Breaking All the Rules ...

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

Homeless,

You should develop a contingency plan for engine runaway. This happens when an engine is able to burn its own lube oil. An overfilled oil sump can create this condition. For example, one way is oil can be blown out a crankcase vent and sucked into the air intake but there are other ways. The only way to stop or slow a runaway engine is by blocking the air intake. A 4" air intake can create about 150 pounds of force so don't try to use your hand. Have a piece of sturdy wood or metal handy to block the air intake if she runs away. It sounds frightening but usually doesn't cause harm if stopped quickly.

The odds are this won't happen but if it does it's much less of an event if the right material is at the ready. When an engine runs away it's unlikely the transmission can be disengaged so time may be in short supply.

Excellent idea and a very good idea for anyone running a diesel engine. It can happen and is frightening. Just go to Youtube.

[captlloyd]

You might try shooting something like WD40 threw the gap and try to get some on the shaft and spline and drive disk. Sure sounds like corrosion. After setting for a while then try relieving the pressure by removing the wedges and re-inserting them. If you can get the shaft to start moving back and forth, you might just get the thing to eventually separate. Depends on how badly the whole thing is corroded. Sounds like nasty work. Have some beer ready.

[homeless]

I had assumed the gearbox mounting plate was steel, so reached out to a few local welders to see if they would come over with an oxy cutter, but got the usual response about working on boats and insurance and health and safety and permits required etc. Moral of the story ... if you own a boat in Australia you better be able to do your own welding or cutting because nobody else will.

Luckily I was mistaken, and the mounting plate was aluminium, so I spent the rest of the day lying on my back reaching behind the engine breaking the mounting plate into small pieces with hammers, wrecking bars, and a jigsaw, then reaching around inside the bell housing and removing the bolts holding the mounting plate to the gearbox housing.

My last jigsaw blade broke just in time to remove the last bolt, so I have now removed the gearbox housing and output shaft, leaving the input shaft still embedded in the drive plate. I tried heating the drive plate spline with a torch multiple times and letting out all my remaining frustrations on the input shaft with a hammer, and while I have significantly reduced the corrosion on the shaft spline it still won't budge with the tools I have. So ... tomorrow will be spent supporting the engine block and then removing the bell housing and the drive plate.

I always suspected there were issues at the back of the engine due to the flooding before I bought it, but I avoided doing a proper inspection because there were no obvious problems and access was difficult. Hopefully the total cost of this exercise is only a mounting plate, drive plate, input shaft, and some bearings, seals, and gaskets. If I can't get those parts then I may be up for a whole new gearbox along with fitting and possibly modifying engine mounts. Should know by the end of the week, but it looks like my stay in Cairns will be longer than planned, though it really is a nice place to sit for a while.

[monte]

Good luck homeless. Yes cairns is probably the best spot to get it sorted. Not much north of there so hopefully things will be the last major sea trial issue for a while.

[homeless]

I started the day with a trip to the hardware store for threaded rod, nuts, and steel plate to build a shaft puller, but after a few hours of assembly and tightening all I managed to do was bend the steel plates and rods, with the gearbox shaft still stuck firmly in place.

I went back to working to remove the bell housing, filing down the rusted rounded bolt heads so I could use a smaller spanner. This worked, and I finally got the last of the seized bolts out and removed the bell housing and drive plate with embedded gearbox input shaft. I delivered the gearbox to the mechanic to order new seals, mounting plate, drive plate, and heat exchanger. Not all parts are in Australia, so it may take a few weeks for parts to come from Italy.

I also dropped off the extremely rusty engine mounts to see if they could be cleaned up or repaired.

Picked up the rebuilt injector pump today. Did not recognise it as all the crusty old paint had been removed. Hopefully that resolves the diesel leaking into the sump.

It is a huge job to get everything off the block to get to the back of the engine, so while it is apart I will try to get the flywheel off to see if there are any oil leaks on the crank shaft at the back.

[monte]

Well done homeless. Huge job just to pull it apart by the sounds of it.

[homeless]

Started today with an hours walk out to a store specialising in VDO sensors and gauges to get a replacement engine temperature sensor .... and the store was closed, back on Monday. Aargh.

