Hi Folks, Today Sam and I took the engine apart and removed the head as
well as the first leg of the copper exhaust. We are rebuilding the head
and the exhaust. We tested the engine and confirmed the exhaust is
leaking and confirmed that the engine has bad compression. So it's time
for a head job and new exhaust.
It took us till about 2:30 in the afternoon to get it all apart, tagged,
bagged, and organized.
Sam breaking the
head bolts freeI think we can save the
head
The die is cast now and we're here till it's finished. I'm going to fix the
exhaust 1 section at a time till it stops leaking. I think it's only the
first section actually. Anyway, The cylinders look fine and so it's
probably just the valves. There are several other things we're going to fix
and clean up while we're at it as well. Including cleaning up and
re-painting everything. The delimna of whether to buy new or rebuild is
always difficult because this 25 year old engine probably will not last as
long as a new one and parts are going to be increasingly difficult to find
but if I can get another 10 years out of the engine I'm ok with that. We
were also considering taking it down to the block and replacing everything
with Beta Marine parts and painting it red. That is still not off the
table.
One of the things we found was that the glow plugs were not even hooked up.
The wire was actually missing. Someone at some time in the past simply
forgot to put the wire back on. I'm so dissapointed in people some times.
I know we all are imperfect beings but some things baffle me sometimes
when I find them. But with a 50 year old boat with work done by probably
hundreds of people there's no telling all the uncommon fixes you find or
forgotten things. In general I was quite supprised how good a condition
the engine is in. It really was lightly used.
The exhaust is it's own problem. I have done a lot of research and a lot
of thinking and there is no good way to get a water lift exhaust to work
in this boat. I have to lift the exhaust nearly 7 feet and the best
solution anyone can come up with is a double lift system that will steal a
lot of power due to back pressure. I really think I'm going to have to
rebuild the system from scratch with a new water jacket. To this end I
have been looking at modular ways to accomplish this that I can build like
lego blocks. I think I have a way to do it but it's probably going to be
expensive. It looks like the best alloy for the job is 90-10 cupronickle.
That's not cheap but overall not too if you consider the ability to
configure it myself. I have come up with an adjustable angle making
system that allows for a great number of various bends if necessary. Of
course exhaust doesn't want to bend sharply so this makes it easier. I
have considered patenting the idea if I can find the right people perhaps
I can sell the system.
This evening Hannah and I spent talking to friends at the Tiki and along
the dock. There are so many wonderful people here from all walks of life
and a large number of them seem to be here for the same reasons we are.
It's fun when you concentrate on commonalities rather than differences.
It really makes this harbor special.
I am reading a few books/stories by James and Dena that are really quite
wonderful. I'm so pleased to have found friends like them. We look
forward to following their adventures. I'm not sure how we are going to
leave this harbor because it's a magical place that brings people together
rather than seperating them. This is what the world should be like...
Well, nite nite for now.