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I am a new owner of 1976 Tartan 30c that came with an Atomic 4. We launched this past Friday and had two great sails over the weekend and the engine seemed to work great. On our return that Saturday, we noticed we had water near the engine and found a hole that had opened up in the Water Jacket Side Plate.
Of note, I know next to nothing about engines but figured that the purchase of this boat would afford me the opportunity to learn and the learning has begun already! I was able to pick up the side plate, t fitting, gasket and new hose at a local store. I removed the alternator and had enough room to work on removing the side plate. After reading the threads in here about problems with the bolts, I said a prayer and dove in. No problems with the bolts and everything came off easily. Inside the plate was gray murky water with some silt in the bottom of the engine. We scooped out what we could and cleaned the area where the plate was to be attached with a wire brush. Was that sufficient cleaning or should we have done something more involved? We reattached the plate and new hoses and water flow seemed to work well.
After testing this and coming back and reading some more, I realized we did not put a distributor cap on the inside of the T fitting. I get the impression we are OK for the short term, but will we need to install this sooner rather than later? If there was one on the original plate, it was not there when we removed it. Another question I have is on installing the bolts. I did not use any kind of compound or threading agent when I installed these and only half of them had washers. Should I get washers for all of them and should I apply something to the bolts before putting them in the plate? Lastly, I noticed that the T fitting on the plate sold here assembled looks to have been bedded somehow. Should I apply something to the T Fitting as well?
In an unrelated problem, I don't seem to be getting in readings on my Water Temperature gauge. That will be next project and Ill start a new thread on that one.
Of note, I know next to nothing about engines but figured that the purchase of this boat would afford me the opportunity to learn and the learning has begun already! I was able to pick up the side plate, t fitting, gasket and new hose at a local store. I removed the alternator and had enough room to work on removing the side plate. After reading the threads in here about problems with the bolts, I said a prayer and dove in. No problems with the bolts and everything came off easily. Inside the plate was gray murky water with some silt in the bottom of the engine. We scooped out what we could and cleaned the area where the plate was to be attached with a wire brush. Was that sufficient cleaning or should we have done something more involved? We reattached the plate and new hoses and water flow seemed to work well.
After testing this and coming back and reading some more, I realized we did not put a distributor cap on the inside of the T fitting. I get the impression we are OK for the short term, but will we need to install this sooner rather than later? If there was one on the original plate, it was not there when we removed it. Another question I have is on installing the bolts. I did not use any kind of compound or threading agent when I installed these and only half of them had washers. Should I get washers for all of them and should I apply something to the bolts before putting them in the plate? Lastly, I noticed that the T fitting on the plate sold here assembled looks to have been bedded somehow. Should I apply something to the T Fitting as well?
In an unrelated problem, I don't seem to be getting in readings on my Water Temperature gauge. That will be next project and Ill start a new thread on that one.
- Also, since my block has various levels of corrosion, I liberally gooped one side of the gasket to help avoid leaks...if yours isn't leaking you might be OK.
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