I Think I Destroyed My Engine

[sailorboy1]

I don't feel there is going to be a light at the end of the tunnel here. A siezed piston has to due with engine temperature. But here we are talking about oil and this is about pressure. If you ran without oil and the engine froze up then the bearings have seized and welded themselves together! Even if you get the engine to turn over somehow I think you would be fooling yourself in believing it is still a useful engine.

Sorry.

[HobieFan]

Yep. It's dead. I had an experienced mechanic look at it and he looked at me and asked. "You have an outboard engine mount? You need one.". He says it most certainly threw a bearing.

Replacement cost including tearing out the galley and a bunk and half a bulkhead along with most of the electrical is looking to be almost the value of the boat. Know anyone who wants a Cal 34 with no engine? Cheap! Mount an outboard!

[Solitude]

Originally Posted by HobieFan

Yep. It's dead. I had an experienced mechanic look at it and he looked at me and asked. "You have an outboard engine mount? You need one.". He says it most certainly threw a bearing.

Replacement cost including tearing out the galley and a bunk and half a bulkhead along with most of the electrical is looking to be almost the value of the boat. Know anyone who wants a Cal 34 with no engine? Cheap! Mount an outboard!

Is it really that hard to get out? Thats quite a big boat for an outboard.

[Stillraining]

Of course he is going to say that no hired mechanic is going to fudge there way trough..and he is probably correct..but give it a shot...What have you to loose?.

On the other hand it doesn't sound like you are really into owning a boat if this is cause for a bail out unless that was more of a comment out of frustration and discouragement right now which is totally understandable...take a couple days break from the boat and rethink about it ..His suggestion will work...and it should not coat all that much to find a good reliable OB and used bracket. I could do it for 300.00 around here right now.

FWIW ..I know of a 43 footer power by a 35hp outboard...and it has amazing power.

[syoder]

BUMMER! I have the same engine and the dipstick is a PITA to reach and especially to put back in, so consequently I sometimes neglect to check the oil before firing the engine up. Needless to say, I won't do that again. You may have saved my engine. Hope yours is salvageable.

-Steve

[Marksman]

HobieFan

I don't know if this is an option for you, but on my boat, the motor was almost impossible to service due to the only access being from the front behind some narrow stairs. I installed a sealable hatch in the cockpit sole large enough to get the engine in and out from directly above. If that is an option it will be cheaper than all the other buttslosh you talked about.

Best of luck man.

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by mike d.

it might be a pain in the A! to get at the engine etc. but not impossible. don't give up because o that. on our boat GulfStar 37 we have to take out the galley sink cabinet to pull the engine. i can't believe that it could be much worse than that. like i said it might be a major league pain in the a, but you should be able to get at it. remember the mfg. did not build the boat around the motor. just take a break for a couple of days and think about it logically. good luck!

Actually most did..

[HobieFan]

Because of other reasons, I only get to the boat about once a month. I thought that would be changing but I am not capable of taking on a bunch of projects. I had just finished four daysof hard work finishing much of my (and the surveyors) to do list and had a flight out in the morning.

I had it hauled and worked on it for several days just a few monhs ago and haven't actually got to go out for a "fun" trip. This was the final set of project items before she was ready to sail.

I have six sails and new rigging and fresh paint and a load of new pumps. Spare parts for everything and even silverware and new pots and pans. Hah. Went up the mast to check out everything the over day.

Then I go to take it out and the VHF isn working. It's brand new. Must be the masthead antenna. But I was JUST up there and it looked fine. So... In-mast wiring maybe? Weak. Fortunately I have a handheld. It would suffice for just a quick trip across he harbor I figured.

Then I blow the engine. Good thing I had the handheld. And after I was told that it's basically scrap metal, notice the stuffing box is dripping. Bilge pump worked great last month but I wanted to check. Of course the floater doesn't turn it on, so I hit the manual switchTo drain the water intending to try to catch the oil with a bucket. It's too far down to scoop it out much any other way. It pumps but no output. The bilge pump also chooses today to quit.

I can't leave it without a bilge pump but I already moved my flight back two days and took off work and the sun just went down. I have had my head down in oily bilge for 2 hours trying to figure out WTF went wrong and I have no idea. No suction on the pump maybe the engine melted a hole in the hose but it seems stuck in there and I can't get it out.

Hah. Probably just a bad day. But holy ****. I hope it sinks. Heh. :-)

[HobieFan]

Big issue for me here is the money however. Repowering will cost my entire boat budget for the next 14 months. All of it. :-)

sorry. Still sour and venting. Not quite sure what else to say.

[Ex-Calif]

So sorry to hear about your troubles. It really sucks.

Run with no water = bad. Run with no oil = very bad.

It seems basic but worth saying. When yuo go below to turn on the batteris always open the engine cover and take a look below the engine. Excess water or oil should be investigated before hitting the key. Maybe it's my pilot background but a preflight check is part of the drill for me.

Of course if the cover is open it isn't that hard to pull the heat exchanger cap and check the water level. Then pull the dipstick and check the oil level. 3-5 minutes of reassurance.

I suspect that the mechanic is correct and that at least you have spun a bearing. If it were me I'd pull the sucker and take it home to my garage. I would do a cheap and dirty bottom end overhaul put it back together and hope for the best.

If I was "invested" in keeping the boat I would do a complete overhaul.

[skipmac]

Just out of curiosity, how did this experienced mechanic diagnose a thrown bearing? Did he pull the oil pan and look at the main bearings? Did he pull the heads and check the pistons to see if a piston was frozen? Did he get the engine to turn over and hear a rod knocking?

I'm not an expert mechanic but I would think it would require something more than peering at the block and poking at the flywheel to confirm a diagnose of a problem with a main bearing.

Not saying it isn't so, but unless you didn't relate the whole story it sounds a little to quick and easy to me.

Skip

[CharlieCobra]

Yeah, the only way to know if it was a bearing is to pull it apart. Methinks he's blowing smoke up yer arse mate...

[skipmac]

By any chance does this expert want to sell you a new engine or do the overhaul on this one? I hate to be cynical but unless I knew and trusted the mechanic 100% I would be suspicious in that situation.

[HobieFan]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Just out of curiosity, how did this experienced mechanic diagnose a thrown bearing? Did he pull the oil pan and look at the main bearings? Did he pull the heads and check the pistons to see if a piston was frozen? Did he get the engine to turn over and hear a rod knocking?

I'm not an expert mechanic but I would think it would require something more than peering at the block and poking at the flywheel to confirm a diagnose of a problem with a main bearing.

Not saying it isn't so, but unless you didn't relate the whole story it sounds a little to quick and easy to me.

Skip

you may be right. I am, unfortunately, not qualified enough to recognize a spun bearing even if someone presented me with it already dissassembled. Sure, I know what it is and what happens in that scenario but I have never even looked inside a deisel cylinder, let alone rebuilt one.

Willing to learn but I have a job in another state and no real way of working on it other than for a day or two at a time on rented space. My only home out here IS this boat. :-)

As for the checklist. I should have. This boat requires you to lie on the galley floor with your feet somewhere around the nav station to get up underthe galley sink to access the dipstick. Ugh. Shoulda done it anyway.

Sigh. Thanks guys.

[SoonerSailor]

I know a little bit about how you feel. I just bought a boat in July that had a glowing survey. Everything looked hunky-dory at first blush, but as we got intimate with the boat, it seemed that everything the surveyor did not specifically examine and check out needed adjustment, repair or replacement. We'll have a good boat at the end of it (will it ever really end?) but the pocket book will be quite a bit lighter. Experience doesn't come cheap...