Hoisting the engine

[Loki9]

Wow that A4 looks really great sitting there. Nice work!

[Kelly]

Great job Bill. You have one of the engine access set-ups that makes some of us salivate. My access is pretty good with an opening just over the engine, but your all-around open view makes putting wrenches on bolts that much easier.

Would you mind giving me the outside dimensions (diameter and length) of your heat exchanger core? I'd like to compare with my Sendur unit...and get to the end of an ancient overheating tendency.

Thanks and keep us posted on your progress...it's a great thread!

[ILikeRust]

Great job Bill. You have one of the engine access set-ups that makes some of us salivate. My access is pretty good with an opening just over the engine, but your all-around open view makes putting wrenches on bolts that much easier.

Well... for now - until I put the forward bulkhead back on. Then the access is only from above. So don't get fooled by how open it appears right now. The front bulkhead goes across about an inch or two in front of the front of the engine. Then a big lid goes on the box to cover everything up. But yeah, access is not too terrible - except trying to get at the back end of things. Then it becomes a pain.

If you think my engine access is good, you haven't seen Neil's...

Would you mind giving me the outside dimensions (diameter and length) of your heat exchanger core?

Um... it's an MMI unit. I don't rightly know the dimensions off the top of my head, but I'd guesstimate based on memory that it's maybe about 16" - 18" tall and maybe about 3" diameter(?)

This pic from MMI's on-line catalog shows you the relative size - you might be able to interpolate the dimensions by comparing to the diameter of the flywheel housing.

[domenic]

Good luck with your rebuilt A4.

[ILikeRust]

Um...

I had the engine hoisted out by the boatyard, using their crane, back in January or February, and just had them hoist it back in a few weeks ago after I spent several months doing the total overhaul.

Using the boom to hoist it is pretty much a moot point now.

Now I'm on to hooking everything back up to the engine and getting her back in the water. And then finishing the new cabin sole, and doing all the sanding, painting and varnishing below, and replacing the decayed wood on the deck, and...

[ILikeRust]

The latest pics, taken just today -

Test-fitting the new bulkhead:



Looks WAY, WAY better than the crappy old one.

And this gives an idea of the kind of access/workability I'll have once it's in place - still not bad, really:



...except getting at the exhaust and rear of the engine is a pain...

Inching closer to getting her running!

[ndutton]

Of course you know that since you've done such a beautiful job on the bulkhead, everything else you do has to be as good or better. It's how these projects take on a personality all their own.

reference: my Westsail pics, been there - done that

[jpian0923]

It's easily removable, right?

Looks good.

[ILikeRust]

Thanks - I do plan on holding myself to a certain standard, which in general is set at a level better than what currently is there.

Got a fair amount done today.

I put on the Indigo prop, just to have it done. I'll have to remember spray the prop and shaft with the Petit zinc coating. I bought a can a while back just for that purpose. Gotta find it again. So much stuff everywhere in the cabin; it's a real mess.

Installed the anti-siphon valve kit and the alarm for the water temp/oil pressure alarm kit.

Took out the old water temp gauge - I'm betting it was original - it was rotted out so bad it almost broke in half when I pulled it out. Also pulled out the old engine hours meter. I see no reason to have that up in the cockpit, so I'll probably fill in that hole and install the brand new engine hours meter (from Moyer) down below somewhere.

Continued to figure out the best configuration for the raw water intake. Hooked up a T fitting so I can attach a hose and run the engine on the hard, using the hose as the raw water intake - or to flush the system or to winterize, or whatever.

Found - and removed - more random wiring. I think I'll end up removing more wires than will remain. Lots of abandoned stuff in there. I guess the previous owner didn't care that there were all these extra wires just hanging around in the boat. I do.

Discovered I bought wrong size fuel hose to connect the pump to the carb and install the in-line fuel filter. I need 5/16" - I bought 3/8" because that's what had been on there (which makes me wonder about that... it's clearly not the right size - he musta really just cranked down on the clamps). So one more thing to be done next weekend.

So a little bit o' this, a little bit o' that - all things that need to get done before she goes back in the water.

Next weekend I'll go up again and focus on wiring. Hopefully I'll get it to the point where I can actually try to fire her up!

I'm actually considering heading up there on Saturday night and sleeping over on the boat - so I can get going early, first thing, before it gets hot, and get as much progress out of the day as possible before heading home. There are several people staying on their boats in the yard, while working on them. It's almost like a strange campground.

[ILikeRust]

It's easily removable, right?

Looks good.

I will be removable - how "easily" depends on what you consider "easy."

The heat exhanged and expansion bottle will be hanging off the back side of the bulkhead. So if you want to remove the bulkhead, you'll have to unscrew several screws to remove them. Unless I come up with some clever bracket system.

I might also end up running a couple wires across the back, just to keep the engine space neater. We'll see.

I don't plan on removing it all that often anyhow - I shouldn't have to. The reason I removed the first one mostly was because you have to in order to get the engine out. Then once I had it out, I decided it really was a hideous thing and had to be replaced with something more aesthetically pleasing. But the previous one had the battery switch installed in it, with lots of holes for wires going through it, and the engine compartment automatic Halon extinguisher mounted on the back (which reminds me, I gotta figure out where that's going...). I bet I was the first person to remove that bulkhead since the engine was installed in 1983.

[jpian0923]

In my experience, removing the bulkhead to work on the engine makes working on the engine alot easier. I'll take a picture (tomorrow) of how my bulkhead is held in place and I'm sure you can find the fixtures.

IMO, I wouldn't attach anything to the bulkhead that can't be easily removed.

My steps and bulkhead are easily removable. I remove them every time I work on the engine. It's so much easier.

[ILikeRust]

Just to prove that it does occasionally happen - last weekend my wifey came along with me and was a great help in making the old weatherbeaten cabin-top grab rails look a lot better:

[ILikeRust]

So I'm now approaching one area where my knowledge is sadly lacking...

So where do these wires go?

Little yellow one coming out the "back" of the alternator:



Red wire on the left, also coming out of the back end of the alternator:



I'm assuming that little metal box hanging off the back of the alternator is an internal regulator?

The fat red one on the right I believe is the output that goes to the "+" on the battery, yes?

If needed I'll try to get better pics next weekend.

[ILikeRust]

Would you mind giving me the outside dimensions (diameter and length) of your heat exchanger core?

By the way, while I was up working on the boat yesterday, much to my amazement, I remembered this question, so I grabbed a tape measure and took the measurements of the HX.

And to my tremendous satisfaction, I discovered that I'm pretty damn good and eyeballemetrically estimating dimensions, and from memory, no less!!

Turns out it is, in fact, nearly exactly 16" long and 3" in diameter. So I was spot on in my guesstimate from memory.

[Kelly]

Alternator wiring

We already know that you're "pretty damn good" so thank you for this display of awesome prowess...just confirms our beliefs.

I'll put the HX measurements to good use, thank you.

And in exchange (pun intended), I think your small wire coming from the alternator would be the exciter wire...which runs to the + terminal of the coil. I don't have one of these but there are several threads where owners are discussing the placement and use of this wire.

You should have one large wire running from the alternator (output) to the batteries. The connection could pass through the ignition "batt" terminal or go directly to the large terminal on the solenoid (which is in turn connected to the + post of your batteries).

As to why you have two large wires coming from the alternator, you'll have to wait for a response from a higher authority...

Here's a photo showing the exciter/output terminals as I have described courtesy of Moyer Marine (API alternator).

P.S. I see you have the "Dutton" alternator belt tensioner. Way to go!