The battery bank has not been holding charge as well as I would have expected considering I am only running instruments and autopilot, and the batteries were of unknown age, and probably abused in the past, so today I ordered 8 new batteries at a cost of $1540. Hopefully that helps to guarantee I always have power for the autopilot and for engine start. If it does dramatically extend the time between charging I may consider upgrading my autopilot hydraulic pump to one that can handle bigger waves and stronger wind without broaching.

The afternoon was spent replacing yet another broken socket driver and removing the flywheel and rear crank shaft seal. There is evidence of oil leaks at the rear seal, so I will replace it along with the gasket to remove one more source of oily bilges. The mechanic is still trying to confirm delivery dates for the gearbox parts, so I may be here for a while.

[Kevin84]

Homeless, you may want to consider making a dedicated starter battery, seperate from your main bank (other than for charging). That way if your main house bank drains unexpectedly, you'll always have on battery capable of starting your engine.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[homeless]

I have already installed isolation switches for a starter battery bank.

[Kevin84]

Smart move

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[homeless]

Today I installed a new rear end crank shaft seal and gasket, then installed the flywheel. The new drive plate, gearbox mounting plate, and gearbox heat exchanger have been ordered and should arrive later in the week. I also ordered replacement engine mounts as mine were well past their useful lifespan.

Unfortunately the replacement gearbox oil seals that were the whole reason for doing the gearbox rebuild are not available in Australia and will probably take 6 weeks to arrive (I was previously told 2 weeks), but ZF in Italy don't seem to be answering emails from ZF in Australia, so no way to confirm ETA. I may need to hump the heavy gearbox around town asking anyone who sells rubber seals if they have some to fit When I took the gearbox apart I found a chipped tooth on the input shaft cog which really should be replaced, but that also is unavailable in Australia, so I will need to put the damaged shaft back and hope it makes it to a place where I can get a replacement shaft, then go through the drama of taking the gearbox apart yet again.

My old Raymarine plotter was on the "should replace" list but yesterday when I pulled the old chart memory card out the card reader pins pulled out of the circuit board, so the chartplotter moved to the "must replace" list. Whitworths staff told me they would not order the new Raymarine chartplotter I wanted until AFTER the end of financial year stocktake, and then it would take 10 days to arrive, but an hour of pestering them in the store and suggesting they check the inventory of other stores and make a few phone calls changed that to an immediate order and overnight freight. If I owned Whitworths there would be a few staff from the Cairns store looking for new jobs.

[JPA Cate]

I hope you found the chip from the chipped tooth, wouldn't want that puppy jamming up the tranny at an awkward moment.

Ann

[homeless]

The gear tooth chip was not in the gearbox, and the tooth damage does not look new, so I suspect it is old damage, and a previous owner put the damaged shaft back.

Earlier in the year I re-bedded all of the hatch frames to the deck and pilothouse which stopped 99% of the water coming in when it rained. During heavy rain I still get a few drips from some of the hatches, coming in between the acrylic and the frame, meaning the sealant was flawed and also needed to be replaced. Today I cut the acrylic sheets out of 4 of the hatches, cleaned up the old sealant, and re-bedded the acrylic. One step closer to a perfectly dry boat ...

I also ran power wiring to the cockpit and installed the new chartplotter. Now time to read the manual ...

[homeless]

A day of minor progress. Went to see the mechanic and they have given up on getting official seals and gaskets from ZF and sourced the seals from a local bearing supplier and cut paper gaskets. They don't feel comfortable assembling the gearbox with the old shaft with damaged cog, but can't supply a new one, so I will do the assembly myself. The gearbox mounting plate and new gearbox heat exchanger arrived, so I am now just waiting on the drive plate and engine mounts and I can put everything back together.

Today I also re-bedded the starboard bow window that leaked previously when underwater, so hopefully ... one less leak.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by homeless

A day of minor progress. Went to see the mechanic and they have given up on getting official seals and gaskets from ZF and sourced the seals from a local bearing supplier and cut paper gaskets. They don't feel comfortable assembling the gearbox with the old shaft with damaged cog, but can't supply a new one, so I will do the assembly myself. The gearbox mounting plate and new gearbox heat exchanger arrived, so I am now just waiting on the drive plate and engine mounts and I can put everything back together.

Today I also re-bedded the starboard bow window that leaked previously when underwater, so hopefully ... one less leak.

I would think a good machine shop could repair the damaged cog?