Westmead Hospital Secondary Hydrant Pump Engine Replacement due to internal failure.

BACKGROUND

On investigation it was found that the heat exchanger for the cooling system was completely empty of coolant and was topped up with around 8 litres of water.

The oil level was extremely high and oil very discoloured and milky. This indicates ingress of water into the oil sump of the engine.

This will indicate an internal mechanical failure of components. Possibly a damaged head gasket, piston or cylinder bore.

Complete diagnosis would not be able to be done unless engine is stripped and cleaned, which would involve considerable labour costs.

Exhaust system on the pump set is only 2 inch diameter and the engine is a 61kW. This may have been a contributing factor to the failure of the engine, as this exhaust is too small and would be restricting gas flow from engine, in turn, causing extra heat and stress on engine.

It appears more economical to fully replace engine, as labour and machining costs may easily outweigh cost of new engine. Also condition of all components would not be known until engine disassembled.