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Old 09-26-2010, 02:07 PM
Laker Laker is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Sheboygan wis.
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Do I have to pull my A-4 ???

Boat bio:

I purchased a somewhat tired '67 Columbia 34 10 years ago. Had a ball sailing for 2 years , pulled out the low compression Atomic and replaced it with a better unit (product of a diesel upgrade) , ran the "new" engine for about 2 hrs then laid up the boat for a 2 year renovation which turned into 8 years.

Prior to the long delayed launch I decided to perform an engine run-up , and in preparing to do so made the really stupid mistake of force feeding water to the coolant system. When I cranked the engine it puked water out of the carb. Lots of water in the cylinders. The head put up a great fight against removal. After winning that battle I found that exhaust valves 1 , 3 & 4 were stuck open. After much effort I freed the valves , re-assembled and started the A-4. The oil was a mess of gray glop , water , and a mixture of carb cleaner & WD40 (from the valve war) , so I changed oil 4 times , running the engine between each change. After a week without a start up I found that all 3 valves were stuck AGAIN! The head came off real easy this time , and once more I freed up the offending valves , re-assembled and started. Another idle week passed , and I found that #3 was stuck. All in all I pulled the head 5 times , valve #3 being a real bas*ard. (The good news is that I got my elapsed time on the valve surgery down from 2 hr 45 minutes to 45 minutes flat!)

I ran the engine daily for 3-4 weeks to prevent another stuck valve , then weaned to every 2-3 days ; running well with no valve problem. All is well except that I think that one lifter is a little louder than the rest , possibly a result of the #3 lifter banging around loosely when I revved the engine with the valve stuck open ?

Aside from the possibly loud lifter, (and I could be overly sensitive to that , given the time I've spent with my arms wrapped around that engine) , my A-4 is running well. The angel on my right shoulder is telling me to pull the engine and do a valve inspection and possible sevice/repairs over the winter. The devil on the left shoulder is saying the the mill is running fine and I just got the boat re-assembled and launched for the first time in 100 years so don't make another mess.

Question to the readers : Do I have to pull my Atomic 4? If so , what should I expect to find/service in the valve system ? On one hand I am sick of working on my boat , but at the same time I want the auxiliary to be reliable and worry free.

That's my story and question ,

Charles on Lake Michigan
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