It'll be interesting to see... hopefully Maine Sail will post photos of the two side-by-side so that any differences in the design are clearly apparent. 
Cracked Bell Housing - Part 2 (photo heavy)
- Thread starter Maine Sail
- Start date
Re: Gotta Love Boats !! - Part 2 (photo heavy)
But then again the replacement housing just could be imported from China or Japan and be made much cheaper and will need to be drilled out so that all the bolt holes will line up to the block. And it won't have any gussets at all. Isn't it funny how replacement parts nowadays just don't seem to fit? Oh well I'm sure Maine Sail will keep us updated.
If the new part were to be made cheaper. I would seriously consider welding and reinforcing the original housing myself. At least I'd feel bettter knowing a more substancial part remains onboard.
Keep it up,
Ctskip
But then again the replacement housing just could be imported from China or Japan and be made much cheaper and will need to be drilled out so that all the bolt holes will line up to the block. And it won't have any gussets at all. Isn't it funny how replacement parts nowadays just don't seem to fit? Oh well I'm sure Maine Sail will keep us updated.
If the new part were to be made cheaper. I would seriously consider welding and reinforcing the original housing myself. At least I'd feel bettter knowing a more substancial part remains onboard.
Keep it up,
Ctskip
So far
Let's see....
Sent photos of bell housing to buddy who owns an aluminum foundry. He marked up the photos and sent them back confirming a poor cure and porosity. Forwarded photos to Westerbeke and they are shipping me a new bell housing today. They are a good company! I never asked for anything just an answer as to if this may happen again and they are replacing the bell housing at N/C. Beyond that..
-Rebuilt starter and replaced the clutch and the rear bearing
Stripped and painted starter.
-Stripped & painted lots of brackets and engine pieces.
-Cleaned, polished & rebuilt my Perko sea strainer with a new gasket set and one piece sweep ells.
-Stripped and re-painted the coupling
-Had HX boiled out, pressure tested and then I cleaned and stripped it, still need to paint it.
-Bought lots of parts for preventative maintenance; rear main seal, gasket for rear main, valve cover gasket, thermostat, thermostat gasket, damper plate and retaining bolts, all new hoses for engine (every single one), all new AWAB hose clamps for entire engine, new PSS seal w/AWAB's, motor mounts, Westerbeke engine paint etc. etc..
I don't prescribe to fix what breaks I prescribe to the "while you are in there" camp or mentality. I'm certain that if I stuck everything back together, and only replaced the bell housing, something else would have failed like the damper plate, rear main or starter.
P.S. Factory paint jobs on marine engines SUCK!!!!
Let's see....
Sent photos of bell housing to buddy who owns an aluminum foundry. He marked up the photos and sent them back confirming a poor cure and porosity. Forwarded photos to Westerbeke and they are shipping me a new bell housing today. They are a good company! I never asked for anything just an answer as to if this may happen again and they are replacing the bell housing at N/C. Beyond that..
-Rebuilt starter and replaced the clutch and the rear bearing
Stripped and painted starter.
-Stripped & painted lots of brackets and engine pieces.
-Cleaned, polished & rebuilt my Perko sea strainer with a new gasket set and one piece sweep ells.
-Stripped and re-painted the coupling
-Had HX boiled out, pressure tested and then I cleaned and stripped it, still need to paint it.
-Bought lots of parts for preventative maintenance; rear main seal, gasket for rear main, valve cover gasket, thermostat, thermostat gasket, damper plate and retaining bolts, all new hoses for engine (every single one), all new AWAB hose clamps for entire engine, new PSS seal w/AWAB's, motor mounts, Westerbeke engine paint etc. etc..
I don't prescribe to fix what breaks I prescribe to the "while you are in there" camp or mentality. I'm certain that if I stuck everything back together, and only replaced the bell housing, something else would have failed like the damper plate, rear main or starter.
P.S. Factory paint jobs on marine engines SUCK!!!!
Re: Gotta Love Boats !! - Part 2 (photo heavy)
Good enough... glad to hear WB stepped up on the bell housing.
Good enough... glad to hear WB stepped up on the bell housing.
Re: Gotta Love Boats !! - Part 2 (photo heavy)
Some companies are concerned with making certain that their customers are satisfied. And some are more concerned with the bottom line. The former endure and the latter disappear after a while. Westerbeake has been a name I have heard all of my life when boats were discussed.
I wonder with all of their experience how they had a bad casting get through?
Some companies are concerned with making certain that their customers are satisfied. And some are more concerned with the bottom line. The former endure and the latter disappear after a while. Westerbeake has been a name I have heard all of my life when boats were discussed.
I wonder with all of their experience how they had a bad casting get through?
Re: Gotta Love Boats !! - Part 2 (photo heavy)
Bad castings happen more often than we'd like them to. I've seen two in my life experiences , both Harley cases, and both were replaced with no questions asked. Poor castings happen.
Glad to hear the news and even happier that the new housing isn't costing you but some time and maintenance. It's all the fun part of our sport. Getting up close and personal with our toys. Thanks for the update.
Keep it up,
Ctskip
Bad castings happen more often than we'd like them to. I've seen two in my life experiences , both Harley cases, and both were replaced with no questions asked. Poor castings happen.
Glad to hear the news and even happier that the new housing isn't costing you but some time and maintenance. It's all the fun part of our sport. Getting up close and personal with our toys. Thanks for the update.
Keep it up,
Ctskip