A story of the engine that could.... Then didn't…NOW DOES
- Thread starter jssailem
- Start date
@Project_Mayhem I look forward to John's answer, but if I understand it correctly - he rebuilt because he couldn't find a replacement engine that would work without huge amounts of money and reengineering....
dj
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,051
GOOD QUESTION!
Still too early know the results or how to answer the question.
I feel good about the path that led me to this point. As dj shared, I spent time considering all options. I even explored scrapping the Cal and buying another boat.
The decision on repowering the auxiliary hinged on doing it at an acceptable cost. Knowing that I will not recover much of the financial investment in the boat without an engine, repowering did make sense. The boat has been refitted to sail and cruise, I just need to be able to get it out of the marina. Sailing out is not an option for the marina.
Cost for a BETA engine and v drive, plus engineering to get it into the boat, started really adding up. Adding to the challenge, the location of all serviceable parts on a BETA would be a problem when the engine is put in the boat "backwards". The BETA is really designed to sit in line. To redesign my boat to be inline would have required considerable modification. I explored the changes and tested the reorientation and concluded it was a lot of additional expense for a boat that 's post work would likely be valued at 25% of the repower cost. The real clincher was the delay 6 months in just getting an engine let alone a transmission delivered.
The Perkins engine has a solid history. The setup in my boat is workable. In the beginning I had no idea if the block was still usable. If parts were available. The rebuild cost were a positive factor (about 1/3rd of the BETA project) all was dependent on the machine shop giving me a thumbs up.
It feels, I keep on hiking through the minefield of parts and equipment. So far I have been lucky. We are ahead of the schedule I got from Beta. Costs still appear to be in line. Not happy paying the cost of the slip and the yard fees. I am still in winter rates so that helps.
I'll revisit this query when we get closer to the finish line.
Still too early know the results or how to answer the question.
I feel good about the path that led me to this point. As dj shared, I spent time considering all options. I even explored scrapping the Cal and buying another boat.
The decision on repowering the auxiliary hinged on doing it at an acceptable cost. Knowing that I will not recover much of the financial investment in the boat without an engine, repowering did make sense. The boat has been refitted to sail and cruise, I just need to be able to get it out of the marina. Sailing out is not an option for the marina.
Cost for a BETA engine and v drive, plus engineering to get it into the boat, started really adding up. Adding to the challenge, the location of all serviceable parts on a BETA would be a problem when the engine is put in the boat "backwards". The BETA is really designed to sit in line. To redesign my boat to be inline would have required considerable modification. I explored the changes and tested the reorientation and concluded it was a lot of additional expense for a boat that 's post work would likely be valued at 25% of the repower cost. The real clincher was the delay 6 months in just getting an engine let alone a transmission delivered.
The Perkins engine has a solid history. The setup in my boat is workable. In the beginning I had no idea if the block was still usable. If parts were available. The rebuild cost were a positive factor (about 1/3rd of the BETA project) all was dependent on the machine shop giving me a thumbs up.
It feels, I keep on hiking through the minefield of parts and equipment. So far I have been lucky. We are ahead of the schedule I got from Beta. Costs still appear to be in line. Not happy paying the cost of the slip and the yard fees. I am still in winter rates so that helps.
I'll revisit this query when we get closer to the finish line.
1/3 of the estimated costs is a no brainer! Any day at the dock is better than a day on land!
And the actual cost of repowering with a different engine is always considerably more than at first estimated. This would be particularly true for a boat with an uncommon drivetrain like the v-drive in John's boat.
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,051
I had a good day. Got the cutlass bearing and new shaft installed. Then we put on the PSS Dripless shaft seal, the split flange, and finally the prop back on the shaft.
Need to tighten the prop and and install the new zinc, after positioning the coupling on the transmission. Here is an image of the shaft seal. Not yet compressed or locked down.
Need to tighten the prop and and install the new zinc, after positioning the coupling on the transmission. Here is an image of the shaft seal. Not yet compressed or locked down.
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,051
This has been a step forward step backward project. In my last post there was a lot of excitement.
The engine sounded like it was ready to test. The painter was reportedly going to use the improving weather to get the paint on the boat. SO I drove up to Everett with enthusiasm.
When I got there, the mechanic was still fussing. He had gotten to the fuel pump and could not resolve how it went into the engine. It was the wrong pump. The original was missing. He had to order a new one. The painting guy had gotten another opportunity so was splitting time between boats. My boat was resting while he worked on another.
Not to be discouraged, with the help of Les, we tackled the replacement of 3 through hulls while waiting to hear back from the mechanic. One a speed transducer, the others, a 1.5" black water tank dump and a 1/2" (which I increased to 3/4") raw water intake for the toilet and drain for the sink.
