A4 comes out of a Ranger 33

[sail_flathead_lake]

My uncle and I bought a Ranger 33 in late October. The engine was supposedly running 8 years ago when the boat was last in the water, but it looked like a rusting heap and I figured it would make a good winter project (can't do much else to the boat in the snow...)

What follows is a photo essay on how we got the engine out of the boat, and tore it down. I relied heavily on reading posts on this website, so hopefully my experience will help others with similar tasks in front of them.

Getting the motor out of the boat:

Lucky for me, I was able to borrow an aluminum gantry crane and chainfall from work. The aluminum I beam was light enough that two people could easily move it around. It made our task much easier. First we built a wooden support for the I beam over the cabin top, then used one of the regular gantry feet in the cockpit:






This got the motor all the way to one of the cockpit seats, then we had to reconfigure the gantry to get it the rest of the way down to the ground:



Most of the challenges we faced getting the motor out have been pretty well documented on this site - rusty motor mount bolts, hard-to-remove exhaust flange, etc. One thing that got us stuck for a while was that even though we couldn't remove the large nut on the motor mount, we did manage to get the two smaller nuts that held the mount to the fiberglass rails off, and we figured that would be good enough. No dice! Those mounts were glued down! After 20 minutes of 'why is the back of the motor stuck???' we finally got out the sawzall and cut through the mount.

More on the tear down in future posts.

[JimG]

What happened to the rudder?

[sail_flathead_lake]

Jim,

I removed the rudder earlier to repair some gel coat damage in my garage.

Continuing the saga of getting the motor home and apart....

Here it is about to be lifted into the minivan:



Once in the garage I soaked every fastener with Kroil and Blaster, repeating nightly. Carb and exhaust manifold came off easily. Thermostat housing was depressing when I got that loose - it was packed full of what I assume are the rusted remains of the old Tstat:



Similarly depressing was the water jacket side plate:



At this point I was really glad we had pulled the motor instead of just trying to get it running in place. There's no way that the rust would have allowed decent cooling flow through the motor. This also convinced me to go for the FWC upgrade.

The stuff all cleaned up sorta-OK:



Coming next - removing the head.

[tenders]

I think you're going to be shocked at how nicely that engine cleans up. The Force is strong with this one.

If you decide to race that boat, brace yourself for a lot of hate being thrown your way. Rangers in the 29-35 foot range are infuriatingly fast for their ratings.

[sail_flathead_lake]

As bad as the water jacket side looked, the valve spring cover side was relatively rust free. Here you can see the cover being removed with the cylinder head nuts all removed in the background:



To get the head off I had to follow Don's procedure of soaking the studs in Kroil, followed by tapping the studs (with a nut partially threaded on to protect the threads) until the stud seemed to suck the Kroil into the gap. It was really interesting to watch - at first the stud would seem fused to the head, then after a few (or more) taps with a hammer the Kroil would start wicking its way into the hole in the head casting. I got all the studs accepting penetrating oil, then started trying to separate the block from the head. The two studs by the thermostat housing were by far the worst, but finally everything broke free and I ended up with this:







Lots of carbon and gunk, but my initial glance into the cylinders was reassuring. This is my first engine rebuild of any kind, but my gear head buddies tell me that if the engine is worn you can feel a ridge in the cylinder near the end of the piston stroke. Perhaps people on this forum can dispel that myth, but with this motor the cylinder walls feel quite smooth with no ridge.

[sail_flathead_lake]

Next up, removing the flywheel cover. No big trick to this, just more of the same: soak everything in Kroil and Blaster, then try the fasteners. If one came out, lucky night! Otherwise, soak and repeat the attempt the next night. For some reason the fasteners on the water jacket side of the motor were way worse than those on the carb side. This was particularly bad when it came to removing the oil pan, but the flywheel cover and flywheel came off pretty easily:



Really nice to start seeing some shiny metal instead of the rusty hulk that I'm used to seeing at this point in the tear down!

Then I went back and tried to clean up the head. Some quick wire wheel work had it looking better, but I'm a bit concerned about the condition of the interface between the thermostat housing and the head:



I don't know if the machine shop can grind that down a bit when I get the head ground? Of if a little RTV will seal it up? Either way, it's not an ideal mating surface. The other side looks a bit nicer:




As an example of what a great resource this site is, I was really glad to have read the 'hoisting the engine' thread where the extra coolant holes in the head are discussed (http://www.moyermarine.com//forums/s...?t=4808&page=5). I would have been scratching my head over those phantom holes in my head had that thread not been around to set me straight. Thanks guys!

