MAN B&W Diesel A/S

Service Letter SL03-418/JOF

January 2003

MC/MC-C/MC-S engines
Slide Fuel Valves, Pressure Test and Overhaul
Action Code: WHEN CONVENIENT

Dear Sirs

Slide fuel valves are standard on our 46 to 98-cm bore engines and, from January
2003, the 26, 35 and 42 bore engines will be specified with slide valves as standard.

The slide fuel valves have been in service for some years on large bore engines, and
as a result of the feedback received from the ship operators, we find it appropriate to
emphasize the testing and overhaul procedures contained in the instruction book.

The information contained in this new service letter is also valid for conventional types
of fuel valves, except for the details regarding nozzle and cut-off shaft.

As an example, the full description of the overhaul and test procedures for a K98 type
engine is enclosed, together with a CD-ROM with a video recording of the complete
overhaul and test procedures (regarding instructions for other engine types, please
contact MAN B&W Diesel Service in Copenhagen, Denmark).

Special attention should be given to the following:

1) Do not perform the atomising test on slide fuel valves (i.e. the test where the
pressure in the test device is raised to 800 bar and suddenly released to the fuel
valve). In the test device, the needle lift is only a few percent of the normal needle
lift, and the pressure drop across the slide is large. Consequently, the contact
pressure between slide and fuel nozzle is high. Furthermore, the needle will
oscillate at a high frequency. A small needle lift and, consequently, maximum
pressure, in combination with the relatively thin oil used for pressure testing,
increases the risk of seizure between slide and nozzle. These conditions are by
nature very far from the actual working conditions in the engine, where a stable
needle lift is always seen, even at very low load.

HEAD OFFICE (& Postal address)
Teglholmsgade 41
DK-2450 Copenhagen SV
Telephone: +45 33 85 11 00
Telex: 16592 manbw dk
Telefax: +45 33 85 10 30
E-mail: manbw@manbw.dk
http://www.manbw.dk
DIESEL SERVICE
Teglholmsgade 41
DK-2450 Copenhagen SV
Telephone: +45 33 85 11 00
Telex: 31197 manbw dk
Telefax: +45 33 85 10 49
E-mail: diesel-service@manbw.dk
PRODUCTION FORWARDING MAN B&W Diesel A/S
Teglholmsgade 35 Teglholmsgade 35 Denmark
DK-2450 Copenhagen SV DK-2450 Copenhagen SV CVR.No.: 39 66 13 14
Telephone: +45 33 85 11 00 Telephone: +45 33 85 11 00
Telex: 19023 manfw dk Telex: 19023 manfw dk
Telex: 19042 manfw dk Telex: 19042 manfw dk
Telefax: +45 33 85 10 17 Telefax: +45 33 85 10 16
E-mail: manufacturing/copenhagen@manbw.dk
 2

2) Opening pressure testing requires cleaning of valve nozzle bore and cut-off
shaft. When pressure testing slide fuel valves, a reliable opening pressure can only
be achieved after cleaning the nozzle and the cut-off shaft. If this is not done, the
fuel valve opening pressure will be equal to the closing pressure, which is only
approx. 55% of the correct opening pressure, i.e. typically the opening pressure
would be approx. 200 bar.

The reason is that carbon and stiffened fuel oil will prevent the valve from closing
fully on the needle seat, i.e. when pressurising the valve, an oil pressure will
simultaneously build up in the nozzle. This pressure will tend to lift the cut-off shaft,
thus reducing the opening pressure. On an engine where the fuel and the nozzle
are hot, this phenomenon, of course, does not occur.

3) Oil is not always ejected from all nozzle holes during pressure testing.
Sometimes, oil will only be ejected from one, two or three nozzle holes. The reason
for this is the complex geometry at the nozzle holes, i.e. not all nozzle holes have
the lower edge at exactly the same vertical position. This means that the very small
needle lift in the pressure testing device is not always sufficient to uncover all
holes.

4) The TBO for the slide valve is 8,000 hours, at which time the fuel nozzle itself
should be replaced. The spindle guide, including cut-off shaft and fuel nozzle
should be replaced after 16,000 hours.

5) The spring housing for mounting the fuel valve on the cylinder cover should be
replaced by a new type with higher spring force on some engine types.
60, 70, 80, 90 and 98MC-C should be provided with the new, stronger spring
housings, whereas 50 and 60MC can use the original spring housings.

As a rule of thumb, the fuel valve has correct functioning if the sealing test and the
opening pressure test can be performed with acceptable results. For the full
description, please refer to the overhaul and pressure test instructions which are
enclosed in both a paper version and on the CD-ROM.

Questions or comments regarding this SL should be directed to our Dept. 2433.

Yours faithfully
MAN B&W Diesel A/S

Carl-Erik Egeberg Thomas S Knudsen

Encl.:
Procedure M90911, edition 0226
Procedure M90912, edition 0219
CD-ROM with video instruction