I need some wisdom/guidance on a Westerbeke 4.5...

Stee6043

Well-Known Member
Jun 1, 2015
6,706
West Michigan
Boat Info
1997 Sundancer 400
Engines
7.4L Gassers
Of the three years I've owned my Westerbeke I've only had one year of pain-free use, and that was last year. I'm thinking about replacing it with a Honda on my swim platform!!! (joking, kinda, maybe).

At any rate - I finally threw in the towel and called in the pros this Spring. And it's still not running. Prior to calling on my marina I had replaced the oil in the governor, changed the fuel filter and cleaned the arrestor. Regular maintenance last year included impellor, oil, belts, etc. This spring the generator would start hard, run for up to an hour, then stop. Very hard to restart.

Marina Try # 1 - they changed rotor, cap, plugs and wires. They also rewired my "main 10 pin connector" since it was badly worn they said. They claim "it's fixed". I proceed to run it for an hour, perfect, turn it off and it will not restart. Can smell fuel when trying to restart.

Marina Try # 2 - they adjust the idle and say the choke was sticking, indicate it's "all set now". I proceed to run it for an hour, starts a little weird, a touch of backfiring, shut it down later and then it will not start again. Still smelling fuel when trying to restart.

Marine Try # 3 - I don't know exactly what they did (yet) but this past weekend it started okay, ran for 30 minutes and then started "nearly quitting" but would always catch itself at very low RPM and then return to normal speed. This dip in RPM was occurring every 2-3 minutes until I finally shut it off. Tried to restart an hour later - will not start. Can't smell fuel this time but it was a bit windy.

I am starting to wonder if it needs a carb rebuild or something? I'm about done investing money in it this year but I am curious if the CSR folks have any suggestions for winter projects for me. I really just want the thing to work!!!! Ugh....

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
I'm no expert but it does sound like the carb needs to be rebuilt....

good luck....

cliff
 
I had two problems with mine that exhibited similar symptoms

1. Governor needed to be rebuilt. After starting the generator it would run fine for a while under load. While sitting in the engine compartment, I could hear the various electrical demands change the RPMs of the generator. It all seemed to be working fine until there was hardly any load on the generator.

For instance, I normally run the AC, water heater, AC Converter and refrigerator. Once the AC and water heater shut off leaving only the battery charger and refrigerator drawing current, the generator would over rev and shut itself down as part of an over speed fault. It would run for an hour sometimes, 30 minutes others and shutdown the same way each time with the generator revving up and then shutting itself down. Rebuilding the Governor solved this issue.

2. Choke Solenoid sticking. I noticed sometimes it would take me several minutes and a lot of cranking to get the generator started. I also smelled fuel and thought it was a carburetor/fuel pump issue. Removing the flame arrester allowed me to watch the choke open/close when holding the preheat button. Sometimes it would snap shut all the way, others it would close more than 75% but not all the way. Closing the butterfly with my finger allowed it to start right up.

I installed a new choke solenoid and it starts up right away. While I was there I also lubed up the linkage between the carburetor and the governor. While not excessively gummed up, it did look like at times it was hanging up as I watched the generator adjust for different loads.

Both of these items were crucial to having a smooth running generator.
 
Electric fuel pumps are common for overheating and shutting down. Take the old one to NAPA or similar, they should have replacement for $40.00 range
 
How many hours? These have adjustable valves.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far. She's got about 600 hours so not a "lot". I'm frustrated that my repairs weren't working and now the pro's are struggling.

I really don't want to invest thousands into this thing. I found the Westerbeke replacement carb this morning. At $1500 it's more even than I could have imagined. I'd bet a valve job would be a fair number of hours at $100+ per hour.

At some point I'd certainly be better off saving up and buying a new rig entirely. Pouring $1500 a year into this while I trouble shoot will quickly become a loss leader. Such a bummer.
 
I'd try to get a Westerbeke tech on the phone and ask for some direction.

If the replacement carb is really $1500, a proper rebuild would be far, far less and if done right, just as good. Take a deep breath, that 4.5 is not terribly complicated. In all likelihood, it is something simple. Even the valve adjustments are straight forward if access is good.
 
just keep the prize in sight if/when you get it fixed....I ran my genny yesterday for about 3.5 hrs. while out slow speed cruising....I had to keep checking a fan in the cockpit to see if the genny was running since it is so quiet....it was nice to have the cabin AC running also so the passengers could get out of the tough summer heat we had going on in this area this past WE if they wanted to....

cliff
 
At least have the governor sent out to be looked at. The rebuild on mine was $350 + shipping. If it doesn't need to be rebuilt you're only out a few bucks for the shipping. I had the exact same thing happening on mine.
 
Your generator is powered by a Daihatsu engine. If you do some internet research you can probably find a carb and bypass WB.
 
At least have the governor sent out to be looked at. The rebuild on mine was $350 + shipping. If it doesn't need to be rebuilt you're only out a few bucks for the shipping. I had the exact same thing happening on mine.
who did you send your govnor out for rebuild? Mine is slowly leaking oil.
 

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