So, I am in the North Channel of Lake Huron cruising and have had the first engine issues in over 200 hours.
Here is the list: A bizarre failure of the MMI water pump shaft--Don stood behind his product even though there was no reasonable expectation of a warranty. That is the reason all of my A4 business goes through Moyer Marine--customer service that far exceeds expectations. Good thing I carry a spare pump too!
Second: charging batteries. I thought is was a bad alternator, but trouble shooting ID's an old wire with excessive resistance, I replaced the wire and significantly shortened it. In fact, I bypassed my ammeter because I plan to fill that spot in the panel with a tachometer. Batteries are full and the only question is "Santa are you listening to the part about the tachometer?"
Third: temperature sensor failed. The only problem with that was removing it. It was STUCK. As in there is stuck, there is permanently fixed in place and then there was the brass temperature sensor.
However, with a little thought it came out. Here is what I did: First I wire brushed it and applied penetrating oil. Then I removed the thermostat and applied penetrating oil to the INSIDE threads of the sensor. It was still pretty stuck and my flat sided wrench was beginning to damage the hex head so I added cold and a better tool to the problem.
Ordinarily I go for heat in a big way, but brass has a higher coefficient of expansion (and that also means contraction) than iron. So I iced the sensor down knowing that it would shrink more than the iron block (which was not iced or heated).
Then I used a six sided half inch drive socket and breaker bar and went for it. My advice is not to attack one of these without a six sided socket, the brass is too soft to handle any other tool. It took some effort (as in two hands, feet braced and put all you got into it) but it came out with no damage. Woohoo! Time for a cold one. Good thing I had ice on hand
The funny thing is that I like working on the motor so much I almost look forward to these little things...
Here is the list: A bizarre failure of the MMI water pump shaft--Don stood behind his product even though there was no reasonable expectation of a warranty. That is the reason all of my A4 business goes through Moyer Marine--customer service that far exceeds expectations. Good thing I carry a spare pump too!
Second: charging batteries. I thought is was a bad alternator, but trouble shooting ID's an old wire with excessive resistance, I replaced the wire and significantly shortened it. In fact, I bypassed my ammeter because I plan to fill that spot in the panel with a tachometer. Batteries are full and the only question is "Santa are you listening to the part about the tachometer?"
Third: temperature sensor failed. The only problem with that was removing it. It was STUCK. As in there is stuck, there is permanently fixed in place and then there was the brass temperature sensor.
However, with a little thought it came out. Here is what I did: First I wire brushed it and applied penetrating oil. Then I removed the thermostat and applied penetrating oil to the INSIDE threads of the sensor. It was still pretty stuck and my flat sided wrench was beginning to damage the hex head so I added cold and a better tool to the problem.
Ordinarily I go for heat in a big way, but brass has a higher coefficient of expansion (and that also means contraction) than iron. So I iced the sensor down knowing that it would shrink more than the iron block (which was not iced or heated).
Then I used a six sided half inch drive socket and breaker bar and went for it. My advice is not to attack one of these without a six sided socket, the brass is too soft to handle any other tool. It took some effort (as in two hands, feet braced and put all you got into it) but it came out with no damage. Woohoo! Time for a cold one. Good thing I had ice on hand
The funny thing is that I like working on the motor so much I almost look forward to these little things...
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