Opening water strainer

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Feb 20, 2014

ArkadiyS said:
Is there a special tool that is needed to access water strainer on Cat 30? The top has this odd triangular grip design that seems to need a special tool to open it. Is there a simple way of accessing the water strainer that is inside the clear container? Thanks!

It doesn't sound like you have the stock strainer that came with the C30. Is it plastic or bronze? Could be a Groco from your description. (http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|51|2234255|2234257&id=1798624)

If it is the Groco, they do make a tool (http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|51|2234255|2234260&id=827246).

I photo could help us tell what you have.

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Feb 20, 2014

ArkadiyS said:
Jesse, i have attached a top view picture for reference. Hopefully it helps. Thanks!

Yup, that looks like a Groco.

Could use some cleaning too. You might want to check out this article: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/rebuilding_a_sea_strainer

Not the same strainer but the basic principles are still good. The make replacement gaskets and such for the Groco units.

Jesse

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Feb 22, 2014

I had a similar situation on our boat. It was 10 years old when we purchased her but the previous owner didn't spend too much time cleaning it. I used some Gunk engine degreaser on a microfiber and followed that with some soap and water with a scrub brush.

For the brass, red 3m pads with some elbow grease.

FastOlson · Feb 22, 2014

ArkadiyS said:
thanks for the info. Separately, on the cleaning topic... the entire engine compartment is very, very dirty. Any recommendations on what to use and how to do it? I was thinking steam cleaner, but that is most likely not the best option for the boat. The entire engine area is covered in some kind of black soot... the engine runs clean, very low hours, without any oil leaks. The survey found the compression and running temps and RPMS to be as expected. Just not sure how to clean this area... Thanks!

Good chance that the black deposits you see all around are dust from a slipping/wearing alternator drive belt.
Check tension, alignment, and also do some searching on the proper make and model of belt for your engine.
Is the engine a Universal M25 ??

Loren

chrisings · Feb 22, 2014

Never steam clean, or power wash for that matter, any engine! Very bad. Be very careful with chemical cleaners too. Be careful around any electrical connections and sensors. Too many years in the automotive industry has taught me that there is nothing wrong with a dirty engine. "Diesels love their oil boss", true words.

Jongleur · Feb 23, 2014

Dirty engine room/area

I too have a dirty engine room/area. It is
an XP25 with soot/oil/black specks all over.

The sound deadening foam has become
friable. It is falling apart all over. It's black
and little parts of it get all throughout the
boat. I guess I have to bite the bullet and
replace it all. Dat's gonna be a mess.

Oh, yeah. Anybody know a good deal on
sound insulation?

centerline · Feb 23, 2014

chrisings said:
Never steam clean, or power wash for that matter, any engine! Very bad. Be very careful with chemical cleaners too. Be careful around any electrical connections and sensors. Too many years in the automotive industry has taught me that there is nothing wrong with a dirty engine. "Diesels love their oil boss", true words.

I disagree... except for the steam cleaning part.... NEVER steam clean an engine unless its in pieces and going for a rebuild

there is nothing at all wrong with power washing or hot power washing, an engine... its done all the time. its true a gas engine needs a bit of care when you wash it (keep the electrical dry), but a diesel doesnt need the same precautions when you powerwash it.....

but... the electrical on the rest of the boat may get wet when you are blowing around in there with a pressure washer... and at the very least you will have gunk EVERYWHERE, blown from one spot to somewhere else....

hot water at city water pressure is good enough for cleaning the gunk....

as for chemicals, depending on where you are, whitewall cleaner in the gallon can, sprayed on with a garden sprayer, and let set 10 minutes will dissolve the oily residue(its what salvage yards use to clean greasy parts and engines, with a hot pressure washer). it will take a couple of applications if its severe, but its about the strongest cleaner available without going to an industrial strength like the Jadco Chemical AM91, which you dilute about 10-1 to get whitewall cleaner....

washing with hot water will be the biggest help, if you can get enough of it...

chrisings · Feb 24, 2014

Yes Centerline, I agree, a disassembled engine going to rebuild is certainly fit to be steam cleaned.

What I was really trying to convey is why clean the engine in the first place? If it is just so it looks "nice" I wouldn't do it. Engines get dirty, that's part of an engine's persona. More times than not cleaning an engine causes more problems then leaving it a little dirty. Of course its personal choice. If a dirty engine bothers you then go ahead and clean it. The bottom line is that the engine will perform it's duty just fine if its dirty.

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Feb 24, 2014

I posted quickly before from my phone. Here is a more detailed response on what I did to clean my engine. I posted on my blog about it if you want to see some before and after photos. http://svsmitty.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/engine-cleaning-heat-exchanger-altenator/

For the engine, I pulled a lot of the easily removeable parts off of the engine: hoses, wires, fuel lift pump, old belt, etc. Next I hit all of the flaking paint with wire brushes to loosen the paint and get it off the engine. Once that was done I used Gunk Engine Degreaser (http://www.gunk.com/products/DET_EB1.ASP) on a microfiber rag. I would spray a little on the rag and work an area starting at the top of the motor. I used some wooden Q-tips and cheap toothbrushes from the dollar store to help get into the tuff to reach places. You do need to be sure to stay clear of gaskets and seals with the stuff. I had removed the wires so I didn't have to worry about those. Some hard to reach areas I sprayed directly with the Gunk using a straw (like you get on a WD40 can) to direct it into the area.

Once I had cleaned it all the way down, I rinsed it with fresh water using a garden sprayer. This allowed me to control where I rinsed and use very little water. I then vacuumed up the water from the bilge. I did this in the winter so I had to dry the engine with an electric heater. If I was in the water, I would have just run the engine for 45-60 minutes. After that I cleaned the bilge the same way and finally used some orange degreaser from the hardware store for the final cleaning of the bilge.

