Hoping to run an A4 this season

[Daddy M]

Greetings from Kingston, Ontario

Tartan 30 sitting dry for too long, ready other than the engine to sail. Engine has sat idle for 6~7 yrs. Reported (but not witnessed) running before that.
First quick inspection on boxing day. Took starter off & easily turned flywheel. Can then crank engine at pulley/alternator with plugs out. Next step: compression test. Am worried about the water pump impeller being toast if I can get it running, can I put pressurized water through the system to cool it?
Ignition I can make work, but would go for electronic as soon as I confirm a running engine.

[Dave Neptune]

Next step?

Daddy, don't worry about the enitial compression readings on an engine that has set that long. If you have a little compression in all cylinders go ahead and try to start. Those numbers will rise after you run her for a few hours. You can run the A-4 for a bit without water just to see if it runs, as the A-4 is very resilliant to overheating.
Caution on hooking up a hose to cool the beastie, don't turn on the water until it is running or you can get water into the cylinders by filling the exhaust/muffler etc while trying to start. The water will run in through the exhaust valves.
The block could indeed be in dire need of flushing and until you have the pump rworking it will be hard to determine unless you tear the engine down,don't bother yet. A good first check is to remove the water exit fitting on the exhaust manifold and inspect visually for restrictive KRAP under the fitting.
Advise: go for the electronic ignition if you get her running, definately worth the investment.

Welcome to the forum, any info you need will pop up here as well as guidence for what you don't understand. I was told that my motor was not worth rebuilding ie totally shot 26 years ago by a recomended mechanic(?). My A-4 was rusted tight and needed a dead blow hammer just to get the pistons to move, I cleaned out the rusted block and she has not "not got me there" since! An amazing little motor indeed.

Dave Neptune

[sastanley]

new impeller

DaddyM,
Impellers are cheap and readily available..put in a new one before you try to start...if the old one fails, pieces may get in the engine = bigger headache. Once the engine is running, open the cooling water supply or stuff the intake hose in a bucket..as Dave noted, long cranking will back up cooling water into the motor..it is OK to run it for 30 seconds or so without water..but I personally wouldn't do it much longer that that, however, it is OK to get it running then worry about cooling water.

The second thing I would do is squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil (hereafter known as MMO) in each cylinder thru the spark plug holes and turn the engine over...this can help break up krud in the cylinders, and lube up the valves. This was key to getting a sticky valve to start working for me.

And also everything Dave Neptune said..he's been keeping his engine running longer than I've been alive.

P.S. > It is OK to go sailing without a motor too..that's why we have that stick

[roadnsky]

Look at Shawn with the heretofore!
Nice!

[rheaton]

You might also want to think about replaceing your fuel filter.

[sastanley]

I knew you'd like that one Jerry.

Oh...and welcome to the Moyer forum, DaddyM..the experts here will help you get it running..the rest of us will just throw in our random $0.02 as necessary.

[Daddy M]

Thanks all

Very glad to have found this pool of resources.
Impeller falling apart as soon as I cranked was indeed one of my concerns, hence the question about "garden hose" cooling. Not very familiar with water lift muffler systems, this is my first inboard.
Should I just hope the carb isn't all gummed up? I still need to see how available parts are locally. MMO seems to have disapeared in Canada, shame.
I imagine I'll end up making a small wish list & order from MMI:
fuel filter, impeller, MMO
Any other "must haves" to justify the shipping cost?

[Administrator]

Using that water hose

There is a huge issue about some variation of pushing water through the engine under pressure with a garden hose. I forget the details, but absolutely sit tight on that until one of the guys steps up and clarifies this.

Bill

[ndutton]

I agree, HUGE ISSUE = likely disaster. Regardless of the minutiae of cooling passage details, ultimately the very real risk (likelihood) of overfilling the aqualift and backwashing into the exhaust makes the attempt ill-advised.

I'd suggest removing the impeller before going through the starting exercise. If you get the engine to fire you can shut down, install a new impeller and cool it normally (bucket or through hull) while you dial it in. This way you don't risk an engine flood or an old impeller disintegration.

