New here, just got an a4

[southcoasting]

As a long time A4 dabbler and long time lurker on this site, I can tell you that you came to the right place. I have been on the FB pages and have gotten hostility at times and have observed others as well. I don't go back there after seeing that. Here you will get help from some of the most respected senior members whom have seen it all with these engines.

A couple things I can recommend to do as some of your first jobs (I did it to both my previous A4 and my current A4) is to

1. First look over your engine wiring and re-new any that you as suspect with proper wiring grades/thickness using clean connections and heat shrink terminals. Install fuses where you see any missing where they should go while at it. Refer to here for the proper A4 wiring specs.
2. Second is to make sure you have clean fuel. Inspect tank for clean fuel and install a polishing filter before your carb and replace it every "x" amount of hours. Use fuel stabilizer in fuel if not using in Winter.

Love my A4 for its simplicity but more importantly, the user support and parts available for it here. Good luck with yours!

[Fred1diver]

Talk about fast service, I ordered some parts early last week and they are already here, time to upgrade to an electronic ignition and rebuild the oberdorfer pump.

[Fred1diver]

Ok so I started the engine today, started right up, that takes a look of stress off my shoulders, after I changed the plugs, the oil ( the old one smelled of gas), got the okd impeller out, wanted to install the new one (oberdorfer pump) but my snap ring pliers are too big for the small snap ring, will have to go shopping tomorrow

[TimBSmith]

Great to see this post.....steady forward on your A4 adventure...

To clarify, did you mean to say that your engine oil smelled of gasoline? This is worthy of a little more discussion.

I did quick research and found this "The main cause of why your gas is getting into the engine oil is that your fuel mixture is too rich. If your fuel mixture is too rich, the combustion chamber won't ignite all of the fuel, and this will cause the fuel to run through the piston rings down into the oil pan."

I will leave it to the MVP's for more insights here. I imagine it would be useful to test spark on each cylinder, cylinder compression, and consider carburetor as well as scavenger tube functioning.

You are on your way. Well done...on progress and working toward next steps. I am refreshing and learning right beside you.

[Fred1diver]

What didn’t help is that there was no anti siphon valve on the fuel line and the valve was left in the open position all winter, so I suspect the fuel went in that way, I now have installed an anti siphon valve and I make sure the fuel valve is in the closed position when not in use.

[sastanley]

Another possible cause for fuel in the crankcase is a failed mech pump diaphragm. Fred, did you rebuild that too, or switch to an electric pump? The electric pump requires a few additional electronic switches to meet USCG regulations.

Glad you got it running, we are always happy to continue to help you become more familiar with the motor!

edit - not sure if this ever got answered, but most Oberdorfers have the grease cup..the 202mX line. It is just a knurled cup about the size of a sewing thimble screwed on to the side of the pump. Every few years you unscrew it, pack some grease in and give it a 1/4 turn every few weeks.

Arrow pointing at grease cup. If you spin it too much, grease will ooze out of the threads.

[Sam]

fyi - you might have some "dried/caked" grease in there so when you turn the thumb screw it squirts out the side. Next time you service pump it is something to check. I always grease the shaft a bit when I reinstall after winter layup - helps seal bushings from damage. [ if you pull shaft you might want to file a small bevel on shaft end before reinstalling].

[Al Schober]

The item with the ? is the inlet settling bowl for the mechanical fuel pump. It sorta works, but is a good source for a fuel leak due to corrosion of the bowl. Moyer sells a replacement bowl.
You may want to consider changing to an electric fuel pump.

[Fred1diver]

I thinkI found out why I can’t find the grease cup, I will need to follow the hose to know where to grease it

[Surcouf]

indeed! somebody did not want to crawl for greasing!

[sastanley]

Oh wow...a remote greaser!

[Fred1diver]

What kind of grease does the impeller need?

[Sam]

White lithium grease/marine grease. I put a thin coat on shaft to help ease the install. You may want to take a file to the back of the shaft to slightly bevel the round sharp edge - potentially minimizes bushing damage slidding the shaft into the pump body.

[Sam]

Don't over think the issue - any quality 10w-30 is fine. When the oil specs were first designated by Universal engineers multi grade was not invented many decades ago. Briefly the "w" represents "winter" - the the solvents in the oil thin it out. At summer temps and operating temps the modifers in the oil is "30" weight ie thicker and meets original spec. At cold Canada temps a case can be made for the multi grade over the straight grade for better flow at start up. The real concern is changing the oil often [25 to 50 hrs] and change oil just prior to winter layup. The 40 wt is good as well and quiets down older engines.

[Fred1diver]

Went out motoring today to get a feel for the new boat and the motor.
It’s very hard to shift, my thinking is that the idle is set too high, but no tach on the boat, how difficult is it to install one?
Other than high rpm’s what could cause it to shift hard?