Arrgh, M25 Engine Alternator Bracket Upgrade Craziness

Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,776
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
doublebuffle said:
I did not find this described elsewhere.
Click to expand
Except it is included in Maine Sail's write up. I was fortunate that my studs were long enough that I didn't have to do that.

And as I said earlier, I helped a friend with his M25 on his Ericson 32 and we removed the short studs, one at a time, no leaks. Just my experiences.
 
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doublebuffle

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Sep 15, 2016
25
Catalina 30 Newport, RI
I reread it and I still don’t see where it says that if your studs are long enough to remove AND you choose to replace them, then the coolant must be drained first (assuming that you are not removing the manifold). After looking into the coolant fill hole, while empty, I’m still not sure how it gets through.

Anyways, if you go this route, Maine’s right; draining/bleeding the coolant adds lots of time to this project.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,776
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
doublebuffle said:
I reread it and I still don’t see where it says that if your studs are long enough to remove AND you choose to replace them, then the coolant must be drained first (assuming that you are not removing the manifold).
Click to expand
Did you actually re-read the link Maine Sail provided in reply #2 on page 1? Perhaps I'm missing your point, but he did say:

"Occasionally you will have an M-25 with longer manifold studs as it shipped from the factory. Unfortunately this engine was not one of them. In order to install the new alternator bracket it utilizes the manifold studs to hold the new bracket to the engine. If these studs are too short as they are here, they need to be replaced.

NOTE: If you have any room at all to get a second nut on the stud they can be pulled without removing the manifold! Unfortunately, as can be seen, this engine had zero clearance beyond the nut necessitating removing the entire manifold to do this job. Not all engines came with studs this short. If your are long enough to get two nuts on USE THAT METHOD..."

And then went on to show pictures of removing the manifold.

Sorry if I sound obtuse, but I believe it is all there, between his writeup and mine. His, of course, is better, 'cuz he has better pictures and I didn't have to remove my manifold or exhaust riser or drain coolant.

Good luck, and glad it worked for you.

Psst - spread the word. As Maine Sail says, would you believe there are still folks out there...? Whenever I meet new skippers, I ask them what websites they frequent. If I get a blank look, it seems to tell me a lot about them, unless they're mechanical marvels. Wonder what their capes look like? :):):)
 
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doublebuffle

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Sep 15, 2016
25
Catalina 30 Newport, RI
That’s all good but yes, you're missing my point. Which is:
1. I remove studs.
2. I do not remove manifold.
3. I replace studs.
It seems that this was your situation as well.

In his write-up, (which was very helpful), his situation was.
1. Could not remove studs.
2. Removed manifold.
3. Replaced studs.
4. Replaced manifold.

I really can’t put it more plainly. In fact, Maine briefly mentions my(and your) situation in the very writeup portions that you posted here. He omits whether or not the coolant needs to be drained for this situation. This is the basis of my question. Since I was unable to find any information on the internal construction of the manifold, I was concerned that the studs provided some kind or isolation between the coolant and the header.

It turns out that I was justified in my concern, because, due to design or corrosion, the removal of the stud will cause the coolant to drain out. This happened to me. Moreover, I had already drained the manifold and there was just a small amount in the bottom of the header.

I think you miss my meaning and why I post this at all. My leaky stud hole is problematic for a number of potential reasons.
1. Pretty bad. The stud through-hole is not isolated from coolant, and the presence of coolant in this area means that there is only an exhaust gasket separating the coolant from the nice-water-free inside of my engine cylinders. That gasket is newly-loosened what with not having a stud there anymore. If I had coolant in my bore, that would be pretty bad.
2. Not so bad. Sometimes in engines, studs will terminated in a passage, in this case I guess that the stud could terminate in a cooling passage, and my leaky stud would just have been coolant from the engine. I think this is unlikely, but if true, just a matter of spilled coolant.
3. Just me. Maybe my manifold is just rusted through somewhere?

I think in any of these cases, I think it is worth informing the interested that they should definitely drain coolant before attempting this job.

All that stuff above... was why I said the thing about turning over with the decom open...
 
LeslieTroyer

LeslieTroyer

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May 20, 2016
3,014
Catalina 36 MK1 94 Everett, WA
If you pull one at a time you’ll only dribble out the manifold stud hole. Be sure and use permitted #2 on new studs.

I pulled the manifold, cause I was paranoid about breaking the studs.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

.
Feb 26, 2004
22,776
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
doublebuffle said:
That’s all good but yes, you're missing my point. Which is:
1. I remove studs.
2. I do not remove manifold.
3. I replace studs.
It seems that this was your situation as well.
Click to expand
db, we seem to be like ships passing in the night! :) Again, my studs were the LONG variety, mentioned in MS's example, not mine particularly. I did NOT have to replace the studs. I was undoubtedly very lucky.

I understand the rest of your thoughts completely and agree.

Guess we got there. :)
 
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