Servicing engine mounts

[dmksails]

I have a Tashiba-31 and the survey has said that the engine mounts are corroded and recommends cleaning off the corrosion, treat with a salt removing solution, prime & paint.

The front mounts are not hard to get to, but the back mounts are going to be a bear. Any suggestions on just how to go about cleaning these? Steel brush or dremel tool with wire brush?

And what would be a salt removing solution?

[a64pilot]

Salt removing solution for me is a good cleaner like 409 or Simple Green lots of hot water, scrub and rinse really well. Salt away and others are sold, but I find a good scrubbing and lots of rinse water will get rid of salt.
Then and this is I think the important part, get some rust killer, Osphosphoric acid I think but available at any auto parts store of paint shop, home improvement store etc, it chemically changes Iron Oxide (rust) to something else, I think Iron Phosphate but not sure, but it does stop the rust cold, let it turn black and dry and then paint.

Good stiff brush, not necessarily steel wire. In fact you want to leave a thin layer of rust for the rust converter to work

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

... Then and this is I think the important part, get some rust killer, Osphosphoric acid I think but available at any auto parts store of paint shop, home improvement store etc, it chemically changes Iron Oxide (rust) to something else, I think Iron Phosphate ...

You think right.
When applied to rusted surfaces, “OSPHO” (phosphoric acid) causes iron oxide (rust) to chemically change to iron phosphate - an inert, hard substance that turns the metal black.

[Sailmonkey]

I have a different take on this. The mounts are old. Yanmar mounts in particular sag over the years, changing alignment, and even loosing the ability to physically hold the engine. Rather than spend a bunch of time cleaning and painting these, go buy some new mounts. Prep and paint them really well in your garage, then swap out all of the mounts and align the engine. You'll be extremely glad you did.


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[dmksails]

Sailmonkey - I hadn't thought of replacing them. Is there anywhere I could find information on how to accomplish that?

[Reefmagnet]

Agree with SailMonkey. The problem with rusty mounts is that the adjustment nuts are most likely seized, too. To replace rear mounts you firstly need to source the replacements and then jack or lift the rear of the engine enough to remove and replace. Depending on the layout of your boat, this is actually not too difficult to do. The basic steps are to disconnect the prop shaft coupling and rear mounts from the engine and then use the front mounts in conjunction with some lifting configuration (e.g mainsheet - block of wood - companionway opening) to pivot the motor forwards enough to provide clearance for exchanging the mounts. To finish off you need to reassemble the removed bits and realign the engine which is a good idea if it's been a while since the last alignment anyway.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by dmksails

Sailmonkey - I hadn't thought of replacing them. Is there anywhere I could find information on how to accomplish that?

Here's a sort of photographic how to.....at least gives you an idea what you're getting in to.

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/motor_mounts


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[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

I have a different take on this. The mounts are old. Yanmar mounts in particular sag over the years, changing alignment, and even loosing the ability to physically hold the engine. Rather than spend a bunch of time cleaning and painting these, go buy some new mounts. Prep and paint them really well in your garage, then swap out all of the mounts and align the engine. You'll be extremely glad you did.


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Couldn't agree more!
Just bear the pain and replace them outright!
You will be glad you did!!


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[boden36]

Chlor-rid will remove salts from a metal surface and is often used whilst abrasive blasting, but I agree you are better off replacing the mounts.

Regards,
Richard.

[ErikFinn]

While it can be a bit of a "bear" to replace the mounts but it's definitely worth it. The rubber in the mounts do not last for ever and get compressed as time goes by and you can run into expensive problems such as gearbox failure among others if you neglect the maintenance. Remember to check and adjust the alignment following mounts replacement.

On to my question then:

Is that a Yanmar engine?
How much the mounts go for them?

Reason I ask is I vaguely recall some ridiculous price for some brand mounts, as in close to 1k bucks for a set, but surely my dementia is at play here???? Anybody can confirm?

Perkins mounts can be had for a reasonable money

Perkins 4.99, 4.107 & 4.108 Silent marine engine mountings (Pair)