The fuel pump connected, the oil cooler lines sorted out I again thought we were moving forward. Mechanic poured oil into the engine. Connected the fuel lines. Hooked up a battery to the starter and tried to turn the engine over. NO OIL PRESSURE. A couple of attempts to move oil through he engine and still nothing. While the mechanic wrestled with this latest challenge, I finished the thru-hulls, told the painter the priority was on him, as well as any delays caused by waiting for paint at $50 a day. Raced home to Salem to address family needs and then 3 days later was back in Everett to see the engine start.
Damn again. Yes we had oil flowing, fuel oozed from the right places as we bled the lines all looked good. The engine puffed but would not start. The mechanic was frustrated. We tried adjusting the timing, confirmed we had compression, the valve cover came off and oil was spraying, the valves were rising and falling at the proper time.
That is when I suggested... perhaps it is the injectors. When I had installed the injectors nearly a years ago as all this affair started, then had just come from the shop. I installed them and the engine would not start. I suspected it was my fuel system, after all the injectors had just been professionally rebuilt and looked like new. Yet here we were with the exact same symptoms, only this time we knew the engine was ready.
The Mechanic took the injectors to the same specialist. They put all four injectors on a tester and damn. The internal rod/valve was stuck closed on all of them so fuel was not being delivered. One of the four also had a broken tip. No wonder the engine would not start. This issue is in the process of being resolved. I will know more tonight. While I am pissed that the injectors were a part of the problem, that they did not fire probably asaved me from a worst disaster. That if being in the middle of a tidal passage and having the engine fail catastrophically. What has occurred is the engine failure permitted me to correct the years damage done by the seawater leak into the exhaust.
I'll have a rebuild engine and transmission. If we can only get the bloody thing to go VROOM.,.
The engine sounded like it was ready to test. The painter was reportedly going to use the improving weather to get the paint on the boat. SO I drove up to Everett with enthusiasm.
When I got there, the mechanic was still fussing. He had gotten to the fuel pump and could not resolve how it went into the engine. It was the wrong pump. The original was missing. He had to order a new one. The painting guy had gotten another opportunity so was splitting time between boats. My boat was resting while he worked on another.
Not to be discouraged, with the help of Les, we tackled the replacement of 3 through hulls while waiting to hear back from the mechanic. One a speed transducer, the others, a 1.5" black water tank dump and a 1/2" (which I increased to 3/4") raw water intake for the toilet and drain for the sink.
The fuel pump connected, the oil cooler lines sorted out I again thought we were moving forward. Mechanic poured oil into the engine. Connected the fuel lines. Hooked up a battery to the starter and tried to turn the engine over. NO OIL PRESSURE. A couple of attempts to move oil through he engine and still nothing. While the mechanic wrestled with this latest challenge, I finished the thru-hulls, told the painter the priority was on him, as well as any delays caused by waiting for paint at $50 a day. Raced home to Salem to address family needs and then 3 days later was back in Everett to see the engine start.
Damn again. Yes we had oil flowing, fuel oozed from the right places as we bled the lines all looked good. The engine puffed but would not start. The mechanic was frustrated. We tried adjusting the timing, confirmed we had compression, the valve cover came off and oil was spraying, the valves were rising and falling at the proper time.
That is when I suggested... perhaps it is the injectors. When I had installed the injectors nearly a years ago as all this affair started, then had just come from the shop. I installed them and the engine would not start. I suspected it was my fuel system, after all the injectors had just been professionally rebuilt and looked like new. Yet here we were with the exact same symptoms, only this time we knew the engine was ready.
The Mechanic took the injectors to the same specialist. They put all four injectors on a tester and damn. The internal rod/valve was stuck closed on all of them so fuel was not being delivered. One of the four also had a broken tip. No wonder the engine would not start. This issue is in the process of being resolved. I will know more tonight. While I am pissed that the injectors were a part of the problem, that they did not fire probably asaved me from a worst disaster. That if being in the middle of a tidal passage and having the engine fail catastrophically. What has occurred is the engine failure permitted me to correct the years damage done by the seawater leak into the exhaust.
I'll have a rebuild engine and transmission. If we can only get the bloody thing to go VROOM.,.
It's always something... You think you are nearing the end of the tunnel only to find another twist... Your engine will go VROOM again, just don't know when...
dj
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,051
It was an anomaly... The specialist suggested the units may have sat around for too long. They were on on the boat engine from March to August while I tried to get the engine to start. All that time the lack of combustion was the same. It leads me to believe that they were not properly serviced from the get go.
