Boating is.... Manifolds
Boating is....
by boatguy Ed
On my morning constitutional I noticed the "Handy Dandy Dockside Service" truck parked in Indiana Andy's driveway. He is one of the newer members in our beloved "Dead End Canal Yacht Club" and he's from Indiana of course! He brought an 8 year old 30 foot Barslammer down with him several years ago and has kept it on a lift ever since.
He's a bit of a know it all. The members never really took him under our wings, nice fellow though! His wife makes Swedish meatballs for our club meetings and they are a big hit! On my second round trip I saw 'Jeff the dockside mechanic' putting his tools in his truck and said hello. I'd forgotten that I once wrote unkindly words about the skill level of 'some' dockside mechanics in a recent column. His chilly reception reminded me.
"Up and at it early this morning," I said in a glancing way because I intended to keep moving.
I'm not sure if he'd rehearsed his reply or not but it had the sting of a well thought comment. "I thought your club took care of it's members..."
"Huh? What, what do you mean?" My reaction wasn't well thought out or rehearsed. "What's your point?"
"Someone should have told your new member that inboard/outboard boats should be checked regularly for worn out manifolds, risers and such," quipped Jeff reaching for his invoice pad. I knew that instrument of danger all to well because I had him do some work for me a few yeas ago.
"Sea water in the oil," I asked fearing almost the worst.
"The starboard engine is froze solid. It was giving him trouble on the way in but he ran it home anyway," Jeff said with a leering glint in his eye.
I knew the scenario all to well. I could understand it if he was a single engine vessel but he had two. Granted, limping home on one engine isn't fun but if he had any hope of saving the starboard engine he should have shut it down immediately. When engines start acting up it usually means bad fuel or it is over heating which will make it miss and smoke. Bad fuel is no problem or should I say not nearly as much of a problem as overheating. Ingesting sea water into the oil system is akin to sinking a hot motor.
The cooling system on an I/O engine can be raw water up to the heat exchanger or a type of enclosed radiator system. The sea water side is eaten away at a fairly predictable rate because the metal is poor but thick. Five years in Florida salt water is pushing your luck and inspecting the outside for tell tale signs of impending doom isn't help much. The only really definitive check is the ecostly removal of the elbows and riser that make up the exhaust system slash heat exchanger.
A flash light and a probe is all it takes to determine the potential longevity of the cast iron parts. I've always said that once removed they should be replaced despite their condition because if you are sufficiently suspicious replacing them will let you get a good night's sleep. They make stainless steel sets which are very expensive but they will outlast the rest of the boat.
There are myriad of flushing products that promises to remove rust scale and coat the inside of the drive and heat exchanger but they are just band-aids. I guess if you started using them from the beginning it would help but after the corrosion starts it is a little too late! Don't get me wrong everything corrodes in salt water including stainless.
"I was told to ask you," said Andy. Who told you to ask me? "Jeff from Handy said you'd know the process for changing out the motor!" Did he really? I wondered if it was my time to make up to him but I needed to hear Jeff's proposal.
"He is going to replace the starboard engine with the exact same engine if he can but he isn't to confidant. He thinks that both engines might have to be replaced to match them up," said Andy.
"Have Jeff pull the starboard engine and send it off to a re-manufacturer for an estimate. While you're waiting have him pull the manifolds off the port engine. Go slow with this and have the best people work on the engine. I wouldn't run out and buy 2 engines without checking out the first one. As far as Jeff goes he is capable wrench who can pull the engines, swap out parts and reinstall the new or rebuilt engine but I'd get a second and probably a third opinion about everything else!"
I'm pretty sure Andy is going to get a new engine, short or long block to be determined! Remember, if it's running hot - shut it off! That's why we have towing insurance! Boat Safe.
Boating is.. by boatguy Ed Manifolds
by boatguy Ed
On my morning constitutional I noticed the "Handy Dandy Dockside Service" truck parked in Indiana Andy's driveway. He is one of the newer members in our beloved "Dead End Canal Yacht Club" and he's from Indiana of course! He brought an 8 year old 30 foot Barslammer down with him several years ago and has kept it on a lift ever since.
He's a bit of a know it all. The members never really took him under our wings, nice fellow though! His wife makes Swedish meatballs for our club meetings and they are a big hit! On my second round trip I saw 'Jeff the dockside mechanic' putting his tools in his truck and said hello. I'd forgotten that I once wrote unkindly words about the skill level of 'some' dockside mechanics in a recent column. His chilly reception reminded me.
"Up and at it early this morning," I said in a glancing way because I intended to keep moving.
I'm not sure if he'd rehearsed his reply or not but it had the sting of a well thought comment. "I thought your club took care of it's members..."
"Huh? What, what do you mean?" My reaction wasn't well thought out or rehearsed. "What's your point?"
"Someone should have told your new member that inboard/outboard boats should be checked regularly for worn out manifolds, risers and such," quipped Jeff reaching for his invoice pad. I knew that instrument of danger all to well because I had him do some work for me a few yeas ago.
"Sea water in the oil," I asked fearing almost the worst.
"The starboard engine is froze solid. It was giving him trouble on the way in but he ran it home anyway," Jeff said with a leering glint in his eye.
I knew the scenario all to well. I could understand it if he was a single engine vessel but he had two. Granted, limping home on one engine isn't fun but if he had any hope of saving the starboard engine he should have shut it down immediately. When engines start acting up it usually means bad fuel or it is over heating which will make it miss and smoke. Bad fuel is no problem or should I say not nearly as much of a problem as overheating. Ingesting sea water into the oil system is akin to sinking a hot motor.
The cooling system on an I/O engine can be raw water up to the heat exchanger or a type of enclosed radiator system. The sea water side is eaten away at a fairly predictable rate because the metal is poor but thick. Five years in Florida salt water is pushing your luck and inspecting the outside for tell tale signs of impending doom isn't help much. The only really definitive check is the ecostly removal of the elbows and riser that make up the exhaust system slash heat exchanger.
A flash light and a probe is all it takes to determine the potential longevity of the cast iron parts. I've always said that once removed they should be replaced despite their condition because if you are sufficiently suspicious replacing them will let you get a good night's sleep. They make stainless steel sets which are very expensive but they will outlast the rest of the boat.
There are myriad of flushing products that promises to remove rust scale and coat the inside of the drive and heat exchanger but they are just band-aids. I guess if you started using them from the beginning it would help but after the corrosion starts it is a little too late! Don't get me wrong everything corrodes in salt water including stainless.
"I was told to ask you," said Andy. Who told you to ask me? "Jeff from Handy said you'd know the process for changing out the motor!" Did he really? I wondered if it was my time to make up to him but I needed to hear Jeff's proposal.
"He is going to replace the starboard engine with the exact same engine if he can but he isn't to confidant. He thinks that both engines might have to be replaced to match them up," said Andy.
"Have Jeff pull the starboard engine and send it off to a re-manufacturer for an estimate. While you're waiting have him pull the manifolds off the port engine. Go slow with this and have the best people work on the engine. I wouldn't run out and buy 2 engines without checking out the first one. As far as Jeff goes he is capable wrench who can pull the engines, swap out parts and reinstall the new or rebuilt engine but I'd get a second and probably a third opinion about everything else!"
I'm pretty sure Andy is going to get a new engine, short or long block to be determined! Remember, if it's running hot - shut it off! That's why we have towing insurance! Boat Safe.
Boating is.. by boatguy Ed Manifolds
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