Here's the plan...

[rickinnj]

Hey all, long time no post.

I've been plagued all summer with niggling little problems on the engine.

She's late model and raw water cooled, got electronic ignition, electric fuel pump, and 95-100 psi compression. I pitched a belt in August on the way out of the South River and the engine died. When I say die, I mean like the ignition was turned off. The wind was favorable so I just sailed on figuring I'd worry about the engine later. A little later, the wind went away and I had to shift my attention to the engine and couldn't figure out why she wouldn't start after I got the spare belt installed. I was becalmed off of Herring Bay with some traffic chop making work below uncomfortable, so I packed it in and exercised my TowBoat insurance.

The next day, I found the primary ignition wire that the broken belt cut and replaced it. While I was at it, I disconnected and cleaned/replaced all terminations in the engine compartment, just because. I verified I had good spark at the plugs and buttoned her up

After I put everything away, I went to the controls and started her up. She cranked maybe two revolutions and fired right up! I was ecstatic and thought the job was done...then she died. I fired her right back up and figured it was normal cold-bloodedness.

Well, for the life of me, I couldn't get her to run for more than 30 seconds no matter what. What was confusing me was that I didn't have these issues before the pitched belt.

Fast forward through some fuel troubleshooting (I had already looked at the ignition earlier) to ensure good flow from the tank to the carb and a filter and Racor changeout, the engine would start and run indefinitely at idle. But, as soon as I came off idle, the engine died.

I thought maybe I had a big a$$ed rust flake intermittently clogging the exhaust, so I leaned over the manifold to remove the hot section for a look see. That's when I leaned too hard on the exhaust manifold raw water outlet nipple and snapped it off (There was no obstruction,BTW). I've tried to get the remainder of the nipple out of the manifold but with clearance restraints in the engine compartment, I've been unsuccessful.

I've gone from swapping out for a new A4, to a beta, to electric, back to a new A4 in my frustrated head. Now, I'm thinking that I will pull the engine out into the cabin for some Restoration work.

remove head and manifold
acid dip head and manifold.
valve inspection/adjustment/job as necessary
carb rebuild
open up water jacket cover and check for excessive corrosion build-up
replace rear engine seal(leaks slightly)
clean up engine compartment
put it all back together and hope that the next step isn't necessary.

Thoughts?

[joe_db]

Hey all, long time no post.

I've been plagued all summer with niggling little problems on the engine.

She's late model and raw water cooled, got electronic ignition, electric fuel pump, and 95-100 psi compression. I pitched a belt in August on the way out of the South River and the engine died. When I say die, I mean like the ignition was turned off. The wind was favorable so I just sailed on figuring I'd worry about the engine later. A little later, the wind went away and I had to shift my attention to the engine and couldn't figure out why she wouldn't start after I got the spare belt installed. I was becalmed off of Herring Bay with some traffic chop making work below uncomfortable, so I packed it in and exercised my TowBoat insurance.

The next day, I found the primary ignition wire that the broken belt cut and replaced it. While I was at it, I disconnected and cleaned/replaced all terminations in the engine compartment, just because. I verified I had good spark at the plugs and buttoned her up

After I put everything away, I went to the controls and started her up. She cranked maybe two revolutions and fired right up! I was ecstatic and thought the job was done...then she died. I fired her right back up and figured it was normal cold-bloodedness.

Well, for the life of me, I couldn't get her to run for more than 30 seconds no matter what. What was confusing me was that I didn't have these issues before the pitched belt.

Fast forward through some fuel troubleshooting (I had already looked at the ignition earlier) to ensure good flow from the tank to the carb and a filter and Racor changeout, the engine would start and run indefinitely at idle. But, as soon as I came off idle, the engine died.

I thought maybe I had a big a$$ed rust flake intermittently clogging the exhaust, so I leaned over the manifold to remove the hot section for a look see. That's when I leaned too hard on the exhaust manifold raw water outlet nipple and snapped it off (There was no obstruction,BTW). I've tried to get the remainder of the nipple out of the manifold but with clearance restraints in the engine compartment, I've been unsuccessful.

I've gone from swapping out for a new A4, to a beta, to electric, back to a new A4 in my frustrated head. Now, I'm thinking that I will pull the engine out into the cabin for some Restoration work.

remove head and manifold
acid dip head and manifold.
valve inspection/adjustment/job as necessary
carb rebuild
open up water jacket cover and check for excessive corrosion build-up
replace rear engine seal(leaks slightly)
clean up engine compartment
put it all back together and hope that the next step isn't necessary.

Thoughts?

I am pretty sure the 30 is like the 35 where the engine comes out easily, so you have that going for you. I think I can have mine out in under 60 minutes
Tons of things are much easier to work with at home, so this could be a fun winter project.

[sdemore]

The C&C 30 isn't bad, but you almost have to pull the cabinets apart to remove/reinstall the engine. I didn't have any cabinets in the boat when I got it last year, so installation and adjustment was a breeze.