[Dave Neptune]

Start it!

Daddy, since the motor has sat for so long and you have no idea as to what is going on inside other than you can spin it. Go ahead and lube the cylinders a bit with MMO or even WD-40 and give her a spin on the starter without the plugs installed. If you don't hear any bad noises disconnect the water after the pump and try to start. Ah hint, open the plug gap to .045/050 for trying to start as the plugs will be less prone to fowl from the oil and KRAP in the cylinders only during the initial start-up process. Close them back down after you get it to run a bit. When it starts if it starts listen for major clanking and if she just sounds like a motor running (not necessarily smooth) shut it down and then work on getting some water to it. You can run for a few minutes before anything will get to hot. If she starts now will be the time to start the serious work on getting the beastie ready for many more years of service!

OR~~~~~~~~replace the impeller, grease it up good, and leave the water OFF and start the trying to start process.

Dave Neptune

[Marian Claire]

Along with the above I would remove the drain plug on the carb and verify fuel flow to that point. Could be lots of air in the system. Do not know what type of pump, primer bulb etc you have but I think they all can be used to check flow. This may help wash out any crud in the bowl and cut down on the cranking time. Dons post Troubleshooting lack of spark.pdf might help verify spark before cranking. Spark, fuel, compression who needs water. Only kidding. Good luck. Dan S/V Marian Claire

[CalebD]

Whilst running the engine on terra firma I have always used a clean 5 gallon bucket and some hoses to hook up the cooling water. I have the 'T' fitting set up on the cooling water intake hose and can supply the cooling water from the cockpit. This way the pressure from the water pump (with a good impeller in it) supplies the flow of water, not the pressurized hose water.
Another seemingly innocuous (but apparently contentious) procedure I sometimes use after a long winter layup is to spray a little ether into the flame arrestor prior to turning the ignition key. If the engine will not turn over (even a little) then you likely have a spark issue. If the engine does a few revolutions on its own you may need to check the fuel side. If it takes off then you just need to fine tune.
I am not certain why some take umbrage with using ether as a starting fluid but they must have their reasons. My uncle was a fly boy in WWII and told me that pilots of the day (our engines were designed around then) relied heavily on ether to help burn up the varnish build up from the fuel inside the engines that kept them up in the sky. Since they had no sails to use as a backup they were pretty sensitive about their engines.

[Dromo]

Anti-freeze

Daddy...along with all the other tips, unless your boat is stored indoors, I would run antifreeze for any kind of engine start up test you might want to do. If it starts, and then quits, you don't want any water left in the block etc. It might freeze up and add to your list of troubles. I'm also from Southern Ont. and know how harsh winters can be. I think Kingston might be a little more extreme.

1st check for spark

2nd would get a bucket and some hose to run antifreeze through the cooling system

3rd Run a gas hose from the the fuel pump to small gas can with fresh gas, if you have a mechanical pump, check the bowl and screen on the pump. also you can use the lever on the pump to prime the system.

4th have a little gas in a small spray bottle [dollar store] to squrt in the flame arrestor. when you 1st try to start it and if you have spark it should fire up at least for a few seconds. If it keeps starting with the spray bottle and dies...time to look at the carb which you should do anyway.

PS you might want to inspect the choke to see if it still opens and closes.

Good luck!

Cheers, Rick

[jhwelch]

Tongue-in-cheek Re: Dave's post about plugs fowling: if that happens remove
the chicken and her nest from the top of your engine before proceeding further.

[Daddy M]

All good advice

Thanks again for all the hints. Be it resolved I will remove and or replace the impeller, crank it without plugs (can verify spark at that time) & go from there. Fresh gas & all that. I don't mind using ether either.
Found a guy in Kingston who has 1 running & a few parts engines, but he does not have a parts source. Still tracking down a couple of leads. I have at least until the weekend to finalize a plan of attack.
Antifreeze, thanks, I might very well have forgotten that in my excitement!
Cold enough here today though, -23C. (sorry for the hoser units)
On a side note, not sure when to stop "replying" or post a new thread.
What's protocol?