Most Important Upgrade to an A4

[rickandlee]

I've searched around for about an hour for an answer.

I'm buying a water pump rebuild kit, next week, but might have a few hundred dollars (max 3) left to spend on the engine at this time. The boat was probably in fresh water most of it's life (S2 Great Lakes) and is still raw water cooled and original in all respects. We stay in lakes mostly with the occasional visit to the Pacific. The engine has been rebuilt and runs well.

What would be your first upgrade toward making the engine continue this path of perfect operation and keep Captain Lee happy?

[sastanley]

I am cheating a bit and expanding your answer to the entire boat.

A nice berth for sleeping. If she wakes up happy with the sun coming up over the horizon, she'll love you forever.

In reality if you really want engine things...my opinion is to make sure you have adequate filters for the fuel, to make sure the carb gets good stuff. Crappy, gummy, jello fuel does not burn so good. All the other stuff is easy to deal with.

[tenders]

Electronic ignition.

Large fuel filter before the pump, and polishing fuel filter before the carb.

Inline fuel pressure gauge before the carb.

Extendo bolt for the water pump.

These items, in this order, are not even debatable in my mind! I don’t think you’d even be up to $300 yet.

Also get a Topsider manual vacuum pump (or generic equivalent) for easy oil changes. But don’t count that in the A4 budget, because you can also use it for your lawn mower, power washer, snow thrower, and portable generator. Turns oil changes into a 5-minute process (with warmed engines so oil flows freely). Longer with cold engines. Maybe the car too; not sure, because I don’t.

The next echelon is freshwater cooling, but that is expensive and adds quite a lot of complexity to the engine. I don’t have it myself.

[wristwister]

OK, if you have $10 left over after doing Tender's recommendations (which I wholeheartedly agree with), then go to Home Depot and buy a gallon of Muriatic acid. Dilute it and suck it into the engine per Moyer's instructions. Then make sure nobody's watching as you spew years worth of rust and scale out the exhaust.

[JJV0505]

Great advice Tenders
What 'polishing filter' do you recommend before the carb? Is this the small metal inline filter for sale on the site or something different?

[tenders]

Yes, that’s a polishing filter. Plastic see-thru ones are readily available at car part stores but are not Coast Guard approved because it’s especially bad in boats if they melt or crack. Moyer’s is metal.

Somebody might bring up converting a mechanical fuel pump to electric. I hope they don’t. There are benefits to either one, as has been endlessly and quite constructively debated here!

[ndutton]

First order of business is get the Moyer Marine Service and Overhaul Manual.

[rickandlee]

Thanks for the replies.

I have the manual, Thanks Neil.

Shawn, the big aft berth and standing headroom are the reason we are refurbing this trailerable boat. Trailerable so we can get out of the heat in summer and to spend a little time in the Sacramento River Delta near her 2 sons. This should make Lee very happy.

Ahead of you wristwister, acid washed during rebuild, thanks.

tenders, I guess reading this site for a couple of years has got me thinking the same way as you. Got rid of my dwell meter in the '70s. I need some guidance on getting a filter and pressure gauge between the fuel pump and carburetor. I'm going to have to research a little on what filters everyone likes. I'm installing a new tank, fill, vent, and engine feed hose. I'll order the extendo bolts when I order the water pump rebuild kit. I have an old pump for getting the oil out but it is getting long in the tooth. If we start spending too much time in salt/brackish water freshwater cooling will happen. Thanks

[Al Schober]

I'm going to go for the berth cushions. Take a present berth cushion, put it perpendicular to your chest, and press with the heels of your hands. If they make solid contact, you NEED new berth cushions!
After a 6 week cruise, I was almost crippled. Wife/crew (age 13) got the boat home. Took 1/4-berth cushions into local upholstery shop (under one arm), shop owner said 'Fabric is good, need new foam'. I said 'Do it'. Took cushions back to the car one at a time (yes, they were that much heavier). Good improvement to the boat - equal to roller furling jib (but cheaper).

[tenders]

Assuming you have flexible rubber fuel hose, just get Moyer's metal in-line filter and this fuel pressure gauge:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BPZ4SW/

Both of those are easily spliced into the fuel line with small hose clamps. You might need to replace the line with a longer length in order to get both devices to fit on the line and to run it sensibly into the carb.

Others have posted links to other pressure gauges. I'm sure they work,and might be better, but this is the one I have.

[sastanley]

Any gauge similar to the one tenders posted is fine. Mech or electric are pushing ~3 PSI, so don't get anything that measures above 15PSI. A fuel pressure gauge shows if filters are clogged to the point the engine is starved. A real water/fuel separator (like the Racor Moyer sells) stops letting fuel thru if it is full of water.

I also have electronic ignition, but you can also just buy new points and condenser (pretty cheap) when you buy new spark plugs every season to keep things pretty reliable.