Hand Crank for 3GM30F

system · April 10, 2001, 3:37pm

Hi John,

Yes, I have the 3GM30F. The crank has a 7.5 inch radius. The handle
extends out 6 inches from its attachment at the engine.

I have not tried it since I would have to remove the wood panel
between the base of the engine and the cabin sole. This panel is
not removable without cutting it with a saw.

I spoke to three mechanics before buying it, including the Southeast
US Yanmar factory and rebuild center (Mastry Diesel) in
St. Petersburg FL. They all said it would work. They noted that I
might have to release compression on one of the cylinders if I
wasn’t strong enough. The crank is in the Yanmar parts catalog.

Mark Gearhart
S/V Godspeed

— In bcc@y…, jchurchill@e… wrote:

mark- you mention a hand crank for your yanmar. do you have the
3gm30f? i am considering alternatives to a spare starter ($460).
an
expert sais it was not possible to hand start this engine due to
displacement and compression ratio. any info yopu know? do you
have
a dimension for the hand crank?
thanks
john churchill

system · April 17, 2001, 7:04am

You can hand crank a 3GM30F and live to tell about it… Here is how
you do it…

Engage all three decompression levers, crank the engine up to speed,
quickly while cranking, engage one decompression lever at a time. By
the time you flip the second lever over the engine should start to
catch, quickly flip the third lever and away you go.

This trick works best when both you and your engine are in good
health, good injectors are a must.

He is an alternate method I don’t recommend: Seems one of the
competitors in this years Vende Globe around the world race got water
into the starter and couldn’t get his 3GM30F generator started. He
either forgot to pack his crank handle or could not find it, so he
wrapped a line around his crankshaft pulley and tied it to the boom,
jibing the boat, the boom pulled the rope like a pull starter on your
lawnmower! All it takes is 60 kts of wind and nerves of steel.

If you have diesel questions please send them to:
baymarinediesel@earthlink.net

Marty Chin
Bay Marine Diesel
909 Oak St.
Alameda, CA. 94501
(510) 435-8870

Jeremy · April 17, 2001, 2:02pm

Here’s another trick to start an engine when the batteries have run down. I
did this on a Perkins 4-108. Remove the air filter and cover the air intake
with a strong flat surface, like the bottom of a cooking pot (DON’T use your
hand!). Have someone turn the key while you’re covering the intake. The
batteries should have a much easier time cranking the engine. Remove the
pot and you should have combustion.

Jeremy

-----Original Message-----
From: baymarinediesel@earthlink.net [mailto:baymarinediesel@earthlink.net ]

Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2001 2:04 AM
To: bcc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bcc] Re: Hand Crank for 3GM30F