Yesterday Jason, a friend of Tom and a very good diesel mechanic, came to the boat to give Smitty’s engine a once over. There has been a lot of discussion on the C310 forum about damper plates, motor mounts and replacing transmissions. Jason was coming up to check out Tom’s engine after he replaced his motor mounts, stuffing box and re-aligned his engine. Piggy backing on Jason’s trip north from Rhode Island was a no brainer.
Here is what he found:
It also has me rethinking some of the live aboard plans. We are definitely behind in cleaning out the house and getting it ready for sale. I have a feeling this is going to mean we keep the house through next winter and sell it in the spring of 2014. But with as good as my Bride is doing at selling things on eBay, Craigslist, etc. we are likely to end up in the same spot kitty wise when we are ready to leave in 2015.
Cross posted on my blog.
Here is what he found:
- When I did my work this winter I mixed the red antifreeze with the green antifreeze. This is a big no-no as it can cause sludge deposits in the system. I thought I had gotten all of the green out but most not have gotten it all from the hot water heater. I will correct this mistake this weekend.
- The hose from my stuffing box to my shaft log is near the end of its life. This I knew and it was on my list for this coming winter already. I plan to go to a dripless type system. Jason is not a big fan of the PSS system and instead recommended the Tides Marine system. More research is needed.
- When doing the above replacement, he said I should go to a stainless steel shaft instead of the bronze shaft that is currently on the boat. I was planning this already too. I noticed some wear when I repacked the stuffing box last year. Jason also said that I would be better off finding an old Monel shaft than buying a new one. I guess they are made better.
- My motor mounts need to be replaced. According to Jason, motor mounts are typically good for about 10 years. My are original. The interesting thing about the motor mounts on my boat is that these get stiffer as they fail instead of getting looser.
- The damper plate is getting ready to fail and needs to be replaced. I had suspected this and this was the main thing I wanted him to check out my engine.
It also has me rethinking some of the live aboard plans. We are definitely behind in cleaning out the house and getting it ready for sale. I have a feeling this is going to mean we keep the house through next winter and sell it in the spring of 2014. But with as good as my Bride is doing at selling things on eBay, Craigslist, etc. we are likely to end up in the same spot kitty wise when we are ready to leave in 2015.
Cross posted on my blog.
