Cracked Timing Cover Westerbeke W50

[jimbunyard]

Originally Posted by felizcortez

Appreciate the response. I had a guy agree to sell me a used timing cover from a salvage shop, but he backed out last minute.... Frustrating.

Any recommendation on contacts in the UK? I don't really know where to start?

You might try these people;

Calcutt Boats

Telephone: +44 (0)1926 813757
Fax: +44 (0)1926 814091

Don't know them at all, but with a little luck and a phone call, you might find one, or someone who can steer you in the right direction.

These people also have an engine listed as 'breaking for spares'.

BMC for sale UK, BMC boats for sale, BMC used boat sales, BMC Engines For Sale BMC 1800 Marine Diesel Breaking For Spares - Apollo Duck



The engine was used in all kinds of things under several different designations. I'm not familiar with it but I'm sure you can find someone in the UK who is. Again, for getting this kind of information, phone calls seem to work better than 'electronic communication'...

[felizcortez]

Originally Posted by jimbunyard

You might try these people;

Calcutt Boats

Telephone: +44 (0)1926 813757
Fax: +44 (0)1926 814091

Don't know them at all, but with a little luck and a phone call, you might find one, or someone who can steer you in the right direction.

These people also have an engine listed as 'breaking for spares'.

BMC for sale UK, BMC boats for sale, BMC used boat sales, BMC Engines For Sale BMC 1800 Marine Diesel Breaking For Spares - Apollo Duck



The engine was used in all kinds of things under several different designations. I'm not familiar with it but I'm sure you can find someone in the UK who is. Again, for getting this kind of information, phone calls seem to work better than 'electronic communication'...

I called Calcutt boats and they had a timing cover in stock!!! Thank you so much for the recommendation, I have been looking for a part for over 6 months. They were great to work with and even had the gasket and the crankshaft seal i'll need. It has a spring in it so I need to figure out which way it goes in.


The cover they sent me is painted gray so I'll probably spray paint it red so it matches the engine a bit better. Anyone know a good place to get a similar color to westerbeke red that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

Thank you so much for the help.

[jimbunyard]

Glad to help. The spring goes in, towards the stuff you're sealing into the engine, in this case oil and crankcase pressure. Auto parts store for the paint...

Just out of curiosity, how much was Calcutt asking for the cover, if you don't mind saying?

[felizcortez]

Originally Posted by jimbunyard

Glad to help. The spring goes in, towards the stuff you're sealing into the engine, in this case oil and crankcase pressure. Auto parts store for the paint...

Just out of curiosity, how much was Calcutt asking for the cover, if you don't mind saying?

They charged me $142 USD (~100 pounds) including shipping from the UK to the USA which included the timing cover, crankshaft seal, Timing Cover Gasket, and a separate cork gasket for the rocker cover on the top of the engine which I also requested. Considering Westerbeke wants about $50 for the crankshaft seal, I feel like I got a steal.

Very happy with the outcome as they were very helpful. I called them and they said they had a few in stock both new and previously enjoyed (their wording), and had me send a picture to make sure it was the right one. They also mentioned that I'd need the gasket and the seal as well.

Extremely easy and fast shipping as well. I'd definitely purchase from them again.

[felizcortez]

Do I need to put oil or grease on the gaskets when I install them or should they be put in dry.

The timing cover gasket appears to be paper and the rocker cover gasket is cork.

[Compass790]

Originally Posted by felizcortez

Do I need to put oil or grease on the gaskets when I install them or should they be put in dry.

The timing cover gasket appears to be paper and the rocker cover gasket is cork.

You can do either but if you oil or grease them you may get a shot at re-using them. I like to smear a thin layer of silicone on both sides, let it dry then oil them so I usually get to re-use them but I'm cheap and have time.

[felizcortez]

I emailed Calcutt boats and they said to use a thin layer of Hylomar or any other non-setting gasket sealant (Red Hermetite) on rocker cover and front cover sealant.

[boatpoker]

Cracked an exhaust manifold on a Perkins HT6-354 during a cruise years ago. Patched the crack with JB Weld. Put another 3,000 hours on that boat and the patch was still fine when I sold her.

[felizcortez]

I pulled the old cracked timing cover off the boat today. I haven't put the new timing cover on the engine yet.

I think one of the timing gears clearance may be wrong because it looks like it ground into the timing cover. See attached photo. However, I'm not sure what would cause this potential misalignment or how to check for it. I've also gone through some old pictures and I know the crack developed after I had a mechanic do some work over a year ago. He had the fuel injector pump assembly rebuilt which is driven by that timing gear.

Any thoughts on how to proceed?

[jimbunyard]

While the pump drive is fairly simple, there are several things that, alone or in combination, could cause the wear shown in the picture, which may or may not have caused the cracks.

I have never worked on one of these engines, so everything that follows is based on what I can see in the online manuals and my experience with other mechanical systems.

Easiest to hardest...

If the four bolts holding the drive flange (36) to the drive gear (37) have been replaced with higher profile bolts, or if someone has used lockwashers and lockplates (one or the other, you don't need both), the bolt heads could stick out enough to scuff the inside of the cover.

Check as best you can that the gears are all aligned. This would be easier to do accurately with the chain off, but if it's bad enough off you might be able to determine if it is without doing that...

Check for either hub (39) wear or drive gear (37) wear by loosening or removing the tensioner (29) and attempting to 'rock' the gear on the hub.
There should be very little, but there doesn't seem to be any spec for it in the manual. I'm guessing there won't be much, if any, because the 'scuffing' would be reversed, evident 180 out from where it is now...

