Volvo over reving

I have friend with a 3 cylinder volvo diesel in her sailboat. Boat hasn't been run much in the 3 years since her husband passed away. It starts quickly but if you move the throttle even a faction of an inch off idle the motor just races to maximum rpm, Maybe even pass max rpm. I think that there might be something wrong with the governor. But that is just a guess on my part.
I have asked her for the model of the engine and as soon as I get it I will provide it.
Anybody run into this problem with a volvo diesel? Thanks for your help.
Chuck

 

Sounds like a fuel injector pump problem.

Send the pump off for service. Its worthwhile and always neglected but boat owners.

 

Put the boat in the water , and the prop load may show a big difference.

At least get 10 hours of wet motoring before ripping into the fuel system.

It takes a dealer to reinstall the injection pump timing , big bucks.

 

Naturally you should check the throttle cable linkage...perhaps something is fishy

 

The boat is in Mexico and there are no volvo dealers. Plenty of places to get the injection pump checked out and repaired if that is necessary. I would assume that the injection pump is marked just like my perkins so you can take it out and put it back in without having to reset the timing. I will mention it to her to check for a timing mark on the pump before removing it and to make a mark if there isn't one. She is going through a huge learning curve because her husband handled all of the engine related issues before he died.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Chuck

 

Get the service manual...it tells all. Injector pumps must be bench serviced by a Pro.

removal and remounting is not difficult. I dont know Volvo . The pump is marked on all engine Ive dealt with.

In the end a diesel is the heart of a modern sailboat. Pro service is worthwhile

 

VOLVO in Da BOOK calls for the timing to be set with a "willibar tube" or something similar.

Doesn't sound like the type of item found in the back of a Mexicam mechanics pick up truck.

 

What do you call "over-revving" ? Can you provide the maximum RPMs the engine gets?

 

Check the return fuel line for an obstruction.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am passing them along to my friend.
As far as worrying about a mex mechanic working out of the back of his pickup you can find that type of individual even in the USA and probably most other countries. No need for that in Southern Baja. La Paz and Consitucion are huge farming communities and trucking centers and there are several state of the art facilities that do nothing but work on diesel fuel injection pumps and injectors. So getting the pump serviced is not a problem.

 

As slow fred said- check the return line. We had a Cummins 555 do this once because someone shut off the fuel return line valve at the tank.
Air in the fuel supply can create trouble too.

 

Pinching the fuel return line is an old truckers trick to force more power out of a diesel.

 

So getting the pump serviced is not a problem.

Getting it timed on the reinstall IS the problem.

 

There are two Volvo Penta engine series with three-cylinder engines; the 2000-series and the older and heavier MDIII. Both have separate injector pump elements for each cylinder, so there is not a common pump unit that can be ripped off the engine, as suggested by some here. Do not remove the pump elements from the block, the problem is not found there, and each pump housing has to be shimmed when remounting.

The symtoms seem to indicate a sticking governor, or defect balancing springs. It all hides under a cover at "camshaft level" and is not too tricky to check. If you google "Volvo Penta 2003 manual" or "Volvo Penta 2003 governor", there are some scanned workshop manuals floating around. First, of course make shure which of the engines you are dealing with.......

 

It is a Bosch injection system, so you can find the information from them too.