[sail_flathead_lake]

Next step - mounting the motor to an engine stand (borrowed from a coworker):



I drained the oil from the motor, then turned it upside down for the first time to have a look at the cast iron oil pan:



Not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Unfortunately the fasteners holding the block to the pan near the accessory drive were all completely rusted and beyond hope. I ended up drilling out 4 of them getting the pan off. Thankfully, working from the pan side, I was able to simply drill through the head of the bolts with a 5/16" bit, then work the head off with a chisel. After several evenings of struggling with these last four and finally just drilling them out, I was able to get the pan off.

[67c&ccorv]

Originally Posted by sail_flathead_lake

Next step - mounting the motor to an engine stand (borrowed from a coworker):

Attachment 8675

I drained the oil from the motor, then turned it upside down for the first time to have a look at the cast iron oil pan:

Attachment 8676

Not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Unfortunately the fasteners holding the block to the pan near the accessory drive were all completely rusted and beyond hope. I ended up drilling out 4 of them getting the pan off. Thankfully, working from the pan side, I was able to simply drill through the head of the bolts with a 5/16" bit, then work the head off with a chisel. After several evenings of struggling with these last four and finally just drilling them out, I was able to get the pan off.

It is unfortunate that Universal didn't go with stainless steel fasteners from the get go.

[sastanley]

Originally Posted by tenders

I think you're going to be shocked at how nicely that engine cleans up. The Force is strong with this one.

If you decide to race that boat, brace yourself for a lot of hate being thrown your way. Rangers in the 29-35 foot range are infuriatingly fast for their ratings.

tenders, +1...We had a Ranger 33 here back in the day (I was a kid, my Dad raced on it a lot) and they got tons of silver.

[sail_flathead_lake]

Allright guys - I'm going to try to fast forward with this next post through the rest of the tear down to where I am today. Tomorrow the disassembled block and head are going into a local (recommended) machine shop for measurement and to develop a game plan. I may soon need some advice from the A4 gurus after I hear back from the shop...

Anyway, picking up from the last photos, after getting the pan off (and having to grind off the heads of four bolts in the process) I was able to get a look at the underside of the motor:



Oil pickup screen looked OK, which from what I've heard is a good sign. Not knowing what to look for, I didn't notice anything that looked terrible - no gear teeth floating around in the pan for instance.

I knew that before I took the motor into a shop I'd need to pull the head studs, so being a cheap skate I went to the local Auto Zone and borrowed a stud puller. Turns out that Auto Zone will let you return any tool you buy, no questions, within 30 days for a full refund. They even call it a loan. What a deal! The puller was no Snap-on, but it did the job:



Only one stud broke off in the process, and given what I've read I considered myself pretty lucky. Of course, but the time I attempted it the studs had been soaking in Kroil for a couple of weeks.

Then it was on to the reversing gear. The instructions in the Moyer manual could use a few photos, but the text was clear enough for me to get the assembly out:



With the reversing gear assembly out I could remove the cast housing for it, exposing the crank gear, idler gear, cam gear, and accessory drive gear:



On to getting the valves out, I borrowed a C shaped valve spring compressor from a friend - it was so big compared to this tiny motor that I had to put a 2x4 spacer on top of the head to get the tool's clamping range to match the task at hand. Never having done anything like this, squeezing that thing was a leap of faith, but the keepers came free with a little pop every time:

[sail_flathead_lake]

Only five pictures allowed per post...

Close up of the compressor squeezing the valve springs:



Valves definitely had plenty of deposits. I'm assuming this is from either running at low rpms or not letting the motor warm up properly?



I put all the valves, keepers, and springs in their own little baggies inside tupperware boxes that were labeled for each cylinder:



The next part of the Moyer instructions went so quickly that I didn't even remember to photograph it. It was such a nice change to turn a nut that hadn't rusted itself to the bolt! Pistons and crank came out with ease:



And, with those two tiny fasteners that were barely tight removed, the cam shaft pulled out without too much ado, leaving me with a pile of shiny parts:

[sail_flathead_lake]

All that was left before bringing the block, head, and parts into the machine shop was pulling the last few things left attached to the block, like this thing:



I don't even know what that thing is, but I took a picture to remind myself to put it back!

