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  #26   IP: 67.219.83.75
Old 03-08-2018, 05:15 AM
Ithedan Ithedan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wristwister View Post
OK, I picked up the engine and I've started plowing into it. Here's the story; the guy I bought it from didn't know much of the history of the engine. His A4 went out, so he bought this one from someone who had supposedly started taking it apart with the intent to rebuild it. Turns out the guy I bought it from went with a diesel repower, so he sold this one.

Here's what the cylinders look like:



Now doesn't that look pretty? Heck, it even looks like fresh hone marks to me. The rest looks pretty good too. It makes me wonder whether I really want to to a complete tear down on this engine or not. What would you folks do?
Are you sure they are Hone marks? Maybe it is just the lighting but the marks look awful coarse to me. No crosshatching.
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  #27   IP: 97.64.155.202
Old 03-08-2018, 12:24 PM
Ram41662 Ram41662 is offline
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I wasn't going to say anything, especially since what I'm getting from the feed back here, it seems what is standard or acceptable for an Atomic 4 doesn't always match what I'm used to on many of my engines. For what I knew, that was a perfectly good bore and hone job.

For comparison, here is what I found when I popped the head off my A4 and gave it a quick gasket scrape and solvent wipe down. For me, it looks a little smoother and right in line with what I'd accept. YMMV.
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  #28   IP: 174.216.15.199
Old 03-08-2018, 01:33 PM
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Upon the advice of Ken at Moyer, I took my block to the machine shop to have it tanked, magnafluxed, decked, honed and measured. The block is good, I'm only .002" max over the 1.562 spec on cylinders, and the honing is now professional. It's looking sweet (better be, that ain't cheap!). I just ordered all the bearings, rings, and other assorted goodies I need to put her back together. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
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  #29   IP: 173.30.41.140
Old 03-08-2018, 09:47 PM
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Nice, glad to hear that you had it gone over by a machinist.

FYI, after reading Don's service and overhaul manual as well as several versions of owner and service manuals, the Atomic looks like a pretty easy, straight forward engine that's easy to rebuild, service, and maintain.

Good luck with your project.
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  #30   IP: 66.235.22.17
Old 04-23-2018, 11:03 PM
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So ... what do you all think?


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  #31   IP: 72.218.157.30
Old 04-23-2018, 11:49 PM
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Breath takingly beautiful.
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  #32   IP: 71.208.30.233
Old 04-24-2018, 02:48 AM
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Is it a boy or a girl?

Wife says it looks like a cake!

Love the paint scheme...
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  #33   IP: 173.30.41.140
Old 04-24-2018, 07:05 PM
Ram41662 Ram41662 is offline
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OMG! That is so spoiled lil' princess it's scary!

FYI, it's also the color scheme my youngest picked for her bedroom. It stayed that way until she moved out.
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  #34   IP: 74.87.212.45
Old 04-25-2018, 09:44 PM
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I can't explain it but I suddenly have an intense craving for some Pez candy and a Crystal Pepsi
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  #35   IP: 74.87.212.45
Old 04-25-2018, 11:42 PM
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...And for those wondering if you can check a bare engine block as baggage, the answer is yes. And no I'm not even a little bit kidding. That's my stripped-down engine block in the rolling Craftsman tote. I'll leave the story of that for later in my "Catalina 30 Saga" thread

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Old 04-29-2018, 06:38 PM
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  #36   IP: 66.235.22.17
Old 04-29-2018, 11:46 PM
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OK, quick show of hands. How many of you have completely assembled your A4s, only to see zero oil pressure and realize you forgot to install this block off screw next to the oil pump. Come on now, get those hands up, be honest. Don't make me feel like the only moron in this group!

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Last edited by wristwister; 04-29-2018 at 11:51 PM.
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  #37   IP: 70.186.109.11
Old 04-29-2018, 11:52 PM
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As painful as it is, at least you have a fixable answer.
:-)
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  #38   IP: 24.152.132.140
Old 04-30-2018, 08:38 AM
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On one hand, you're not the first. On the other, didn't we discuss this a month ago? There are three of those plugs.

http://www.moyermarineforum.com/foru...d.php?p=111245
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  #39   IP: 66.235.22.17
Old 05-01-2018, 09:05 PM
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IT'S ALIVE!

She fired right up! A little tweaking on the distributor, adjustment of oil pressure, and she's purring like a kitten (a very large and angry kitten on steroids ... no muffler). Got her up to temp, she settled out at ~160 and stayed there. No leaks, no weird noises, no strange vibrations. I'm STOKED!

... but of course the world isn't completely rosey. Per the manual I re-torqued all the head nuts after it was up to temp, and sure enough, one of them stripped out of the block. Oh well, stud repair kit on order from Moyer.

Thanks so much to all of you for your advice and support. And a BIG thanks to Ken at Moyer, who patiently answered my dumb questions and talked me out of getting myself in trouble several times.

Heading down to my daughter's boat in a couple weeks to drop her in!
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  #40   IP: 8.40.215.126
Old 05-28-2018, 11:48 PM
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So ... I can now tie a nice bow around this whole saga. Just got back from our California road trip where I spent most of the week removing my daughters old engine and installing the new engine. Everything ended up great, her Tartan now has a sweet, fresh A4 that will hopefully carry the boat for the next 42 years.

But ... it certainly didn't start that way. On Day 1 I attempted to remove the old engine, however the prop shaft flange and engine flange were so fused together I couldn't even find the dividing line between the two, just one big blob of metal. The 3 bolts were basically mummified blobs that no wrench in the world could grip. And access to that coupling is very difficult in the Tartan 30. On Day 1, I decided there was no way that coupling was coming apart, so I worked all day on disassembling the reversing gear and housing, thinking I might be able to just leave it fused together while I bolt the tranny to the new motor (which I needed to do anyway). No dice, there was no way I could move the rest of the engine forward and up enough to do that. So I went home, very depressed. I couldn't handle the idea of letting my little girl down. I was a wreck that night.

Then on Day 2 I said "phuggit, violence is the answer". I sawz-all'd and grinded the 3 bolt-like blobs away, and went to town with the hammer, chisel and PB Blaster. It took ample cussing, a little blood, and all day, but finally a crack between the couplings developed. More beating, cussing and blood and I finally got the 2 halves apart. Then the challenge was getting the bolt stubs out of the engine coupling, but my stud extractor and more PB Blaster final got that done.

Installing the new engine then went smoothly. I enlisted the help of a couple strapping young lads to winch the motor into the cabin using the boom, then forward into position (in the T30 the engine is up against the mast). I labeled everything so hookup was a snap. First touch of the key and she fired right up and sounded lovely. The week culminated with my daughter and I taking the old tub out for a couple sails on the bay.

So that's it, DONE. If anyone's interested in the whole story, I put together a detailed journal covering every part of the rebuild, PM me and I'll send it to you.
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  #41   IP: 154.20.7.101
Old 07-03-2019, 01:28 AM
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Hi Wrist,

Are you still able to send your rebuild journal?

CC
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