While the tensioner is loose, check for endplay in the gear 37 by pulling out and pushing in on the gear. If there is any, that could be because either the 'locating groove' in hub 39 or the locating plates (35) is/are worn.

If there is wear in the injection pump drive area, the major suspect would be oiling deficiencies. How's your oil pressure at running temperatures? Wouldn't hurt to remove and clean oil line (40) just for grins...

[felizcortez]

Thank you for the help. I went to the boat today and I think I figured out the issue, but haven't fully reassembled the engine.

I test fitted the new cover and it definitely did not mate up to the engine correctly and it was apparent that the Fuel Injection Pump gear was still hitting the cover.

I checked the clearance behind the Fuel Injection Pump gear and compared it to the other timing gears and it was definitely further out than the others. I could also see an angle to the timing chain where it rides on the shoe going to the fuel injection pump gear.

I removed the timing chain and the fuel injection pump gear came off without having to disassemble anything on the hub. I didn't think anything about it just coming off at first since I've never disassembled this before. But looking at the pictures and trying to fit the gear just didn't seem like it was seating down far enough. I looked at the diagrams some more and it looked like the driving flange was supposed to go into the recess in the hub which would hold the fuel injection pump gear onto the shaft. This seemed to make sense and the Driving Flange was not seated in the recess in the hub so you could just pull it off (not good). This probably made about a 1/4 inch difference in how far out the gear sat. I disassembled and reassembled the gear/hub and used the two driving flange half's and seated them into the recess in the hub. I put everything together finger tight and test fitted the timing cover. The cover now appears to seat correctly.

I believe I've interpreted the diagrams correctly, but it wasn't explicit that the driving flange is supposed to sit in this recess... This makes sense to me, but i wanted to get a second opinion if this was correct before I put it all back together.

If i'm correct, this also means that the mechanic I had do the work assembled this incorrectly and just muscled on the old cover and broke it. I'm also amazed this didn't cause more damage to the engine as we've ran this over 50 hours like this.

[jimbunyard]

Originally Posted by felizcortez

Thank you for the help. I went to the boat today and I think I figured out the issue, but haven't fully reassembled the engine.

I test fitted the new cover and it definitely did not mate up to the engine correctly and it was apparent that the Fuel Injection Pump gear was still hitting the cover.

I checked the clearance behind the Fuel Injection Pump gear and compared it to the other timing gears and it was definitely further out than the others. I could also see an angle to the timing chain where it rides on the shoe going to the fuel injection pump gear.

I removed the timing chain and the fuel injection pump gear came off without having to disassemble anything on the hub. I didn't think anything about it just coming off at first since I've never disassembled this before. But looking at the pictures and trying to fit the gear just didn't seem like it was seating down far enough. I looked at the diagrams some more and it looked like the driving flange was supposed to go into the recess in the hub which would hold the fuel injection pump gear onto the shaft. This seemed to make sense and the Driving Flange was not seated in the recess in the hub so you could just pull it off (not good). This probably made about a 1/4 inch difference in how far out the gear sat. I disassembled and reassembled the gear/hub and used the two driving flange half's and seated them into the recess in the hub. I put everything together finger tight and test fitted the timing cover. The cover now appears to seat correctly.

I believe I've interpreted the diagrams correctly, but it wasn't explicit that the driving flange is supposed to sit in this recess... This makes sense to me, but i wanted to get a second opinion if this was correct before I put it all back together.

If i'm correct, this also means that the mechanic I had do the work assembled this incorrectly and just muscled on the old cover and broke it. I'm also amazed this didn't cause more damage to the engine as we've ran this over 50 hours like this.

Sounds like an ignorant 'mechanic', since it doesn't appear necessary to remove the timing gear to remove the fuel pump; the pump shaft is usually splined so that it only goes on one way. Oh well...

Yes, you are correct, the locating plates 35 seat in the locating groove in hub 39 to hold the gear in correct alignment. Make sure that there isn't too much wear on the side of the plates that was rubbing incorrectly on the end of the hub; there is some polishing evident in the picture, if you're lucky, the plates are a bit harder than the hub and there won't be much wear. That there is pressurized oil there should also help in this regard...

One final thing. Check and triple check that the initial timing (chain and gears) is correct. Most diesel engines will run even though the initial timing is off quite substantially (in your case two or maybe even three teeth) but starting and power issues unresolvable by injection pump timing adjustment (of course) will result.

[felizcortez]

I'm glad I paid an "expert" $100 an hour to screw it up. I could have done that myself for much cheaper

I didn't notice significant wear on the driving flanges when I disassembled and cleaned them today so I think I should be okay. The gear is keyed and splined so it only goes in one way... it just wasn't all the way in and locked with the driving flanges. I have it reassembled in the same location as I took it off.

The Engine ran well before I disassembled it. Smooth and no power issues so I think the timing was ok. I've lined up all the timing marks based on what was in the users manual and also marked the chain and gears with a sharpe marker prior to disassembling so i can reassemble in the exact same locations that things came apart. I will triple check this again tomorrow as I still need to reassemble everything.

[felizcortez]

I reassembled everything yesterday and am happy to report that the issue is fixed, the new cover is installed, and I didn't break anything.

The engine started on the first try and ran smoothly through the RPM range.

Thank you so much for the help and guidance getting this fixed. It is truly appreciated. Overall the repair wasn't as bad as I thought it would be with your assistance. The repair only took me 3 separate days and probably about 12-13 total hours of work.

Next up, installing an electric windlass.