Lastly, there were those four headless fasteners left in the block from when I had to grind the heads off them to get the pan off to deal with, plus the stud that broke off in the block. I was torn about just letting the shop deal with it, or taking my time and doing it with more care myself. I ended up biting the bullet and figured I'd deal with it myself.

First I drilled out the 5/16" bolts (or what remained) with a smaller (1/4") bit:



Using a smaller bit you can get the drill started, then angle it to 'push' the hole right to the center of the fastener you're drilling out. The result looks something like this:



Then, assuming you got the thing spot on center, you follow up with the tap drill for the fastener you've just drilled out. I couldn't find a 5/16" tap for the pan bolts, so I haven't gotten that finished yet, but here's the result on the stud that broke off in the head:



Anyway, the block is completely torn down at this point, and I'm bringing a pile of parts into the shop tomorrow to see what I'm working with. I've got my fingers crossed that all I'll need is a gasket kit (plus the extra goodies like the FWC conversion).

[Marian Claire]

S F L: Thanks for your time and effort building this thread. Dan S/V Marian Claire

[sastanley]

Nice work...

That little 'thingie', is the sending unit for the oil pressure gauge.

I hear that it was common practice by Universal to use galvanized pipe nipples to attach accessories & drain pipes, etc , and they can corrode over time. They can nickel & dime you, but I'd recommend any small part like that be examined closely and replaced with new if needed (i.e., the little pipes & fittings that connect the sending unit to the block.)

[roadnsky]

Originally Posted by sastanley

Nice work...

That little 'thingie', is the sending unit for the oil pressure gauge.

Shawn is right.
And, I'll go you one better...
The pic is upside down. (Look at the stamped numbers)

[sail_flathead_lake]

Yep - upside down pic! Thanks for the identification - I will try to find the right fittings before reassembly. I hope to take much more thorough photographs of reassembly than I did of disassembly.

Engine is now at a trusted shop for measurement. The guys there said it looked pretty good, so I've got my fingers crossed. Will update when I have more info.

[67c&ccorv]

You are doing good work here - nice job on fixing the broken studs...remember, don't use an "easy-out" because it ain't east to get it out when it breaks!

[sail_flathead_lake]

Well, just got the call from the machine shop - really bad news. The worst possible news, in fact - they found a crack in the block. Non-repairable.

This is even more disappointing because I had such high hopes for this motor being a cheap and easy refresh. When I go to pick it up I'll try to post some photos - they said it's clearly visible after they got the motor degreased. Their opinion was freeze damage.

Anyone out there with a spare motor (running or not, just no cracked block!) they want to sell me? I can arrange shipping if you can put it on a pallet....

Any suggestions on where to start looking would be really appreciated at this point. I've already put money down on a slip for next season, so I need to come up with something soon...

Thanks,

[69reneb]

I have a spare motor. Just looking at it now and determining if I should part it out or sell entire core as one piece.

I'm in San Diego.

Thanks

[sail_flathead_lake]

69reneb - PM sent.

Thanks!

[sail_flathead_lake]

If there's anyone else out there with a spare motor or block that you're interested in selling, especially if you're located in the midwest, please let me know!

[roadnsky]

So sorry to hear about your block.
You may already know this, but our host sells blocks too...


http://www.moyermarine.com/rebuild.htm

[gregsails]

I just yesterday got my motor into the basement ready to tear down after New Years.Although Im not a mechanic and am pretty good with the tools. Still, i have been procrastinating because of fear of the unknow.
Thanks for the pics. I have a little more confidence today to Git r Done!
Thanks again
Greg Faubert
Catalina 30 1977 sail 696
Sarnia, Ontario

[hanleyclifford]

May we please see a photo of the crack in the block? We have seen some fairly incredible repairs of blocks that have been declared dead.

[sail_flathead_lake]

I'll surely post pics of the block after I get it back form the shop (it's 45 min north of me - haven't had the chance to run up and get it). I've got a tig welder and have done some cast iron welding before using silicon bronze, so I may take a swing at fixing this one. My big concern is reliability - I don't want to fix this only to find water in the oil from a failed repair two years from now. I've got a line on another motor about 3 hours away that I may go see in a couple of weeks. We'll see what turns up, but there will definitely be some photos of the crack when I get the motor back in the garage!