Broken turbo output screw clamp...

[dtfeld]

we were running to our overnight yesterday when I heard a weird screeching from the starboard engine. Pulled back to idle, it went away. I thought a belt had loosened. Continued at idle speed.

Got down and found a screw clamp cracked and laying on the bottom of the bilge. Further investigation I found the clamp belonged on the turbo output going to the aftercooler.

I have a lot of clamps onboard , but not one that large. Am I okay to idle back to port?

Parts are an all day ferry and Uber ride away any suggestions on a temp repair? I have some very heavy zip ties that I think 2 pulled tight 180 Deg apart might be enough to get me home.

 

[The Bill Collector]

following...

 

[Boater420]

Can you put two of the clamps together to make one?

 

[bahamabreisus]

It will most likely stay on with large zip tie also.

 

[dtfeld]

2 large zip tie straps installed and have pretty good compression on the rubber pipe.

Good enough to idle to port, maybe 10 miles? Parts readily available there.

 

[electricaldoctor]

I've done the doubling up hose clamps before as a temporary bandaid. It got me home without incident.

 

[fwebster]

The best solution, even if you have to go with temporary hose clamps is to order the correct clamps from Caterpillar. The Cat clamps are very robust and are an equalizing type of clamp. Believe it or not, that little hose has a lot of pressure on it, enough to swell the hose as your photo shows. The Cat clamp will let you regain confidence in taking the boat on trips again.

 

[dtfeld]

I'll order the cat clamps once home. We're idling up to Tarpon Springs, were we will haul the boat and ship it to the lake.

I think these hoses and clamps were just replaced by PO. It was an equalizing type, failed in a solids part of the clamp.

 

[JVM225]

Zip ties should get you where you need to go. I’m with Frank on the Cat clamps. Check the rest of them while you’re at it. Maybe even think about replacing them too.

 

[dtfeld]

I'm going to replace all of them and probably the rubber pipe just to be sure. I'll have to go over the entire engine and see if the are any other non standard clamps

I think these are CAT parts, so I'm still wondering how a clamp like that failed. It is fairly new. I understand that turbo output is under a lot of pressure (20 psi?), but not enought to rupture like that. I womder if there was a defect in the material, or if it was nicked during install

 

[fwebster]

The hose has a Caterpillar part number on it, but I just had my aftercoolers cleaned and while the intake side of the head was disassembled, I ordered all new hoses, hose clamps, thermostat and raditor caps from Caterpillar for the reassembly. That black hose, #126-5882, looks like old stock or aftermarket because the 2018 version is now a blue silicone rubber hose.

My original hose from 1996 looked just like the one in your photo. It lasted 20+ years/1600 hours. The turbocharger to aftercooler hoses are nearly impossibe to change with the aftercooler in place......so, I'm not so sure I'd do anything more than replace t he hose clamps.

 

[dtfeld]

Good to know Frank. Aftercoolers were last checked fall of 2016, so they are due for a look. I'll add that item on the deferred maintenance list to be tackled with aftercoolers.

 

[carterchapman]

And David - Frank has said this before - the CAT parts are a lot cheaper than I imagined they would be...Now if that would just rub off on the Germans at MAN...

 

[Thornton69]

Hopefully not too late to chime in here. Tough to tell by the photo but may be possible that clamp was damaged with a screwdriver when hoses were last replaced and then over tightened. Agree it is an odd place to break.
It appears like there is a fair bit of oil residue coming from your charge air system. Hopefully it is just long time build up trapped due to the position of the piping. May want to keep it in mind while changing them all out and compare to the other engine. Could be an early indicator of a tired turbo.
The hoses between the turbo and cooler are normally the first to fail and can see temps above 300F while under heavy loads. The silicone hoses stand up much better to heat but not abrasion as they are softer. They tend to fluctuate more in diameter with pressure spikes so clearance for that is important.

 

[dtfeld]

Thanks gents.! I used the 2 large zip ties as a temp fix and we left Caladedi Island for Tarpon Springs and motored between idle and 1400 rpm. Took 2 hours to motor about 15 miles, but it worked like a champ!

Gentleman in the next slip was generous enough to drive me to west marine to get a new constant torque clamp and had it installed in 10 minutes.

Friends showed up and we took a nice sunset cruise, and had dinner. Ran the engines up to 2300 rpm and got them up to temp. Purred all the way.

New graphics installed this morning (completely covered up) and have been cleaning and stowing everything as this is our final nite in Florida. I’ll motor around the corner to the marina to be hauled and put on the truck headed to Lake Lanier first thing in the morning.

Watching the final sunset. I’m going to miss this area Thank everyone for the help getting her up to speed. We’ll continue this in Atlanta!