Temperature climbing under way
Raw water flow has dropped. Impeller, a blocked strainer, growth in the heat exchanger, a closed seacock or a failing pump. It is usually one of five things and all of them are findable.
Marine · St. Johns River · Intracoastal
Marine Diesel RepairSame engine. Different water.
Boat diesel engines and gensets on the St. Johns, the Intracoastal and on the trailer. Overheating, raw water cooling faults, fuel contamination, hard starting and the leaks that only show up under way.
Phone answered 24/7. Based in St Johns, working fifteen towns across eleven counties.
Dockside
Or on the trailer
Cooling
Raw water specialists
Land + Marine
Same techs
24/7
Phone answered
What this is
Marine Diesel Repair across Northeast Florida.
A marine diesel is close cousin to the engine in a loader. Same combustion, same fuel system logic, same failure modes in the bottom end. What is different is everything around it: raw water cooling instead of a radiator, a wet exhaust, salt or brackish water attacking every connection, and an engine room that was designed by somebody who never had to reach the back of it.
That combination is why boats around here get stuck between two kinds of shop. The land equipment outfits do not want the water, and plenty of marinas are set up for outboards and gas engines rather than a Cummins or a Yanmar under a hatch. We do both sides, which is the other half of the name on the truck.
The work is mostly cooling, fuel and electrical, in that order. Impellers, heat exchangers, exhaust elbows, growth in the raw water side, water or diesel bug in the tanks, corroded grounds and charging faults. Engine work happens too, and the honest answer on a major engine job is often that the boat needs to come to a yard.
Overheating is the one to take seriously. A marine diesel that runs hot for a short time cooks an impeller and an exhaust elbow. Run hot for longer and it takes the head and the turbo with it. If the alarm sounds, shut it down.
At a glance
- Service
- Marine Diesel Repair
- Where
- On site and in the shop
- Phone
- (904) 496-2937
- Hours
- Answered 24/7
- Base
- St Johns, FL 32259
- Coverage
- 15 towns, 11 counties
Diagnostics
What we get called for
Six things we hear on the phone most weeks, and what each one usually turns out to be.
Little or no water at the exhaust
The classic warning. Something in the raw water circuit is not passing flow. Shutting down promptly here is the difference between an impeller and an engine.
Hard starting or will not start
Fuel supply, air in the system, a tired lift pump, dying batteries or corroded connections. On boats the electrical side is guilty far more often than on land machines.
Rough running, smoke or lost power
Fuel contamination, plugged filters, injectors, a fouled exhaust elbow restricting the engine or a turbo giving up. Wet exhaust systems carbon up and choke engines quietly.
Water where it should not be
Coolant loss, oil that looks like a milkshake, or water in a cylinder. Heat exchanger, exhaust riser or a head gasket. This one needs looking at before the next trip, not after it.
Genset that will not carry load
Cooling, fuel or governor. A generator that starts fine and drops out under load is a different diagnosis to one that will not start at all.
The work
How a marine call goes
Where is the boat
Dockside, on a lift, on a trailer or in a yard. Access changes what is possible and what it costs, so it is the first question.
Check the raw water circuit first
Seacock, strainer, impeller, hoses, heat exchanger, exhaust elbow. Most overheating complaints end somewhere in that list.
Fuel and filters
Water, growth and debris in the tanks are everyday problems on boats that sit. Filter condition tells you a lot before anything is opened.
Electrical and grounds
Salt air eats connections. Voltage drop testing on starting and charging circuits catches faults that look like a dead engine.
Repair with the right materials
Marine grade fasteners, hoses and terminals. Fitting an automotive part in a wet engine room is a repair with a short life.
Run it and load it
Temperatures, exhaust flow, charging voltage and behaviour under load, checked before we leave. A boat that failed on the water has to be proven on the water.
Equipment
What we bring to a boat
- Impellers, gaskets and cooling spares
- Fuel filters and polishing gear
- Infrared thermometer for cooling diagnosis
- Diagnostic laptop and adapters
- Marine grade wire, terminals and heat shrink
- Hose, clamps and marine fittings
- Compression and pressure test equipment
Tell us the engine before we come. Marine engines vary far more than equipment engines and parts availability is the whole ballgame. Make, model and serial number in the first phone call saves you a second visit.
Coverage
What we work on.
