water jacket side plate off: suggestions for cleaning in & painting out?

[Marty Levenson]

Dear Forum,

I recently had a water jacket inspection plate leak. Removed that plate without incident (!) and pulled out a fair bit of rust with a magnet. Plan to clean er up in and out, install new plate (read about gaskets, sealants, copper washers), paint the engine (very rusty on the distrib side), and then convert to the Indigo FWC. Lots of steps there, but for now wondering what else I should do to clean the inside water passages before closing her up. Need I remove the drain plugs to fully flush her? Need I remove the exhaust manifold side plugs to flush her? Anything else need to come off for flushing and digging inside? I have compressed air: any reason not to blow her out?

Engine is in the boat. Is it possible to do a good paint job with the engine in the boat? Access is so-so.....contortionist but possible. I painted her once before and didn't do a good enough job degreasing. The paint lifted in a couple spots and water from a compass mount leak did the rest.

A bit of info: boat is 1967 Tartan 27 with original A4. My dad had her in Lake Erie until 2000...been in salt water here in Vancouver since then. She has been running great, electonic ignition, Indigo PVC kit, newer carb, new alt. Decent compression, Campbell 3 blade prop, oil changed every fall of her life.

Would like to support the Moyer team and get his fresh water system, but the electric pump on the Indigo makes more sense in my limited space....plus seems simpler. Thinking about the Indigo thermostat also.

Any wisdom/advice gratefully received!

-Marty on Poseidon

[msauntry]

Hi Marty,

When I freshened up my engine, I did it in place. I removed the alternator, distributor (note where the rotor points and just make sure it goes back the same), and the starter. This opens up that whole side and gives you a lot of room to scrape, clean, paint, and replace the plate.

Once I had the plate off, I used a garden hose to blast out the gunk. Lots of black sediment and rusty flakes. Used a magnet and screwdrivers to poke around and pick out what I could. There are two drain plugs below the plate. These will be clogged most likely. Poke em free. There is a gap between cylinders 2 and 3 only. Don't rotate the engine while the dist. is out or you have to retime it.

I also went with the Indigo Electric FWC and Thermostat. It works great. Since you have the new side plate out, I recommend installing a straight 3/4 inch hose barb and 1/2 inch npt for the incoming water flow. The reason being, the electric pump is 3/4 inch and you won't have to worry about reducing it. Also, it is one of the choke points for water flow and opening it can only help the engine. Some other easy mods to do at this time are routing the t-stat housing to maninfold crossover hose from the front of the the manifold to the rear of the manifold. This prevents an air pocket.

You'll have a very nice engine afterwards!

Have fun,
Micah

ps- ignore the second electric pump downstream of the Indigo thermostat. I've since removed it.

[Kelly]

Marty,

I just wanted to second everything Micah is mentioning. I too have the electric pump FWC configuration and was inspired by Micah's photos to plumb the pump's outlet directly to the side plate (and reverse the manifold plumbing and eliminate the side plate 'T'...).

I've only been disappointed in not having an engine compartment as clean as Micah's but that must be a problem of elbow grease.

[Marty Levenson]

thanks: but change of plan

Thanks for the replies. A A4 rebuilt in 2009 with new Moyer head and mainfold popped up on Craigslist here, so I went for it....even though it was almost $2K. Only had 4 hours on it as the restored boat it was meant for had a terminal hull problem.

My plan now is to get my old A4 running again with the new jacket side plate, use it next summer "as is" putting as few $ in as possible. Meanwhile I will clean up and get to know my new A4 on the bench. At some point soon I plan to swap the motors, taking the opportunity to clean up the "engine room" and do some rewiring. Fresh water cooling too.

[sastanley]

$2k for a full motor with 4 hours on it is not bad...Good find!