H27- Fuel Tank and 1gm Trans removal and repair

[upsidedown_04]

Hello all.. first time posting and thought I would jump in with both feet. We aquired our '83 Hunter 27 last Oct (2010) and have found two problems that are stoping us from taking her out. One is the transmission slips horibly in reverse and I suspect in forward also. This information was given to us by the previous owner and other mutual friends who are familiar with the boat. I havent checked out the problem too much because of problem number two.. the fuel tank full of the dreaded black sludge. So I decided to remove and repair both so it hopefully will run trouble free after that.

I currently have both out and removal was actually pretty easy. The trans came out with out touching the engine and the tank with out having to touch my sawzall !! I have been taking pictures along the way and will post them for others to follow.

So heres where I stand at this point:
Trans:
After removal I confirmed that is was slipping by holding the input shaft and puting it into reverse, I could easily turn the output shaft with very little feel of it engaging the input shaft. Not good. In foward it engauged but under engine torque it may still slip. THe friction plate or presure plate (looks like a clutch is in good shape.. the cost of a new one is about $300 or so if you can find one .. so rebuilding may be the best bet. Ive read here that others have had theirs rebuild by Mack Boring. I called them for parts but they refered me to west coast suppliers due to yanmar protected teritories. I live in northern california so SF boat supply was where I ended up. I have the trans torn down (thanks Howard aka "Nelsonhow" for the manual!) and the drive cone is deffinatly worn down. The thrust washers didnt look too bad to me but I will replace all 4 to be safe. The drive cone is just under $300 and the washers range from 15 to 30.. and with shipping the grand total will be about $450.. ouch.. but peace of mind is priceless..

Ok the fuel tank..
I could look inside throught the fill hole and by removing the sending unit... wow.. Le Brea tar pits.. Sooo.. i poured in Sea Foam.. washed away some but not the real entrenched algea.. tried west marines fuel tank cleaner.. that stuff is awesome but still left quite a bit behind. I finally came to the conclusion I would have to make a clean out port. So currently that is done.. Ive been able to scrub most everything out.. and now have discovered a pin hole and a few more potentials. A replacement tank is around $400 to $500 .. a poly tank around $200... but my dad the car guy refered me to POR 15 http://www.por15.com/ .. so after reading about it and searching other forums.. what the heck.. Ill give it a shot.. Im about to go pick it up from a local hot rod supply shop... 75 bucks for the complete three part kit..

So before I go I will upload a few pictures to get you started..

 

[upsidedown_04]

Ok start by removing the side panel on the rear quarter berth.. that will give access to both the Tank and the Trans..

Remove the front trim piece..
Then I had to search a little for the screws in the engine compartment..see the pics..
Then (sorry no pics) I had to reach in the acces door and remove two screws that were below the access door. I used a flashlight and mirrow to find them. Remove the trim pieces on the panel and find the screws behind that.. see the pics.. and violla.. the panel comes down with little trouble. Oh and you will have to remove the cockpit drain hose.
So heres the pics...

 

[upsidedown_04]

Here are the pics of the clean out port I made..

 

[rbietry]

Now that you have the tank out, can you tell me what the dimensions are? I have an '81 H27 and need to get a new tank and mine is on the hard for the winter.
Thanks

 

[upsidedown_04]

Sure ..
9 1/2 " Height
20 3/4" Length
16 1/2" Wide

Has a pickup tube, a return line (from the injector) a filler pipe and a vent line.
From what Ive seen the poly tanks (Plastic) need a return line added for diesel
hope that helps

 

[Ed Schenck]

You have done all of that work on the tank, and a good job. I did the same, two cleanouts because of a baffle in my 50 gal. tank. But I would still scrap it for a new poly tank. How long is that coating going to last? The poly tank will outlast the boat. Just leary of those coatings. Hope Dad is right.

And great job of documenting. It will get lost though unless you put it in "Hunter Owner Mods".

 

[upsidedown_04]

Thanks for the imput Ed.. Ive searched for information on poly vs aluminium.. and seems there are some great arguments for aluminium.. but its weakness is that its vunerable to corrosion. The solution is to coat the tank with epoxy...and thats when it's brand new. If done properly the epoxy is permanent. I have repaired the pin hole and will coat the tank tomorrow. I figure Ive got nothing to lose.

 

[amcmahon]

WOW! Great job , both work and documentation. I've done a lot of work thru the little access doors along the port side of the engine/fuel tank compartments of my '84 h27 and did not realize how easy it would be to just remove the entire side. Noticed on one photo shooting over tank toward stern, you can see some of the steering components. While you have open, recommend you check tightness of 4 screws holding flanges on rudder shaft, just below steering cable pulley. These had vibrated loose on my h27 and had some water leaking in when in rough water and some times as stern squats at full throttle. Please keep us updated. Thanks Tony

 

[garyc]

Nice job. I have tried to get to my tank buy removing the panel but it seemsd stuck. Did the panel slide forward or just fall into the quarter berth? p.o. replaced tank but tank gage does not work right have to replace wiring.

 

[upsidedown_04]

Thanks guys.. I was hoping I would help others out by documenting my progress...even if I screw up maybe others will benefit from my mistakes.

Tony great tip.. I plan on cleaning up the way the wires are just dangling all willly nilly in there.. and I see a couple tools that are down by said rudder shaft left by prior owners .. so before I put tank back in I will for sure tighten up those bolts..

Gary the panel was definitely wedged in there pretty good. I looked everywhere I could to see if there were any remaining screws and used a rubber mallet to tap the top part of the panel to get it to move. If it didn’t move I would look for another screw. Once I had all the screws out it still needed a little persuasion but once it started to pop out top first, it was very easy.It didnt slide foward but just fell to the side into the quarter berth. Use a flashlight and mirror to see if you have all the screws from the bottom out.. or you could open the little port in the starboard locker and look all the way through. You will need to remove the filler pipe from that side anyway.

 

[garyc]

Thanks that will help a lot