Need A4 help and guidance in Bellingham WA

[JOHN COOKSON]

After Seeing The Pictures I'd Like To Change My Diagnosis

The black stuff appears to be all through the cooling system - impeller to thermostat. Bet this is the same stuff that is cloging the manifold. Looks like the side plate (by the alternator) needs to come off too.

Here's what to do: Soak the theromstat in vinegar. If vinegar gets rid of the black stuff then acid should clean out your cooling system. If vinegar doesn't remove the black crud you'll have to find a solvent that does.

Best of luck.

TRUE GRIT

[hanleyclifford]

There is one more thing you could try before pulling the manifold, if you have access to both coolant holes on top of the manifold. Cobble an adapter to the rear hole and hook up a garden hose. Then take everything off the front hole and get ready with a few pieces of mechanic's wire. Put the pressure on and start working with the front hole. This will be messy but if it works the payoff will be enormous.

[Mark Millbauer]

Junaido,

If you still have some acid left try it again. Let it sit in the hose, it won't hurt the hose but it will start eating away at he blockage. The black stuff is normal for an old raw water cooled engine.

Mark

[junaido]

I have a lot of acid left (2/3 gal), I intend to use it to the last drop :-)

Junaid

[tomsailmaker]

Hi I think an outboard is a good idea, it gives you a way to get the boat home and if placed right you can store the motor for the dink and have a back up as necessary. If you find the right bracket you might even be able to use it as a boarding ladder/step. I would try and get a small 4 stroke and then you have spare fuel for the atomic 4. When you get the boat to it's new home take your time and go through everything and replace as necessary then you will know what you have and how to fix it. With the outboard you can still sail when you want. Having just done an acid flush it is like magic just keep doing it until the water runs free.

[Harry1959]

Thanks

Just joined this site, I purchased a Schock Santanah 27 this past fall and am getting ready to launch. This is the first time Sailing anything larger than a shark, love reading these posts and they seem very helpfull. Thanks everyone. I'm in Ontario near Niagara Falls.

[hanleyclifford]

At this point I think further acid flushing is counterproductive and will only strengthen the blockage. Your best option now is high pressure backflushing of the manifold with a garden hose. You cannot hold it by hand; it must be tight threaded fittings. You need to get from 1/2" NPT, the rear hole on the manifold, to garden hose so you can really get some pressure in there. Watch the junk come out that front hole!

[junaido]

Boat is now in Seattle. Even the outboard (borrowed) flaked out on us near Camano island, probably due to carb issues. Its ironic how dependent we "sailors" are on our boat engines. Thankfully we had invested in unlimited saltwater towing package at Boat US and they towed us all the way to Seattle area. Since then we have bought an almost brand-new Tohatsu 4-stroke outboard and hopefully will have at least one reliable means of propulsion.

Now that the boat is more accessible we are going to really poke and probe this A4 until we figure out what is wrong with it. I think a quick visit to the local A4 mechanic is also on the cards. I will post any updates and questions once we have her in her new home on Lake Washington.

Junaid

[ArtJ]

Junaid

A number of posts ago you mentioned the Globe Impellers as replacement. They
do not work reliably in the Oberdorfer pumps. Best to get 2 fresh impellers
from Moyer marine. They do have a shelf life so you want fresh ones.

Best Regards

Art

[smosher]

I have used the globe impellers and they do not work as well as the ones from Moyer.

Steve

[junaido]

I ended up getting the impeller made by Universal (part #6593).

[Mark Millbauer]

Junaid,
Congratulations! I'm glad you made it down. Are you now moored in Lake Washington or Union?
At any rate, keep us posted and PM me if you like.

Mark

[junaido]

Update

So the local A4 mechanic looked at it today. Engine fired up right away. He was very favorably impressed with how well it starts up and runs. The mainfold cleaning is relatively trivial in his opinion, but he was very concerned about the rusted exhaust. Apparently the elbow is shot. We kinda knew that because we could feel the pipe moving under the cladding, it was probably only held together because of the cladding. He quoted about $600 for 3 hours of labor and materials. It will be replaced with a stainless exhaust elbow that he claims will last longer than the boat. He basically said that without fixing it we were risking death from CO poisoning.


Questions :

Is this exhaust system a DIY project or better left to the experts ?

Can you patch up the rusted stuff with a pipe sleeve or muffler tape etc., or is replacement the only option ?

Is welding required to replace exhaust hot section ?

Do you really need an elbow or can you run a slightly angled down pipe to hose and put a valve in it to prevent back-flooding ?

Junaid

[ILikeRust]

You can build your own hot section using a Moyer threaded exhaust flange adapter and some black iron pipe, which you can get from a plumbing supply place, and wrap with the Moyer heat wrap kit.

My entire hot section cost less than $100.

[ILikeRust]

To more specifically answer your questions:

Is this exhaust system a DIY project or better left to the experts ?

It's not a hard DIY project.

Can you patch up the rusted stuff with a pipe sleeve or muffler tape etc., or is replacement the only option?

Replacement is warranted rather than trying to patch together rusty stuff. This is not an old Chevy - the exhaust is inside the boat - you don't want that leaking. Plus it directs the discharge water out the back - you also don't want that leaking.

Is welding required to replace exhaust hot section?

No - you can use threaded black iron fittings.

Do you really need an elbow or can you run a slightly angled down pipe to hose and put a valve in it to prevent back-flooding ?

It depends on where your hot section is in relation to the water line.