Machines and engines
Inboard dieselsSailboat auxiliariesMarine gensetsTrawler enginesSportfish enginesWorkboat enginesPontoon and cruiser dieselsCommercial vessels
Systems and components
Raw water coolingHeat exchangersImpellers and pumpsExhaust elbows and risersFuel systemsStarting and chargingTransmissions and couplingsAlarms and gauges
Mobile versus hauling it in
What a haul to the shop really costs you.
The repair bill is the part everybody looks at. It is usually not the expensive part. Run your own numbers down this list before you call a hauler.
| Line item | Haul it to a shop | Mobile repair on site |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | Lowboy both ways, plus a permit if it is oversize | None |
| Loading time | Machine and operator tied up on both ends | None |
| Crew downtime | Days, not hours, and they are still on payroll | Hours in most cases |
| Schedule | You wait for a hauler and then a shop slot | You wait for one truck |
| Rental replacement | Often needed to keep the job moving | Usually not |
| Liquidated damages | Possible if the job has a completion date | Usually avoided |
Some jobs are still shop jobs. A crank that needs to come out is not getting
done in the sand no matter who tells you otherwise. The point is that most of them are not that job, and
nobody should be hauling a machine across the county for a hose, a sensor or a starter.
How a call goes
How mobile equipment repair works.
STEP 01
You call
Tell us the machine, the symptom and where it sits. We ask a few questions so the right parts come with us.
STEP 02
We tell you straight
Field job or shop job, and roughly when we can be there. If we are too far out to help today, you hear it on the first call.
STEP 03
We diagnose on site
Pressures, codes, readings. You get the actual cause and a number before a wrench turns on the repair.
STEP 04
Back to work
We fix it, test it under load and clean up. You get told what failed and what to watch so it does not happen twice.
Emergency heavy equipment repair?
Call. Do not fill in a form and wait. The phone is answered around the clock and you will get an honest answer on that first call about whether we can reach you in time to do any good.
Have this ready when you call
- Make and model of the machine, truck or engine
- What it is doing, in your own words
- Any codes showing on the dash
- Where it sits and how a service truck gets to it
- Whether it can be moved at all
- A number that gets answered on site
Questions we get
Marine Diesel Repair questions.
Do you come to the boat, or does it have to come out?
We come to the boat. Dockside, on a lift or on the trailer, depending on the job and the access. Some major engine work is better done with the boat in a yard and we will say so.
What waters do you cover?
The St. Johns River and the Intracoastal around Jacksonville, Julington Creek, Mandarin and St. Augustine, and boats on trailers anywhere in our service area. Call and tell us where it is.
My engine is overheating. What is the most likely cause?
Raw water flow. Impeller, blocked strainer, closed seacock, growth in the heat exchanger or a failing pump. If the alarm goes off, shut it down. Running a marine diesel hot for even a short time damages parts you cannot see.
Do you work on marine gensets?
Yes. Starting faults, cooling problems, fuel issues and units that run fine until they are asked to carry load.
Can you sort out water or growth in my fuel?
Yes. Filtration, polishing and finding where the water is getting in, which is usually a deck fill seal, a vent or condensation in a tank that sits half empty.
Do you work on outboards or gas engines?
No. Diesel is what we do, on land and on the water. If you have an outboard we will point you at somebody rather than pretend.
Why do marine engines have so many electrical problems?
Salt air, vibration and a wet environment attacking every connection, plus grounds that live in a damp bilge. It is the single most common source of faults that get blamed on the engine itself.
What information do you need when I call?
Engine make, model and serial number, what the boat is doing, and where it sits. Marine parts availability varies enormously by engine, so those three things decide whether we can finish the job in one visit.
Related services
Marine and land diesel share most of their failures. These are the related pages.
Where we do this work
Machine down
Call it in and get a truck rolling.
Tell us the machine, the symptom and where it sits. If we can help, you will know on the first call. If we cannot get to you in time to do any good, we will say that too.
(904) 496-2937
East Coast Diesel & Marine
Mobile heavy equipment, diesel and marine repair
Serving Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia
Based in St Johns, FL 32259
(904) 496-2937 · eastcoastdiesel904@gmail.com
Hours: phone answered 24 hours, 7 days
Mobile heavy equipment, diesel and marine repair
Serving Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia
Based in St Johns, FL 32259
(904) 496-2937 · eastcoastdiesel904@gmail.com
Hours: phone answered 24 hours, 7 days