[rickinnj]

I'm gonna hafta do some partial disassembly. I think I can lift slightly to clear the mounting bolts and then slide her into the people box. We don't have motor mounts.

To complicate things, I'm pulling the mast for a step rebuild.

[sdemore]

I'm pulling my mast in a month or two to rebuild the step, rewire/light the mast, replace blocks, and put steps on the mast.

[joe_db]

I'm gonna hafta do some partial disassembly. I think I can lift slightly to clear the mounting bolts and then slide her into the people box. We don't have motor mounts.

To complicate things, I'm pulling the mast for a step rebuild.

Do the engine first, you need the mast in place or you'll need a yard crane.
Did my step back in 1998 or so.

[rickinnj]

here's the plan, continued

I've removed the carb and manifold. Next I concentrated on the head. I hit each nut with PB Blaster, gave each one a rap or two with a ball peen and let 'em sit. An hour later I gave each one a couple turns, then back a half turn and repeated the blaster-rap treatment. Four or five cycles later, only three studs came out and the rest of the nuts came off. Nothing broken.

I still don't have the head off.

I had the mast pulled due to logistical restraints. I'll have to get creative to get the block into the cabin.

[joe_db]

I've removed the carb and manifold. Next I concentrated on the head. I hit each nut with PB Blaster, gave each one a rap or two with a ball peen and let 'em sit. An hour later I gave each one a couple turns, then back a half turn and repeated the blaster-rap treatment. Four or five cycles later, only three studs came out and the rest of the nuts came off. Nothing broken.

I still don't have the head off.

I had the mast pulled due to logistical restraints. I'll have to get creative to get the block into the cabin.

Don't take the head off! You need it to lift/move the engine. Take off the starter and alternator.

[rickinnj]

Right. I go back Saturday for the day. At that point I'm gonna clean up the head studs, and reinstall the nuts.

When the boat is on the hard, I'll work on getting the engine out of the engine bay.

Although all I wanna do is get the valves squared away and clean out the cooling passages in the block, both of which I could do with the engine in situ, I need to get that engine bay mucked out. It stinks of oil and exhaust all the time. Additionally, if you look at the photo, you'll see my mount stringer coming apart...figure I'd better do an extent of condition and subsequent repair.

[IMG]/Users/richardbushie/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/resources/proxies/derivatives/00/00/e2/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_e2.jpg[/IMG]

ugh...picture won't come out as a picture! I didn't want you to see my crappy engine anyway!

[dvd]

Speaking of removing your atomic 4 from your boat, has anyone with furniture or steps in the way of easy engine removal ever heard of cutting out the cockpit floor and making the cockpit floor removable and somehow water tight. If this was done i think you could get the motor out straight through the cockpit floor so one would have easy access to the motor and be able to remove quite easily without disassembling half your galley. I have a friend who has a cal 29 that had this done. He purchased the boat this way so he's unsure of its engine removal abilities.

[joe_db]

Don't overthink it TOO much. Get the starter off, flywheel off, and alternator off. Back in my younger days two of us would then just pick it up and carry it around. (Might explain why my back hurts now )
You can make a tripod frame that rests against the toerail and provides a lift point. You can use tires, old fenders, PVC pipes, etc. etc. to make a surface to pull it forward on. We got an A4 down a steep set of stairs strapped onto a waterski.

[rickinnj]

The engine is right under the bridge deck on the C&C 30. That'd suck to cut out. I'm thinking I can put a 4x4 across the top of the companionway to get her up off of the mounts and then slide her out on a 2x8.

[Peter]

I'm thinking I can put a 4x4 across the top of the companionway to get her up off of the mounts and then slide her out on a 2x8.

I did this on my boat - it was pretty easy to do. Make sure you lay some oil proof stuff on the cabin sole first or you will have a nasty mess to clean up afterwards.

Peter

[sdemore]

The "mounts" on mine are two large pieces of angle aluminum. They go across the top of the angled boards and down the outside. They are bolted through the boards from the sides. Each of them is drilled and tapped for bolts through the engine "feet," two small metal plates.

Getting the engine in and out involves removing the 8 bolts, attaching a winch from the boom (supported by a halyard at the same point), taking most of the weight off the feet, and sliding the engine out.

Once out and into the cabin, I had a frame of 4x4s (2 high) that I set it on to keep the oil pan off the floor.

You can see the mounts here, on my homemade rolling engine stand.

[Easy Rider]

For those who don't want to do the boom method for engine removal here is another way to consider. With my Ranger 29 I could do this from beginning to end in an hour. I would first lighten the A4 by removing the starter and alternator, loosen the mounts then slide about a 4 ft. piece of 2 x 6 under the front of the engine to be used as a pry. Then I placed a saw horse over the hatch opening and fastened one end of a come-along to the saw horse and the other end attached to the A4. Then you stand on the end of the 2 x 6 to lift the engine up off the mounts and just crank the engine out and into the cabin. In the Ranger it worked so slick.

Once it was in the cabin area two of us could lift it out and on to the dock and into a wheelbarow. Re-installing was the reverse. Ya, I was younger then