I then repainted with engine paint from Universal.

For brass stuff, I followed what MaineSail has on his Compass Marine site. I used 3M pads and the Dremel with 3M pads. It cleaned up brass stuff nice and easy. Just a little elbow grease.

On the bilge, I recently painted a portion of mine with BilgeKote from Interlux. Worked great and it will make spotting leaks much easier.

FastOlson · Feb 24, 2014

Clean is Good

chrisings said:
Yes Centerline, I agree, a disassembled engine going to rebuild is certainly fit to be steam cleaned.

What I was really trying to convey is why clean the engine in the first place? If it is just so it looks "nice" I wouldn't do it. Engines get dirty, that's part of an engine's persona. More times than not cleaning an engine causes more problems then leaving it a little dirty. Of course its personal choice. If a dirty engine bothers you then go ahead and clean it. The bottom line is that the engine will perform it's duty just fine if its dirty.

While you may never have a "like new" appearing engine, you should keep it generally clean.
Couple reasons... 1) about 5% of the total cooling capacity designed into it is planned for direct radiation from the block and anciliary parts. A layer of dirt and oil adds insulation. That little extra bit of heat removal may be very important on a hot day with your boat's confined little engine compartment.

2) when (and not "if", over the years) your engine starts leaking any oil or coolant, you need to quickly see where it's coming from.

So do keep it reasonably clean and wiped down. I have worked around a large diesel on our club dredge and maintained the small diesel on our sailboat for well over a decade. Keeping them both (reasonably) clean is pretty easy.
Further, when the day comes when you need to hire a mechanic, you'll find that he/she dislikes working around dirty engines that give the appearance that the owner does not give a damn. People always do their best work when they can see that it's important.

And, NO, my boat's drive train does not look anywhere near as nice the one in MaineSail's boat!

Cheers,
Loren

chrisings · Feb 24, 2014

FastOlson said:
While you may never have a "like new" appearing engine, you should keep it generally clean.
Couple reasons... 1) about 5% of the total cooling capacity designed into it is planned for direct radiation from the block and anciliary parts. A layer of dirt and oil adds insulation. That little extra bit of heat removal may be very important on a hot day with your boat's confined little engine compartment.

2) when (and not "if", over the years) your engine starts leaking any oil or coolant, you need to quickly see where it's coming from.

So do keep it reasonably clean and wiped down. I have worked around a large diesel on our club dredge and maintained the small diesel on our sailboat for well over a decade. Keeping them both (reasonably) clean is pretty easy.
Further, when the day comes when you need to hire a mechanic, you'll find that he/she dislikes working around dirty engines that give the appearance that the owner does not give a damn. People always do their best work when they can see that it's important.

And, NO, my boat's drive train does not look anywhere near as nice the one in MaineSail's boat!

Cheers,
Loren

"generally clean" yes! Steam cleaned, power washed with harsh chemical cleaners, in my opinion, no. I agree with wiped down, excess oil, coolant etc cleaned away. My original comment was regarding my experience in the automotive industry and folks using 3-4 cans of "Gunk" engine cleaner and power washing. Again, in my opinion, causes more problems than it solves. Power washing forces water into places that it should never be.
For general light wiping down and tidying up any excess oil etc, I use "brake clean" and a rag. Easy to control where the chemical goes and it evaporates quickly. Disclaimer: always use in a well ventilated area and ensure no sparks ignite vapors.

But again, your boat, your call. Not the end of the world.

Stu Jackson · Feb 24, 2014

If you want/need info on your engine, you could start here:

http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Scroll down to engine, also read the Critical Upgrades link.

chrisings · Feb 25, 2014

ArkadiyS said:
Thanks guys! The M25 engine on the boat is generally clean, not as clean as my previous red Westerbeke on O'Day, but with the exception of a few rust spots this engine is in OK shape. However, the entire compartment around it is covered in black soot, remnants of a loose belt, and that is what i am looking to clean. I guess that it will be mostly elbow grease and a lot of rags... Also, whatever i use has to be bio friendly since bilge dumps out into the sound, so no harsh chemicals. What is "brake clean"? That sounds like a way to go with a rag.

Brake Cleaner is available at any auto parts store, Auto Zone, Pep Boys, etc. It's pretty nasty stuff that is more a degreaser then anything else. It's designed purpose is to clean grease and other contaminants from brake parts without leaving a residue.

From what you are describing, belt remnants, I think brake clean might be over kill. Personally I would start with a regular garden hose and a "green" cleaner (although most of the advertised "green" cleaners are not really "green" but that's a discussion for a whole other thread, I think we've hijacked this thread enough already

chrisings · Feb 26, 2014

ArkadiyS said:
Chrisings, your answers are EXACTLY what i was looking for! I will try Green Clean and rags... and will buy some brake cleaner, since i am sure that there are engine parts that will require cleaning as well. On a separate note, we bought our Cat 30 from Westbrook in Oct of last year... from Brewers... wonder if you know the boat... it is Poco Andante, soon to be renamed.

Small world! We bought our boat from Brewers in Westbrook right after Christmas. It is Sea Mist also soon to be renamed. Just waiting for some warmer weather so we can take the old name off. Then of course comes the renaming ceremony once she's back in the water :dance:

Which yard are you in, North or South? Since we finalized the sale the weather, as anyone in the northeast knows, hasn't cooperated so we haven't spent too much time at the marina. We're hoping spring hurries up.

Opening water strainer

.

.

.

Attachments

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.