Grampian G26 - A4 Repower

[PT26]

Hi Everyone!

We're starting the process of removing the late model Atomic 4 inboard that I showed to have a hole in the #3 cylinder in my previous thread.



The first order of business is to start removing all the wiring (starting with hot lead to the external electronic fuel pump to avoid disaster), the alternator, and other usual parts to get the motor ready for removal with minimal damage to savable parts (and my boat).



We plan to re-power the boat with a rebuilt early model A4 that I found here locally in Oriental, NC. Many thanks to Hanley and Dan for helping me pick up and transport the new motor and boxes of "stuff"

This should be a very interesting and fun project to do because Hanley is going to help me complete this project and I know I'm going to learn a lot! I appreciate his knowledge and help.

I plan to document with photos and updates as we progress.

[PT26]

As you can see there isn't much room in here, there's just enough to get your arm and a wrench in to work on the motor on the starboard side.




So far I haven't had to fight anything as far as taking out the direct drive bolts and water pump, most everything is coming off fairly easily.






Getting ready to pull the starter off now and then we're off to the port side of the boat. If you notice in the pictures I uploaded in my first post, you'll note that we had to remove the port side wall to gain the access necessary to complete this project.

If there's anyone that's going to do this on their G26, the port wall is installed by the factory and the screws are put in from the back side (between the wall and the icebox). To remove the wall, carefully pry the wall open where it attaches to the hull of the boat and carefully cut the screws. Be very careful and patient when cutting the screws or you'll cut through the hull to the outside of your boat. This might be something you'll want to attempt on the hard and not while your boat is rocking in the water....

[Sony2000]

Do you have to split off the direct drive for removal? The bilge will get a lot of sump oil on it. Or block of the sump after you split the casings, with liquid expanding foam insulation. Keep the sludge in the engine.

[Marian Claire]

PT: Good luck and I look forward to the reports. Enjoyed the day and meeting ya'll. It was a wet but fun sail back to Matthews Point Sat evening/night. Dan S/V Marian Claire

[PT26]

So we have completed disassembling As we disassembled the old motor, every bolt, nut, and wire was bagged and tagged so in the future we know what went where.

We've also removed all the oil from the old motor to keep from having a huge mess in the boat when the motor gets pulled.



After removing all the attached parts and disconnecting and moving all wiring out of the way we took a close look at the way this particular motor was mounted. In the back the mounting studs were embedded into the boat, no mounting bracket was used.



This made simply sliding the motor forward a bit of an issue. The solution was to tie a rope around the aft end of the motor, passing it through a small port in the cockpit, and lift the motor off the studs using the main halyard while someone inside was lifting and aiding the motor forward. One less step for the yard, saving money and possible damage to the boat/motor.



We then attached a set of shackles to the lifting bracket to make lifting that much easier for the yard. By the way, we are going to Deaton's in Oriental, NC, to have the motor pulled out.

[PT26]

Do you have to split off the direct drive for removal? The bilge will get a lot of sump oil on it. Or block of the sump after you split the casings, with liquid expanding foam insulation. Keep the sludge in the engine.

Hi

No it all comes out in one piece. I will take a close up of the old motor tomorrow to show how much and what parts were removed.

I would recommend removing as much of the oil as possible, even with a person guiding the motor out at some point it will tip and spill any oil in the motor.

[ILikeRust]

Not to mention there's not a way to really "split off" the drive gear - you can take off the rear housing and pull the drive gear assembly out, but the oil pan would still be there. You'd shorten the length of the whole thing maybe an inch or inch and a half by removing the output flange, and also save a few pounds by removing the housing and gear assembly, but you wouldn't really buy yourself too much otherwise.

[PT26]

Pulling motor using boom arm on travel lift

So in the last two days we have successfully removed to old motor from the boat, swapped necessary parts and made mods and small repairs to the "new" motor, put the new motor into the boat, and we are now reassembling the motor - Today's goal, start the motor and see if it runs

Here's the motor being pulled from the boat using the lifting boom on the travel lift:





The shifting lever had to be cut down, the lever from the new motor was much longer and by cutting it down we reduce the risk of interference from any wiring or piping that might make for an exciting moment later (don't want to get stuck in drive in a sticky situation!) We had to cut the bottom as well because it hung down too far and prevented the motor from sitting down on the sled.



We plan to use the late manifold with the early head. So the head was drilled and tapped to use 1/2" NPT.



We'll be running with no thermostat initially and implementing the "Tom Thatch" modification.

On the new motor, we had 3 broken studs in the water jacket cover. Two were removed easily using some PB B'laster and a pair of vice grips and a little patience. The last once had to be drilled and tapped to be removed.

They were all replaced with Grade 5 studs, copper washers, and nuts as opposed to using the funky old bolts.

[edwardc]

Outstanding progress! And great pics!

With no thermostat, and no bypass loop, I expect you will run quite cool.

If it becomes a problem, you could always add an old-style external dole thermostat, or the new Indigo external thermostat, with their recirculating loop design. This has the added benefit of getting the coolant up to temperature quickly which is an advantage if you have an engine-heated hot water tank.

[PT26]

Thanks Ed!

With Hanley's help the progress of this project has been wonderful and we are learning so much!

[ILikeRust]

Is that Hanley on the tap wrench?

[PT26]

Is that Hanley on the tap wrench?

Yes it is

We made some great progress today.

The A4 runs like a new engine! As Droopy would say "I'm Sooooooo Happy"

We still have some things to work out and finish up but the list is getting smaller.

[ILikeRust]

The A4 runs like a new engine!

As my daughter's friend would say: "Awesome sauce!"

[Marian Claire]

Congrats on the start up. Yeee Ha. Dan S/V Marian Claire

[Mo]

One word.

Impressive !!!!!