Product Description

This densely illustrated, hands-on guide to diesel engine maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair renders its subject more user-friendly than ever before. Finally, boatowners who grew up with gas engines can set aside their fears about tinkering with diesels, which are safer and increasingly more prevalent. As in other volumes in the International Marine Sailboat Library, every step of every procedure is illustrated, so that users can work from the illustrations alone. The troubleshooting charts in the second chapter--probably the most comprehensive ever published--are followed by system-specific chapters, allowing readers to quickly diagnose problems, then turn to the chapter with solutions. Diesel engine systems covered include: mechanical; oil; fresh- and raw-water cooling; low- and high-pressure fuel; exhaust; starting; charging; transmission and stern gear.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #125368 in Books
• Published on: 1997-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 173 pages

From the Back Cover
Diesel Troubleshooting By The Pictures--It's Never Been This Easy Before. This simple, hands-on guide to practical diesel engine care makes repair and maintenance more user-firendly than ever before. Now, even boatowners who grew up with gas engines can set aside theirs fears about tinkering with diesels.

About the Author
Peter Compton's dream of bluewater cruising finally became reality when, after 20 years in the Aerospace industry, he quit his job in 1986 to build a small catamaran and sail south with his family in search of sun and sand. Some 11 years and 20,000 miles later, the Comptons have settled in the British Virgin Islands. With a background in troubleshooting that includes several years as Engineering Department Head analyzing complex system designs, Peter now applies these skills to the marine diesels he deals with every day. Peter's current project is an independent and informative website that covers every aspect of marine diesels. Visit it at www.boatdiesel.com.

Customer Reviews

Think like a Diesel Mechanic!!!!
When you read this book you suddenly realise that diesel engines are extremely reasonable creatures that behave or misbehave for reasons that are usually very predictable.

The main problem with owning a diesel engine is that you can pay a "diesel" mechanic a lot of money for him to find the cause of a problem,and then pay a lot more for to fix it.

The whole process can be made a lot cheaper and quicker with this book as it explains, in simple english, how to troubleshoot your way from the symptom back to its most likely cause.

So even if you don't intend to do any of the work yourself, Trouble Shooting Marine Diesels puts you on a resonably equal information-footing with a mechanic and stops them exploiting your ignorance in order to pay for their childrens' college education.

Compton's book is great!
I didn't know anything about diesels before I bought my 41ft Morgan -but at $50 an hour for a mechanic I thought I'd have a go. I bought this book because it claimed to cover maintenance and troubleshooting in depth but with easy to follow diagrams.

My first job was to solve an annoying smoky exhaust. The local mechanic suggested I needed to replace my aging Perkins and was quoting over $10,000, but after following Compton's excellent troubleshooting chapter I quickly narrowed it down to defective injectors nozzles which I had a shop replace for less than $200 !!!. I've since rebuilt the raw water pump, cleaned the heat exchanger and cooling system, and next I'm going to tackle installing the charge booster to improve output on my alternator.

Compton's book is great! It specializes in the topic is well laid out and with all those graphics is very easy to follow. What's more it doesn't get sidetracked into stuff that's no use to me when I'm trying to get my boat going! A great do-it-yourself book that I can truly recommend to any and everyone who's got a diesel engine in their boat.

Not the best but pretty good
Ok- I think Nigel Calders book is better- but I like this book to. The writer has a good style. I particularly like the troubleshooting checklists, that are orgainized from most likely cause to least likely. Also has some good decision making flow charts. I think there is a lot of practical information here presented in an easy to read style. It is one of the two diesel books I always refer to. Would I buy again? YES