Help I'm in big trouble

S

Stephane Aloise

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May 1, 2016
15
Catalina 30 Lake Champlain
Hello,

I have a small oil leak on my M25 engine near the oil filter and alternator. In mooring at 4 hours of my marina I décided To take off thé alternator To see the leak. What I saw is terrible I think. ....my engine block were my alternator is fix is broken and I can see inside the block. .I ran few hours with this problem without loosing to much oil. ....can I try To come back?
Do you think that can be weld or my engine la dead now?
 
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kloudie1

kloudie1

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Nov 6, 2006
9,894
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
If you are lucky, it is the typical alternator mounting bracket thing that happens to M-25's .. Stu will weigh in on this one when he sees it .. There have been several posts about this problem.. and there is a kit to modify the bracket.. but since this one is already broken, a repair of the gear case cover and the modified bracket..?
 
capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,773
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Holy cow, Batman. You have my deepest sympathies. Good luck.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,776
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
You'll find what kloudie is referring t in here:

Engines 101 - The BIGGEST & BEST collection of M25 Series Universal Engine Information on the Internet, plus some M35, too :)

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

You need to have a professional look at it. Please also post some other pictures that are not so close up so we can get a better idea where the damage is located.
 
Mark Maulden

Mark Maulden

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Jan 25, 2011
2,402
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
I'm no expert with this engine. Have never even seen one. But I'm a fair mechanic, and, from what i see, this damage is on a gear cover/timing cover of some sort. From the pic, it looks like it is bolted on. Assuming that cover is available, it would be several hrs to just replace it....IMHO
 
jibes138

jibes138

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Jan 27, 2008
3,045
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Stephane, I am sending you a private message. Please read it, we may be able to help each other out.
 
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smokey73

smokey73

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Oct 26, 2010
1,904
Hunter 40.5 Beaufort, SC
For the immediate time being I'd be worried about where the hunk of metal is. From the look if it, it may be still on the piece you removed if that is where a bracket attached and that is a good thing. If not, where is it? As someone else posted, it looks like its you're not looking into the block but into a cover for a gear train so that is good news. I don't know how long its been that way (you say you had a leak, how long has it been leaking? You wouldn't want that missing piece of metal to get into anything important where it could do damage! If you're 4 hours from your Marina could you find a buddy with a big enough boat to tow you on a calm day back to your marina assuming none of the tow is offshore? Just a thought. Its probably worth the fuel cost and a case of beer.
 
M

MitchM

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Jan 20, 2005
1,021
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
DO NOT run this engine home. get a tow. the picture of the broken piece of housing allows you to see one of the gears in the transmission. gears need lubrication. the broken housing will allow the gear case lubricating oil to escape and it will NOT be available to lubricate the gears properly. the gear case usually DOES NOT have its own low oil pressure alarm system. so you will not know there is no oil in the gear case until you see oil all over the floor. only a good mechanic can tell you whether a weld repair on the gear case housing will be strong enough under vibration , pressure and heat loading to allow proper lubrication and operation of the transmission and its gears. this engine looks pretty old and far gone, such a repair may not be worth while.
 
All U Get

All U Get

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Oct 2, 2008
3,807
Pearson/ 530 Strafford, NH
By your picture I can see a little piece lying just below the opening. If it is, grab it. Jibes just fixed something similar if I remember right. So this opening has been there a while? Interesting options, are you on Lake Champlain now?

All U Get
 
Skipper

Skipper

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Oct 9, 2008
1,739
Bristol 29.9 Dana Point
A radical solution, maybe for you or future readers:
The timing gear cases are long gone.
The only way to get one is used.
Some might try to find a used marine motor from which to cannibalize parts.
Marine motors can be pricy, even used.
You might instead look for the corresponding Kubota tractor motor used.
Or, just buy the whole tractor.
An old Kubota tractor might be $1,500. About the same as a new gear case if they were available.
Look on tractors-for-sale websites. Might be one for sale local.
Swipe the motor from the tractor, then junk the chassis.
It will be a giant amount of wrenching and the logistics a pain in the ass, but it might be doable and affordable.
You'll have to look up which motor number is the same as the M25, and which tractor model has that motor.
And, I believe the Universal M18 has the same gear case cover, so in a pinch you can try for that motor/tractor model.

There's a lot of unknowns here. Others can comment re is the gear case a fit etc.
 
LeslieTroyer

LeslieTroyer

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May 20, 2016
3,014
Catalina 36 MK1 94 Everett, WA
The PO of my C36 had similar failure. Those timing covers are more or less unobtainable and if you do find one expect to pay well north of $1000. Mine is welded you should find the mailing piece on the alternator bracket. What ever you do please purchase and install the upgraded bracket that Stu references pulling that timing cover is a psi and will take time. While off make sure the two currently unused bolt/stud holes in the tstat housing are not obstructed. I had to drill and tap mine while it was on the engine (the new bracket uses these holes. Maine Sail has good instructions on installing it. I had to pull the exhaust manifold to put longer studs in

Les
 
B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,131
CC 30 South Florida
Remove the timing cover, find the missing piece and take it to a welder to see what he could do to make a repair. It seems the alternative of finding a used part at a reasonable cost is almost impossible.
 
CloudDiver

CloudDiver

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Sep 8, 2014
2,551
Catalina 22 Swing Keel San Diego
I wish I was better at welding aluminum, that is something I could fix for a fellow sailor at minimal cost... Like others have pointed out, finding a used timing cover is probably your best bet. Worst case, it can be repaired. Since it is just cover it can be removed and transported easily rather than having to lift out the entire motor and tearing it down (if a broken block were the case, $$$$, just buy a new motor). Aluminum is tricky but not impossible, it just needs to be hyper clean. Avoid 'Marine' welders, they will charge in the ball-park of $80 to &120 per hour. Looking for a good 'local' welder who is experienced with aluminum isn't hard, and normally they would charge $40 to $60 per hour and I think that is a 3 hour job. Personally, I wouldn't charge you for the time it takes to degrease the cover and clean in an acid bath, but some might.
Good luck, but I think its completely possible to get this repair done for about $200 to $300.
 
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