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Sometimes, preventative maintenance is a good thing...or maybe I am lucky I stumbled across this in the off season when I had ulterior motives....
Two things I have not had off the motor since I've had the boat is the manifold and the head. I see no reason to pull the head (yet), but while doing the FWC upgrade, & needing to clean the water jacket....I was thinking a couple of nuts off the manifold studs and off comes the manifold for an in-home cleaning & it seemed like a good idea to me.
(Full disclosure) The C-30 engine is in the middle of the boat. Some C-30's later than mine came with a tank on the port side. I bought a matching tank from Ronco, and I want to install it to add some more fresh water to the boat. The issue is the tank won't currently fit without me cutting up the boat, which I suspect means the water tank was installed before the engine, or the settee cutouts were different/bigger in later boats. I thought maybe I could squeeze the tank by the engine if I removed the hot-stack (which needed inspection after 4 seasons) and then I was removing the fittings on the manifold, and well, the manifold is only 3 more nuts/studs, & I've never had it off, so why not??
This manifold removal will also give me good access to the valve chamber. A fellow motorhead heard the same funny tinging at low RPM that I've heard and thought maybe I had a broken valve spring.
- It's been two years since I've seen the valves...OK, one more more reason to check everything and make it all accessible.
Well...here's where I am getting at...the two forward manifold stud nuts came off no problem..the third aft/bottom one immediately gave me trouble. At first glance, it appeared to have sheared off in the block. After settling down in the car on the way home, on the way to pre-holiday dinner with family and some rational discussion with myself, checking out the crappy phone pictures and some mental pictures.....I think (hope)...maybe the stud just disintegrated when I tried to remove the manifold. There are two pictures...one of the hole in the block where the stud goes...(notice the coolant leaking out & running down the valve cover)..I think that is a good sign the stud's integrity was no good, and also the 2nd pic which is the manifold (in a milk crate in the garage)...the stud sticking out of the manifold is completely worn out I think. The manifold is upside down...the shiny studs go to the hot section & the rusty part is the aft end of the manifold on the bottom...so the broken stud is the dark nubby sticking out above the white rag.
So, my current theory is the stud was intact just enough to keep coolant in the block, until I disturbed it. Put a wrench on it, and it fell apart. The coolant leak I think means the stud threads in the block are corroded/compromised/gone (good news) - I did not get a good visual on the block status, except for the pic.. the family holiday bruncheon called and it was time to go.
Until I get a better look, opinions of anyone that has 'been there done that' are welcome.
Next trip to the boat, I'll go dig into the block with a small pick and ascertain the status. Looking at the pic it is entirely possible I've been having a coolant leak in the area of that stud for some time, just based on the odd corrosion I am seeing just above the valve cover/under the bad stud.
Two things I have not had off the motor since I've had the boat is the manifold and the head. I see no reason to pull the head (yet), but while doing the FWC upgrade, & needing to clean the water jacket....I was thinking a couple of nuts off the manifold studs and off comes the manifold for an in-home cleaning & it seemed like a good idea to me.
(Full disclosure) The C-30 engine is in the middle of the boat. Some C-30's later than mine came with a tank on the port side. I bought a matching tank from Ronco, and I want to install it to add some more fresh water to the boat. The issue is the tank won't currently fit without me cutting up the boat, which I suspect means the water tank was installed before the engine, or the settee cutouts were different/bigger in later boats. I thought maybe I could squeeze the tank by the engine if I removed the hot-stack (which needed inspection after 4 seasons) and then I was removing the fittings on the manifold, and well, the manifold is only 3 more nuts/studs, & I've never had it off, so why not??
This manifold removal will also give me good access to the valve chamber. A fellow motorhead heard the same funny tinging at low RPM that I've heard and thought maybe I had a broken valve spring.
- It's been two years since I've seen the valves...OK, one more more reason to check everything and make it all accessible.Well...here's where I am getting at...the two forward manifold stud nuts came off no problem..the third aft/bottom one immediately gave me trouble. At first glance, it appeared to have sheared off in the block. After settling down in the car on the way home, on the way to pre-holiday dinner with family and some rational discussion with myself, checking out the crappy phone pictures and some mental pictures.....I think (hope)...maybe the stud just disintegrated when I tried to remove the manifold. There are two pictures...one of the hole in the block where the stud goes...(notice the coolant leaking out & running down the valve cover)..I think that is a good sign the stud's integrity was no good, and also the 2nd pic which is the manifold (in a milk crate in the garage)...the stud sticking out of the manifold is completely worn out I think. The manifold is upside down...the shiny studs go to the hot section & the rusty part is the aft end of the manifold on the bottom...so the broken stud is the dark nubby sticking out above the white rag.
So, my current theory is the stud was intact just enough to keep coolant in the block, until I disturbed it. Put a wrench on it, and it fell apart. The coolant leak I think means the stud threads in the block are corroded/compromised/gone (good news) - I did not get a good visual on the block status, except for the pic.. the family holiday bruncheon called and it was time to go.
Until I get a better look, opinions of anyone that has 'been there done that' are welcome.
Next trip to the boat, I'll go dig into the block with a small pick and ascertain the status. Looking at the pic it is entirely possible I've been having a coolant leak in the area of that stud for some time, just based on the odd corrosion I am seeing just above the valve cover/under the bad stud.
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