Short block weight

[lat 64]

Hello from up north,
Got 3 inches of snow today, but I’m researching my sailboat engine rebuild instead of skiing.
I looked all around the MMI web site, but I can’t find the weight of a stripped short block. I want to yard mine out ( see "alaskan C36 new guy" in introductions) and I want to know how much weight I will be hanging on the boom. Also, I have read the original manual and The MMI manual and I see the the reduction gears are called “ herring bone gears” by Universal. Are these helical cut gears or something different? Mine make an awful grunting sound at shaft speed and I am sure I will spend some quality time and quantity money there.
Thanks for any input,
Russ

[msauntry]

Here's a way to reduce the load on your boom while using it to lift your engine. Use a loop of decent rope to act as an attachment point for three things. This loop goes around your boom about where your engine will be pulling on it. The three connections you'll make to it are:
1. mainsail halyard
2. an "outhaul" to the end of the boom
3. the tackle or come-along or whatever you're lifting with

The mainsail halyard takes the brunt of the weight instead of the unsupported mid-boom section.

The "outhaul" is just a line that keeps the loop from sliding towards the gooseneck.

Your boom should have no trouble with these forces.

[Don Moyer]

Russ,

The weight of a complete engine is approximately 350 pounds. A short block will weigh between 200 and 250 depending on how "short" it really is.

You've got me on "herringbone" gears. I've always called them pinion gears. In any case, they are not the most precision of gears and they are mounted on thin brass bushings and steel pins. This means that they are by nature very noisy. I doubt that you have anything to worry about. We've seen these gears very worn and loose on their pins, but we've never seen any to actually fail (I know, famous last words).

Don

[lat 64]

Thanks for the interest,
Yea, I was stumped on what they meant by “herringbone gears.” Sounds fishy. So anyway, my prop shaft or reduction gears somewhere makes a very loud squeaky groan that sounds like a chair leg or something being dragged across the floor like when you get up from the table.
I am going to try to figure out how to put a movie I have on you-tube. This movie is of us motoring out of a bay and clearly has the sound of the shaft, it is much louder than the engine. I am encouraged by Don’s description of the gear setup. All will be revealed after Christmas when I will get to the boat and pull the engine. The boat (a Columbia 36) sails like a witch and we have a good budget for the engine so I am just going to go through the whole thing proper-like and have fun.

I have so many questions, So thanks lots for your info,

Russ

[sastanley]

Russ,

I just took ownership of a Catalina 30 w/ A4 in September. I have found so much information on this website I am overwhelmed. I am constantly re-prioritizing my list.

Everyone here is very helpful, and I've found just reading thru every post that I possibly can gives real insight...someone here has already had a problem that you are going to have!

[lat 64]

sastanley,
Greetings.
Yea, new boat ownership is exciting. hope I stay grounded (mentally).
I am trying to fix my old toyota and i have not found much to compare with this forum. But I digress. So its back to work.

Russ

[knitchie]

Russ,
You wrote, "my prop shaft or reduction gears somewhere makes a very loud squeaky groan" Just a guess, but I wonder whether your engine coupling and prop shaft are badly out of alignment, making extra noise and putting extra stresses on various parts.
Ken - Obsession
'78 C30 TRBS #0973
Lake Champlain, VT

[lat 64]

knitchie,

Hmmm? A good possibility, there is a lot of vibration at the aft end of the engine and not so much at the front. This motor was reinstalled by the owner then and it may not have been set up right

Thanks

[sastanley]

lat, how old is the toyota? I have fiddled with a few Hondas and Toyotas in my day...My wife's daily driver is a 1990 Corolla (220,000 miles) and I have a 1991 Honda Civic (239,000 total miles with 9,000 on a motor I rebuilt) - I figure in comparison the A4 can't be too hard!

Keeping the old cars running is the only way we can afford the boat!

Good Luck..!!!!

[lat 64]

Shawn,(I think it's Shawn),

Fixed the toy Yesterday in an epiphany. This may actually have relevance to any gas engine with a distributor in the ignition(like an A4).
To make a long long story short it was the rotor. A microscopic hole burned through the plastic under the center pivot point where the high-tension lead from the coil comes in. The spark was bled off down to the distributor shaft and no fire in the cylinder.
But this was intermittent. All coils(primary and high-tension) and the ecu tested fine. Can you imagine the frustration!! I spent about $500 in parts, and still no good fire. The rotor looked just fine from the outside so I did not get a new one.
In a stupor of exasperation I was looking up into the shaft hole in the plastic rotor and saw carbon traces up in there. These are the same as you see in an old distributor cap that is failing from spark leaking all over. New rotor and zoom¬it never ran so good. This was a ’91 Camry 3sfe, but your Toy must very similar. Something to watch out for in both cars and boats. A new rotor is going to be in my spares box on the boat to be sure.
Note; always make sure the ignitor has a very good ground.

Russ
Don, sorry about the tangent topic.

[Don Moyer]

Russ,

Thank you for this tip regarding distributor rotors. Rotors are one of the last things we tend to think of because they seem so simple. I hate to think how many times I may have failed to consider this item as a weak link when I'm pulling my hair out with someone in a tech service role; e.g., where there is a good secondary charge coming from the coil and yet the engine has poor, none, or intermittent spark at the plugs.

Don