Poor oil quality

During the seventies, the oil crises occurred, causing bad and contaminated fuel to be delivered to the merchant fleet. The poor quality of fuel resulted in failure of the fuel equipment especially fuel valves and pumps seized and jammed.
This resulted in a large market demand for fuel equipment, which the manufacturers were unable to deliver within required time frames.
The ship owners were desperate for their ships to sail continuously, as the off hire was very expensive. With their backs against the wall, some were forced to find other solutions in order to avoid the extensive delivery time.

The reconditioning procedure

PJ Diesel started the reconditioning process with the production of a new oversize plunger and honing of the barrels. The plungers are hardened under the same procedures as new original produced plungers. The small difference in diameter once the honing procedure is complete, is almost non-measurable.
The fuel valves were lapped on all sealing surfaces and the nozzle renewed if possible - in some cases the supply was not possible and reconditioning of the nozzles were required in order to comply with owners requirements and demand. This was done by replacing the needle, machining and lapping of the seats. All injection holes were then indicated, of course only if the repair was possible and injector holes not burned beyond repair. 

How not to do..

Being in the market of reconditioning fuel pumps was not easy – Ship owners were desperate and some suppliers saw the opportunity of making fast money. It was attempted to recondition by machining and chroming of plungers. It was soon very clear that chroming would not last long term, and this was only one of many different attempts to recondition. Many fuel nozzle producers had their golden days, but drive for profit caused the quality of the material used to be lowered substantially, sometimes resulting in.....   

Today

We are offering reconditioning for more than 400 different fuel pumps for both two and four stroke engines. The plunger & barrel are specifically adjusted to the type of fuel used onboard the vessel or in the powerplant.
By today’s modern reconditioning processes, it is economically feasible and possible to gain both reduced maintenance cost and the same lifetime as a new plunger & barrel.
The cost of having defect fuel valves is too high, so consequently the demand for testing and calibrating is very high.