Engine removal

[TJBurkett]

Hi All,

After discovering a broken motor mount I've been thinking about pulling the engine and doing a rebuild on it. It's a Westerbeake (weighs about 300 lbs) with a little under 2000 hours and no maitenance other then oil and filter changes.

My question is whats the best way to remove the engine? I was thinking of putting a stout piece of lumber across the hatch opening and securing a chain fall to it. How do you get the engine out of the boat? use a forklift or other crane? Is this better done in the water or on the hard?

Any and all suggestions appreciated,

Tom

V-398

 

[winslowbuoy]

Tom - I've taken out several Volvo's from Vegas and have managed without a crane
when no other method available. I use a piece of timber accross the hatchway and a chain hoist. This enables you
to get the engine into the cabin and if a crane or even a tractor bucket or fork
lift can manouvre close enough it can be used to lift out the engine. Failing that I would take off the fly wheel, alternator and any other large
pieces of metal such as the exhaust manifold to lighten the engine as much as
possible. The engine can then be manhandled by three or four people. The most
difficult part is to get it across the cockpit coaming, I've built a platform
outside the boat using whatever to hand, two 40 gallon oil drums with planks on
top works , then removed the guard rails and any stanchions in the way . The
engine can then be lifted onto the top of the coaming and held in balance there
by one helper while the others get ready from the outside platform to lift the
engine down onto the platform. It is then an easier lift to move the engine to
the ground/trolley whatever.

Hope this helps
Mike

________________________________
From: TJBurkett tjburkett@...
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, 29 November, 2010 17:08:22
Subject: [AlbinVega] Engine removal

Hi All,

After discovering a broken motor mount I've been thinking about pulling the
engine and doing a rebuild on it. It's a Westerbeake (weighs about 300 lbs) with
a little under 2000 hours and no maitenance other then oil and filter changes. My question is whats the best way to remove the engine? I was thinking of
putting a stout piece of lumber across the hatch opening and securing a chain
fall to it. How do you get the engine out of the boat? use a forklift or other
crane? Is this better done in the water or on the hard? Any and all suggestions appreciated,

Tom

V-398

 

[pjacobs55]

Hi Tom,
I recently helped a friend remove an old Yanmar 1 cyl. from his Sun 27. He unfastened the motor and slid it forward into the cabin, on a piece of plywood. Next he removed the gear box and all the accessories such as starter and alternator, to make it as light as possible. Then using a small chain hoist attached to the boom, we lifted the motor up and swung it over the side to the dock and onto a small cart.

We had the boom braced at the lifting point with a halyard and the topping lift, just to make sure. I don't know what the engine weighed, but it was a monster.

Just curious: what symptoms is the Westerbeke showing indicating need for a re-build? 2000 hours is not a lot for a well maintained Diesel.

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'

 

[dougpol1]

I can't emagin a situation where any diesel with 2000 hours might
need rebuilding unless something catastofic has happened to her.
Running with out oil might do it or badly over heating. The only reason
I can think of to rebuild and engine with such low hours and not having
had something really bad happen to it might be if I were planning a trip
around the world or something sumular. If oil pressure is good,
compression good and she runs good I would do nothing. Maybe injector
service and possible injector pump service. Maybe new starter bearings
and brushes along with a new starter selinoid. I might consider things
like a new oil pressure sending unit thermostat and temperature gauge.
I personally would not do any of these unless there was a problem with
the way she runs or starts. My guess is that at 5000 hours, a new set
of rings and maybe bearings if they show signs of wear or scoring.
Rebuild the cylinder head or replace with a new one. If you are a
weekend and vacation sailor you will not wear out a diesel engine in an
entire lifetime. You may need to replace your boat but not your engine.
It drives me crazy that people are replacing engines that are only
30 or 40 years old, spending thousands for a new one. I recently bought
a Volvo 2 cylinder diesel 1975 model that was replaced with a new
Yanmar. I paid $200 for it with the idea of using her for parts. I
took her apart and found main and rod bearings to still be within
factory spec. I put her back together after a good cleaning and plan to
keep her as a replacement for mine should it run hot or something
damaging like that. Doug

 

[TJBurkett]

Thanks for the reply on ways of getting the engine out of the boat. I'll admidt that there really isn't any great reason for removing the engine - except for the broken motor mount it runs fine. I was wondering if pulling and rebuilding the engine might be a good project during the winter doldrums-but maybe I'll look for an already "blown" engine and tinker with that.

Doug, thanks for the list of engine service items.

Tom