Engine Checkout

[Sailor Dog]

Hello Afourians,

I'm reaching out for commentary on my pursuit of a replacement engine for our Catalina 27 Atomic 4.

I am considering purchasing a rebuilt engine. This engine was completely rebuilt in 2004 and documented. Soon thereafter as the engine was sitting in the main cabin, the boat was flooded with rain water. The boat was pumped out and the engine was pulled from the boat, flushed with several oil changes, ran briefly and put into dry storage. Two weeks ago I put a small amount of ATF in each cylinder to seep in and lubricate the rings. The engine oil is clean and at the right level. Here's my plan to check out the engine.
With the plugs out I'll turn the engine a few rotations with the starter.
I'll check the compression and then the ignition.
I'll put the plugs back in, connect the spark plugs, connect the fuel supply and cooling water and exhaust.
I'll prime the carburetor, start the engine, run it for minute or two and check the flow of the cooling water.
If all goes well I'll make the deal.

Please share your thoughts.

Fair winds,

Sailor Dog

[Peter]

Dog,

I would check the oil after running it to make sure it is not milky.

Also pressure test the block and manifold - lots of descriptions on this form on how to do that.

Hope that helps,

Peter

[roadnsky]

You may get a few good pointers from this FAQ post #5

[Al Schober]

If the water was deep enough to submerge the starter, you may have issues there. Sea water will dissolve the springs in the brush rigging. Commutator may need cleaning.

[Sam]

Picking up on Al's point. About 12 yrs ago my boat sank almost to the deck level [a story for another time] putting the entire engine underwater for most of the weekend. The Lake Michigan water had displaced the oil out of the engine and it was floating on top of the water in the cabin. We gas pumped the water out and refloated and temp patched the boat. We immediately[time is not your friend] went to work on the engine pumping out multiple gallons of water from the block. Cleaned the carb, reassembled and lubed the distributor and was able to start the A4. The alternator was dead and needed rebuilding and we ran off the batteries. Changed the oil w/MMO 4 times and then again later in the season. The starter and the battery selector switch both dramatically failed after that winter layup. Update: still running well today.
Bottom line: I would be leery buying a "flooded" engine unless the issues were immediately addressed.

[joe_db]

A friend's Pearson 30 was sunk by a lighting hit in February (we can have thunderstorms any month here).
A couple days later divers raised the boat and they had the A4 running within the hour. Oil leaked out of the interior nooks and crannies for years afterwards, but the engine was fine.
Boats that sink with shore power on or the batteries on have a hard time