They tightened all the bolts they could reach by ¼ turn and Patrick and I had a heated chat about how this could have happened. But at least we had found the problem.
Well that relief was short lived as the oil continued to leak and the engineers asked what we wanted to do about it. One option was to take the engine out and have a proper investigation, with no guarantee they could resolve it. The engine was very old and not as common as other Perkins engines. There were also no part numbers available for replacement. We also knew, from the previous work, that parts like the sump and bell-housing had been impossible to find and replace, so they had been “fixed” or re-welded.
We agreed to live with the leak for now. We will come back to the problem later and when the boat comes out for winter, perhaps that would be the best time to start the investigation. In the meantime Patrick was “happy” to do weekly oil mop-ups and we would keep loads of spare oil on board. He lines the bilges with these amazing oil absorbent pads, a little like nappy pads for leaky engines. The pads absorb oil and grime but don’t absorb water and they are very effective. He immediately ordered boxes of these.
The gearbox arrived, as promised; with a hefty (and what feels like unnecessary) bill. Lessons have been learned – trust your gut. If it doesn’t feel right, it might not be right (I am looking at you mineral oil SAE 30). The engineers got the gearbox back in with no trouble, despite the rain. We were thrilled to start the engine and run Deux on the ropes for a while.
It had been pouring with rain over all these weeks and the river is running fast and high but we were keen to do a little travelling on the river while we can. We have flights booked for South Africa in a few weeks and the boat will be covered and lifted onto the hard here at the marina for winter and that will be the end of our 2024 boat travel experiences.
A working gearbox!