Engine maintenance – new filter

Blue Opal has been emitting white-blueish smoke at high revs, which is a new development. The oil level is about 3/4 on the dipstick, so she’s not over-full on oil. I figured it was a good time to change the fuel filter, as the last change was when I bought her.

The filter came off easily enough, and there was only a little bit of sediment in the bowl; no water. Changed the filter anyway, and now have a Lucas 296 filter in place. Bled the fine filter by backing out the bolt, and operating the lift pump until fuel showed up. Unfortunately, it looks like I only bled out the fuel that was in the pipe, because I started the engine, and 30 seconds later it stopped running.

Bled the fine filter again, until fuel appeared. Engine wouldn’t start.

Read a bit.

Cracked the first injector bolt open, bled it. Cracked the second injector, bled it. Cracked the third injector, bled it. No go.

Repeat a few times.

Engine eventually started, and ran rough for the first few minutes, dropping beats. She’s now running smoother, but cuts out when I throttle down rapidly from full ahead (in gear). This is a common throttle pattern for me when doing close-quarters maneuvering, so I need to resolve what’s going on. Oh, and change the oil probably, because she was last changed when I bought her, and I never got a chance to do it before she was laid up in the yard for the latter half of last year.

Also need to get rid of all the fuel that I bled out, because I don’t really want a boat that smells of diesel.