Toy Boat in the bath tub.

[Pete]

THAT's THE solution to my problem. With a rubber band powered paddle wheel instead of the Atomic 4.

Well, not really. Like marriage, can't give up.(. this old boat and its gasoline bomb of an engine)

Here's the latest from foggy and fire ravaged Northern Calif. Humboldt Bay.

1. Boat's been tied up for over a year. Finally got a good rebuilt A4. She runs like a champ. Quiet, smooth , nice!
2. But..........new problem: Transmission/Prop shaft.
works well in reverse and neutral.....pulls hard against the mooring lines.
But in FOWARD.........there's a loud knocking noise. Its coming from the aft end of the prop shaft....at the "dripless thing" that keeps the Pacific Ocean from sinking my boat. (boat still pulls hard on lines, even in foward gear)
3. And just to deepen the mystery, if I squeeze the rubber dripless thing, THE NOISE STOPS !!!! (how about that! ain't it interesting?}

4. Me and the real mechanic installed the new engine, then re-installed it with shims. He tested the propshaft with a dial indicator...it was 40/1000ths
out of round or warped or some such thing.
He also dial gauged the two Flanges on the engine that run the shaft. The flanges were normal.
5. He's coming back to try adjusting engine mounts (shims)again, to see if that makes the loud knocking noise disappear from where it lurks inside the dripless contraption.
6. If that doesn't stop the knock, he recommends hauling the boat out (again) and having a machinest true up the shaft. (lots of work and $$$$$ and time. )

7. If anybody out there has any Ideas..about this...I'll listen to them all.

8. If not, I'm going to Staples or Office Max. They sell rubber bands in bulk.
(Toys R Us sells the boats)

Thanks for listening PS: If anybody in N. Calif needs an excellent A4 engine mechanic/rebuilder let me know. I call you with his name and # . He's in Sausalito.

see ya

Pete (plus wife and cat living aboard a Pearson 28 on Humboldt Bay.

[msauntry]

Can you feel the knocking when you squeeze the dripless seal? I understand they have a smooth face that it spins against which is held by a set screw on the shaft. Perhaps the year of sitting caused something in this arrangement to stick together that shouldn't have. Maybe the set screw fell out or something is stuck in there.
Maybe the cutlass bearing is spinning in its hole because it froze to the shaft. Grab some pliers and dive overboard and see if you can wiggle it.

I don't think its anything serious that's engine related.

[David Masury]

#1 cutless bearing, if worn in an elipse, the shaft will chatter

#2 do you have a folding prop?... and one blade is not opening up all the way.


David

[Pete]

David and Msantry

Thanks for your feedback on the misbehaving prop shaft noise.

If I dive overboard to check the shaft I'll freeze. No kidding. Its cold as the upper anatomy of a sorceress (politically correct translation). Besides, the diver who cleaned the boat's bottom said the cutlass looked ok to him.

Msantry ( did I spell that right?) To answer your question: I felt no knocking when I grabbed hold of the dripless thing's tube. The noise just stopped and everything ran smooth.

(if those last sentences sound like lines from a racy novel, they're not. Really! This is Atomic 4 vocabulary; serious technical stuff; snap-on tools and
grease under the fingernails stuff.)

All kidding aside....thanks for the feedbag; fatback; I mean feed bach.

Old Pete in Calif.

PS: best of luck on any A4 projects you guys may be working on

[Baltimore Sailor]

Put a stainless steel hose clamp around the dripless thing's tube to hold it for you?

[Pete]

Hey Baltimore guy......

I've seriously thought about doing just that: a hose clamp around the rubber boot on the dripless contratption. But if there's something seriously wrong I don't want to make it worse.

But maybe that might solve the problem. I'll let you know.


Thanks for the idea

[SEMIJim]

2. But..........new problem: Transmission/Prop shaft.
works well in reverse and neutral.....pulls hard against the mooring lines.

Shouldn't be pulling anything, in any direction, in neutral .

But in FOWARD.........there's a loud knocking noise. Its coming from the aft end of the prop shaft....at the "dripless thing" that keeps the Pacific Ocean from sinking my boat. (boat still pulls hard on lines, even in foward gear)
3. And just to deepen the mystery, if I squeeze the rubber dripless thing, THE NOISE STOPS !!!! (how about that! ain't it interesting?}

When you say "dripless thing," do you perhaps really mean a dripless system such as a PSS Dripless Shaft Seal system? If so, I found this: Knocking noise partially solved

Jim